Heart of Fury - Stone and Fire # 2 [17+]

Chapter 37

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Aurora's POV

The air buzzed. He'd left me alone in this dark, cold room, with nothing but my own torn thoughts to accompany me. 

The door opened, and in shuffled the same boy from before- Rafail, with a tray and rag in his hand. 

I pinned him with a concentrated look, the whole way until his hands set down the metal on the nearby table. My mouth salivated at the sight of a glass of water, with a plate of food I did not want near me. I gestured my chin towards the water.

"Drugged?"

He finally looked at me. Shook his head. "I poured it myself."

"You volunteered to?"

He glanced at my ankles. "Sure."

"So, uh.." I glanced at the water, "Can I have it?"

He glanced back at my face, realizing my hands were still tied up. "Oh. Sorry."

He held the glass up to my mouth and poured, gentle yet rash, as if someone was watching and would berate him because of the simple action. 

The water was cold and smooth, and slid down my throat in a way that my whole body felt the thirst quickly rise and then disappear. I drank the whole glass full, keeping the last sip in my mouth a second longer to wet out the dryness. 

Before I knew it, he was sitting down across from me, an uncomfortable shift of his body disturbing the silence every few seconds. I rose a brow.

"You're new to this, huh?"

He held in a breath. "You could say that."

"You don't exactly seem agreeable on the fact that your boss is a murderer." He flinched at the last word.

"I'm aware. I'm just not.." His thoughtfulness sparked my interest. Why was he here, if it wasn't for the thrill? 

I decided to finish his sentence for him. "You're not like them."

His eyes shot up, satisfied but unable to agree out loud. 

"It's okay. I could tell the moment I laid eyes on you."

He rose a brow, amused. "I'm that obvious, huh?"

"Reading people is one of my strengths. Xavier, however.." I drawled on, "I didn't see that coming, not from a million miles away."

"I guess you could say I didn't either." That stole my attention.

"What do you mean? Did you not know he was the Khishchnik?"

He glanced at the door for a second. Shook his head. "I'd spilt most of my father's money on drugs- about two years ago." He glanced at me, maybe looking for the judgement, but I didn't have any. "Then I ran off with the rest of it, maybe hoping to find something worth the new chapter I was trying to write."

Question lingered in my expression, which he saw quickly enough. "I did it because I didn't want that life. He'd forced me to do things I didn't wanna do, and eventually miniature bags full of powder were my only escape."

I tilted my head. "But you ended up in the same place you were trying to run from, right? What was the point, then?"

He looked down at his feet. "I'd gotten this job offer just a year after running away. Decent salary, universal skillset." His eyes shot towards the door. "Nice boss. It was exactly what I needed."