Immortal Awakening

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

From the feel of my surroundings, I knew I wasn't in my bedroom. The sweet smell of cinnamon, and lilacs, and something else, engulfed me as I came to. I just knew I was at the twins' house. Fingers were moving, weaving through my hair slowly, soothingly. There was a voice. A feminine one. She was talking quietly but quickly and in Bulgarian.

"She's fine, father... I know. It was my fault... But I want to stay with her until it's time... But, father, I... I understand but I will not leave her... She can't go through this alone and you know that... Yes, I will stay here and make sure she's okay... I love you too... Good-bye."

My eyes fluttered open, my pupils adjusting to brightly lit room. I was laying... in her lap; the girl who was talking. I watched her put her phone down and shifted in her lap a little.

She continued caressing my hair as she said, "I'm glad you're awake. I was starting to get a little worried."

Immediately, I scrambled up from the bed and stood up, my bare feet touching the cold, wooden floor. A wave of vertigo hit me and I felt myself falling, the light wooden floor, coming closer and closer to my face, my eyes squeezing shut. But I never made contact. The girl had grabbed my hand and tugged me back up to stand, putting her hands on my shoulders to steady me. I blinked at her until the blurriness of my vision disappeared, which left me staring right into a mirror.

"You," I whispered.

"Yeah, me. Now lay down before you hurt yourself," she said with a smile, gently pulling me back to the bed. I lay down and looked at her, while she tapped away at her phone. She had her curly hair in a high ponytail, wearing a jean jacket over a deep red minidress, black leggings, and brown heeled boots. "You've been asleep for quite some time. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

I realized that various parts of my body had been bandaged. "No, I'm fine." I never got this close to her before. "How did you get in here?"

"The front door of course." I looked over at her. I doubted the twins knew she was in here with me. "I came in before they took you here, and stayed hidden until they tucked you in and left."

"Oh." I ran my finger along the bandage around my wrist.

"I'm glad you're okay, Niki," she said and smiled so wide, I thought the corners of her mouth were going to meet at the back of her head.

Niki. Only Josh and Cris called me Niki.

"Niki? What is that short for?"

She sighed. "It's short for Nikolina. I've been calling you 'Niki' since we were three years old. Not because you don't remember anything, does not mean I'm going to stop. Just like you've shortened my name-"

"Nova."

Her neck could've snapped with how fast she turned her head to look at me. "How much do you remember?"

"Just your name, and N-Nate's, and David's," I said. Her eyes narrowed for a second or two then she sat up. "Why don't I remember you?"

"I have no idea. I think something went wrong with Gaia's spell, but no worries. We'll get you back home to Ascovia and around more familiar people and things in no time." She redid her ponytail and walked around the room while she talked.

"What's Ascovia?" I asked, sitting up.

Slowly, she walked over to me and placed her hand on my cheek with a sad smile. "You really don't remember anything, do you?" I shook my head. "I'll tell you what you need to know first." I nodded, sitting up straight. "I'm your sister. Your brother, Nate, and I came here to see you. You were attacked at your school a few hours ago. Some really bad people showed up and tried to hurt you but I helped you defend yourself."