I release Thorn’s hand after sitting with him for what feels like hours. As I stand up, my stomach growls loudly, enough for Thorn to turn his head. My face flushes, embarrassed that he could hear it. The growl, though, might be less from hunger and more from the hearty smell drifting from outside. I step toward the door, Thorn remaining seated inside. The air outside is warm, a thick, humid presence that feels heavy with the scent of rot. I breathe in deeply, but the air tastes of decay—like the forest itself is sick. I glance up, searching the sky, but the thick canopy of trees is all I see. No stars. Were there ever stars? A part of me feels guilty for the state of this place, even without memories. I am determined to fix this, whatever it takes. Ahead of me, the fire crackles. Theo, Nicholas, and Cedric are gathered around it, their faces illuminated by the dancing flames. The aroma of herbs and spices fills the air, and my stomach clenches again. When was the last time I ate? I approach the fire, hearing their low voices murmur in conversation, until it suddenly goes quiet as I step closer. Theo’s eyes flicker toward me before he hands me a skewer of meat and a steaming mug. The scent of eucalyptus rises from the tea, and my throat aches at the familiar comfort of it. He stands awkwardly, hovering nearby, but I don’t have the patience for any hesitation. I sink my teeth into the meat before I even have time to think about it. Garlic and rosemary explode on my tongue. I don’t care how uncivilized I look. The hunger burns too deep. I devour it without restraint, licking my fingers, wiping my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt. When I finish, I practically inhale the tea, as if it’s the last sip I’ll ever have. As I lower the mug, I realize they’re all staring at me. My face heats with embarrassment, but I try not to let it show. I clear my throat, hoping to break the tension, but the silence lingers. Cedric steps forward, rubbing the back of his neck, as if uncomfortable. “I—uh, we wanted to apologize for… waking you up the way we did,” Cedric says, his voice awkward but genuine. I meet his gaze, still trying to make sense of the faces in front of me, the pieces of memories I can’t quite grasp. “So you’re the one who got the honor of slapping me?” Cedric lets out a nervous chuckle, relief flooding his expression. A trace of guilt remains, though, his eyes not fully meeting mine. Theo shifts beside me, glancing at Nicholas as if silently confirming something. “We had to, Selene,” he adds quietly. “You were too far gone. We couldn’t afford to wait any longer.” I nod, processing the words, but I focus on the personal dynamics between the men. “So, Theo…” I turn to face him, watching the flickering firelight dance in his eyes, “you’re the one who dragged me out of the car, right?” He pauses, then nods, scratching his stubbled chin. “Yeah. It wasn’t pretty.” He chuckles softly, but the humor doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “We didn’t know what else to do.” “And you,” I say, my gaze drifting to Nicholas, who stands a little farther from the fire, his arms crossed over his chest. The guilt is plain in his posture. “You were the one who threw the bag over my head?” Nicholas’s face flushes, his head dropping in a silent acknowledgment. “I… didn’t want to hurt you,” he mutters, his voice barely above a whisper. “But we had no choice. We had to get you out of there, before…” He cuts off, looking at the ground as if ashamed to speak the rest. I study them all carefully. They’re not bad men. They had their reasons, even if I don’t fully understand them yet. “I guess I should thank you?” I say, my voice soft, and I force a weak smile. They look at each other, unsure whether I’m joking or being serious. It’s strange, feeling like I don’t know who I am but somehow understanding that these men are still here, being so patient with me. Showing that they’re devoted to protecting me. It makes me feel safe, and that’s a feeling I’m not quite used to. The night is once again consumed by silence, save for the crackling of the fire and the distant rustling of the forest. I rack my mind trying to think of something else to say, but the awkwardness presses in. If they’re anything like Thorn, they don’t give much away. The air feels thick, as though I’m supposed to know things that I don’t. I settle for the simplest question I can think of. “So… how long have you all known each other?” The silence lingers for a beat too long. I curse myself for asking something so basic, but I can’t think of anything else. Cedric exchanges a glance with Nicholas and Theo, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “A long time,” he replies, his eyes locking onto mine. “Long enough that I can’t remember a time when they weren’t around.” He stands up, walking over to Theo and ruffling his hair. Theo laughs, the sound light and easy, but there’s an underlying weight to it. “That moody guy in there you somehow fell in love with,” Cedric says, winking at me, “is my brother.” Love? I love-loved Thorn? The word knocks into my chest like a stone. The panic surges through me, my heart racing, but before I can process it, I glance at Cedric. He winces when he sees my expression, as if realizing he shouldn’t have said that. The air grows heavier. “Anyways…” Nicholas says, stepping in to break the awkward tension, his voice deliberately light. “Although Cedric and Thorn are related, we all grew up together. We’re all one big happy family, you could say.” He spreads his arms wide, his grin pulling tight at the corners of his mouth as if the words taste strange in his mouth. Theo moves toward me then, his footsteps quiet on the damp ground. He lowers himself onto the log beside me, his presence warm and close. “You’re part of that family too, Selene,” he says softly, his smile strained. I nod, not sure what else to do. The mention of "family" again feels foreign. If I had a family, especially one like this, why would I have walked away from them? The thought of leaving them, Thorn included, tugs at something deep inside me. The sadness that settles in my chest hits hard. But I’ve learned over the last few days that lingering on these thoughts won’t get me anywhere. I can’t afford to let the pain swallow me, not now. I push it away. I need to focus. I need more answers. I try again with another question, one that seems safe. “How old are you all?” Cedric answers first, shifting slightly on the log. “I’m 26,” he says, then glances at the others before continuing. “Nicholas?” “21,” Nicholas says quickly, a brief flicker of discomfort in his eyes. Theo shrugs, a small grin tugging at his lips. “I’m 19,” he says, his tone light but his gaze drifting away from me. I can’t help but feel surprised. He looks older, worn by something more than just time. One question lingers in my mind, but I’m too embarrassed to ask. Then there’s Thorn, creeping up behind me. He’s the one who answers the question I have in mind. “You’re almost 21,” he says to me, his voice distant. His words brush against me, but I can’t find the emotions behind them. “Your birthday is in a week.” I don’t look at him. How does he do that? Is mind reading a talent that two fated share? It’s unsettling. A rush of frustration surges through me, but I push it aside. I’m so focused on the unanswered questions swirling inside my head that I almost forget to breathe. The silence stretches again, punctuated by the occasional crackle from the fire. It’s too quiet. I can hear the distant calls of night creatures, the rustling of leaves in the trees, and the faint buzzing of insects around us. Even the fire seems to hum softly, its warmth brushing against my skin. But none of that matters. I’m stuck on the fact that I don’t even know how old I am. I turn back to Thorn, hoping to ease the discomfort inside me. “How old are you, Thorn?” The question comes out without thinking, but as soon as it’s out, I feel a knot twist in my gut. This is the man I’m supposed to love, but I don’t even know him. I can’t even begin to imagine how he feels. “I’m 24,” he replies flatly, his eyes never leaving the fire. He takes another bite of food, chewing slowly, his shoulders tense. There’s a weight to his words, like he’s not quite here. The question that’s been sitting heavy in my mind since finding out I used to love him threatens to leave my mouth: What happened between us? What did I leave behind? A thousand questions, but all I see is the distance in Thorn’s eyes. I’m assuming our conversation from earlier took a toll on him more than I realized. It suddenly hits me that I’m not the only one affected in this situation. Yes, I lost my memories, yes it sucks. But them? They seem to love me as family, and Thorn as something more, and I abandoned them. Seemed to have betrayed them. A wave of self-remorse threatens to take over me. A tinge of my power flows down my spine. The idea of having an outburst here sends fear throughout me. Cedric seems to sense the shift in my mood. “We all grew up in the same village,” he continues, his voice easing back into a comforting rhythm. “Same school, same training, same everything. Poor Theo practically begged us to hang out with him when we were kids.” He glances at Theo with a teasing grin, and Theo rolls his eyes in return, but there’s affection in it. “You and Thorn were especially close,” Cedric continues, his voice softening as he leans forward, “since Thorn was assigned as your mentor when we got older.” He pauses, watching me. “We were all there for you, Selene, even when your powers were dormant. You probably don’t remember this, but when we hit fifteen or sixteen, we all started to change. Our abilities came out. Thorn’s were the strongest, so they paired him with you, even though you hadn’t unlocked your own powers yet. He swore an oath to protect you. Although we didn’t swear the oath, we all took it upon ourselves to protect you, too.” The words land heavily. My power is cooling down thanks to Cedric. I drink them in, piecing together a history I didn’t know existed. I look at them all, seeing them in a new light. This is the family I had. But I left them. I left all of them behind. The fire crackles in the background, a low hiss escaping the logs as the heat dances in the darkness. I’m barely aware of the others getting up, their footsteps muffled on the dirt as they slip quietly away. The tension hanging in the air is thick, suffocating, and I can feel every moment dragging like the weight of the world on my chest. I can vaguely hear them discussing plans of what to do and where to go next. I thought that the more I learned about my past would bring me relief, but so far I am more devastated and disappointed in myself. If I were them, I would’ve left me alone in my own world and forgotten all about me. Our bonds must go deep for them to be willing to forgive me and move on. Especially Thorn. I’m supposedly the love of his life, and I left him. My heart aches at the thought. I’m abruptly ripped from my thoughts as I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see Thorn. He looks down at me with a genuine smile, as if our conversation has brought him peace. “Come with me.” He says calmly. The dim light from the fire enhances his features, and I can see one of the reasons I would've fallen in love with him. The man in front of me is beautiful. “Well thank you, Selene.” He says with a wink “How do you do that?” “Do what?” He says cautiously, “Read my mind.” He briefly turns his gaze away from me, conflicted of whether or not to tell me the answer. I’m growing tired of being denied the truth, but after tonight, I’ve decided to become more patient. The truth will come to me when they’re ready to give it to me. He turns his eyes back to mine and says, “Mind reading is part of my powers. I can only use it on people who decide to let me in, so it’s not like I can invade everyone's personal space.” My brows furrow as I try to take in the information. I suspected as much, but hearing it said aloud causes me to be slightly uncomfortable. The old me might’ve trusted him with it, but the me that he’s mind reading is thinking things that he maybe shouldn’t hear. “Do you see every thought?” I ask quietly, afraid of his response. He smiles faintly, “Not everything, just the thoughts that are caused by strong emotions. I can stop doing it to you if you’d like. I can turn it off.” “No,” I say almost too quickly. Although it’s strange, I feel somewhat at peace knowing he can read my mind because it reminds me that I let him in to do it. That our relationship was once strong enough to trust him like that. “As strange as it is to me,” I say, “It feels… right.” My words come out strained, but they’re genuine. A flash of relief crosses his face, as if he was praying I would say that. “Come with me,” He says, holding out a hand to me. I take it, and begin to follow him back to the makeshift house. The air has grown colder and I’m suddenly missing the warmth of the fire. My feet grow colder as I walk through the wet leaves. Once we’re inside, he pulls out a chair for me and then sits next to me. He moves some papers around until a map appears in the center of the table in front of us. I recognize none of the strange shapes or names, other than Greece. “This is where we appeared when you came out of your dream.” He points to a location marked with a miniature cathedral. “It’s where you disappeared…” He says solemnly. He moves his hand south, the map showing a forest, “This is where we are now, it’s about a two day walk from where we were.” Two days? That means I was asleep for two days. I must’ve really worn myself out if i was able to do that. No wonder I was so hungry. “This house is our safe, meeting spot. We have others like it spaced out throughout the land, but this is the biggest and most secure due to the tree coverage. Nothing will reach us.” Those words bring me peace as I remember the shadowy snake (i need a name for this dude) from the other night. A sliver of fear creeps into my heart at the memory, but I push it aside, giving all my attention to Thorn and the map in front of me. He moves his hand, passing it over mountains and rivers on the lake until it lands on a point marked with a (crown? idk). “This is where we were able to enter your alternate reality.” That seems so far from where we were the other night. None of this makes sense, but I continue listening. He pauses for a moment, seeing if I ask any questions before he continues, “We searched the entire land for you. Every waking moment was devoted to finding you.” His face is full of fear and shame, as if disappointed in himself for it taking so long to get to me. I reach out and grab his hand without thinking, wanting to comfort him in any way I can. He closes his eyes for a moment, then continues. “Hold out your hands.” I extend my palms up towards him, confusion covering my face. He traces the scars on my hands and grief overcomes his expression. “This…” He says quietly, holding both of my hands tightly. “Is why you left. There was a situation and the result was so catastrophic for you that you had to get out of this World. I assumed it was for guilt, but… normal guilt wouldn’t make most people make an entire reality for themselves. I never knew you had experience with realms and rips in the world. I was in such shock when it happened that it took me 2 days to come to terms with everything.” I try to keep my face calm, trying to give him time to explain more. I feel like I’m underwater, but any information he gives me, I’ll take. “You have a kind of power that has no limits. You can form it into anything you want and I didn’t realize it until you created your own world. It’s why people are intimidated by you, Selene and why others will do whatever they can to take it from you.” His expression has changed to something that appears possessive, protective, but I let him continue. He’s protected me before, I’m going to have to keep trusting that he will. “The threat of Nyxorath finding you is immense, and the fact that one of her henchmen was able to find you as soon as you were back here is alarming, but we expected as much. We’ll have to stay on the move and try to rally more people together now that you’re back and you return will spark courage into their hearts.” “What am I to other people?” “You’re like a god to them, Selene. You’ve protected so many people and saved too many lives to count. Your disappearance caused a panic to spread all over these lands, but now that you’re back, they’ll be ready to fight once again.” I try to process the fact that my life was - is so valuable to others around me. This is probably the hardest truth to accept. A couple of days ago I had never felt more worthless after my interview, but now that I know that was fake and this is real, my whole perspective has changed. Thorne stares at me for a moment longer, then returns his gaze back to the map, “Most of the World is in ruins except for where we’re at. It’s been that way for centuries, but if we don’t act fast, everything and everyone will cease to exist. I’m trying to go slow with introducing everything to you, but we only have so much time.” My heart stops as he says that. The idea of the entire world being destroyed strikes such fear in me that it’s a struggle to keep my body from shaking. Everything he has been telling me has been so hard to process, but the fact that the only people still alive are on this continent is almost too much to handle. “How is that possible?” I ask, “Hundreds of years ago, there was a war amongst the gods that led to vast chaos and destruction, leaving everything completely ruined but Greece. The selfish bastards only felt the need to save the country of their devoted people.” Maybe that’s why I’m a god killer; they’re ruthless. “I think this is enough information for tonight.” Noticing my serious tone, Thorne nods his head gently. He takes my hand in his and says quietly, “We will get you through this Selene and then figure out everything else as we go. You’re my number one priority and nothing will change that.” Something about him and the way he looks at me makes me feel safe and at home. I wonder if that’s the feeling I created for Dylan. Maybe I tried to make a Thorne there to keep me stable. “Thank you.”

Stolen story; please report.