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Chapter Quote:
"Gods grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway. The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference."
~Arik from Dream Hunters
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Chapter 22

Julian

I realized I'd left my wallet at Kyrian's when I was about halfway home. With a groan, I turned my car back around to go to his house. I arrived within a few minutes, knocking politely on his door, patiently waiting for him or Kiara to answer. The door opened a few seconds later, revealing a panicked Kyrian.

"What happened?" I asked immediately.

"Kiara, she's blacked out. I don't know why and I don't know what to do. She's not waking up," he rambled. I followed him into the house into the living room. Kiara was passed out on the couch but Kyrian informed me he'd placed her there. If the muscles in Kiara's face hadn't kept twitching, my first thought would've been that she'd died. However, I reminded myself that she was an Arean who could only die by a massive, massive wound or being stabbed in her Arean mark, neither of which had happened to her.

"Why'd she pass out?" I asked.

"I don't know. The last thing I did was kiss her tattoo on the back of her neck and almost immediately, she went rigid and collapsed to the floor. I don't know what happened. I don't know..."

"Kyrian, calm down. It's going to be okay. Is there anyone you know of that could maybe help?"

"Acheron. I can call Acheron." My friend fumbled for his phone, hitting a number to speed-dial his friend. The phone rang and rang but the guy didn't pick up. "Damn it Ash, pick up!"

"What's going on?" Ash queried from the entrance to the living room.

"Why the hell wouldn't you answer your phone?!" Kyrian demanded.

"I was in a very important meeting. Now what's going on?"

"It's Kiara," I piped up before my friend could rip into who I now realized was his boss. "She blacked out and we don't know why."

Ash strode over, kneeling down next to her. He placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. I had no idea what it was doing but if he was trying to make her wake up, it wasn't working.

"That's weird..." Ash said, opening his eyes. "She won't wake up for me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that whatever this is, it's stronger than me. I'm powerful Kyrian but this... I think it has something to do with that wall in her head. She said it's been coming down for some reason. Maybe all her memories are coming back, maybe just a few, but if that is the case, until those memories are done, she's not going to wake up."

"How long will it take?" Kyrian inquired in a tone barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," Ash admitted. "It could be a few minutes, a few hours... worse."

"Are you saying she could be out for days or weeks?"

"Anything's possible. I'm sorry I can't do anything. I'll ask some of my contacts if they've heard about anything like this and I'll let you know if I find anything. Until then, get her somewhere comfier than the couch. Have a glass of water by the bed too because she's going to be thirsty when she wakes. I'm glad Julian is here to help you."

"How do you know me?" I asked.

"Kiara kept the secret about her surprise for you two from all but one: me. That is how I know."

"I'm going to bring her upstairs. Julian, could you get the glass of water for me?" Kyrian asked as he scooped Kiara into his arms.

"Of course. I'll be up there soon," I replied. My friend gingerly but swiftly took his girlfriend out of the room while I went to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cupboard to fill it up.

"Did he tell you what happened?" Ash queried.

"What do you mean?"

"Like what exactly happened before she passed out."

"He said he kissed the tattoo on the back of her neck and that her reaction was instant. She went rigid and collapsed."

"I was afraid of that..."

"Why?" I turned around to look at him, suspicion evident in my tone.

"I told Kiara a little while after she met Kyrian that their fates were somehow intertwined but that I didn't know how. I'm starting to wonder if it's just in the future their fates are intertwined."

"You mean you think they knew each other before they became what they are?"

"Oh not just him. You too."

"Me?"

"Don't you think it's weird that she was able to figure out exactly who you were after barely having talked to you? Even for other Dark Hunters, figuring out you knew Kyrian would've taken them ages. I find it odd and I think she recognized you without realizing she did. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time she came across someone she knew from her past life. I already know she and Zarek were good friends before they became an Arean and Dark-Hunter."

"Wait, Zarek? Zarek as in the Roman Dark Hunter that is in exile up in Alaska?"

"He was her best friend and bodyguard."

"How does a Roman become a Grecian princess's bodyguard?"

"That seems to be the million-dollar question. And she was a queen when she died. This probably goes without saying with you, but take care of the both of them. I'm getting a feeling things are going to change when she wakes up and I'm not sure it's going to be good."

"You think she's going to remember her husband?"

"The thing is, I think she's met her husband or else this wall wouldn't be coming down as quickly as it is. Question is going to be if she remembers him, will he remember too? Let me know when she wakes up. Take care." Ash walked out of the room. I stood in my spot for a few moments, gathering my thoughts about the whole situation. Surely if I had known Kiara back in Thrace, I would've recognized her? But by the sound of it, this wall in her brain hadn't just affected her. It had affected everyone she knew that was somehow still alive today or anyone that asked about her for that matter. I remember going into detail about Kiara of Athens, who she married, how many kids she had, how she died, but I could only remember that information when she wasn't around. It was as if the moment I met her, all information I knew about her was suddenly gone from my memory. I couldn't find any notes or information about her at all. It was the most inexplicable thing I'd experienced, and being alive for a couple centuries, I'd experienced a lot.

However, I had to shake those thoughts from my head at the moment because right now, Kiara was upstairs passed out remembering the gods know what and if Ash was right, when she woke up, a lot of things were going to change. By the way he said it, it didn't sound like those changes were going to be good...
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One week later...

Two days into her unconsciousness, we had some medical equipment moved into Kyrian's house to make sure Kiara's vitals were stable. She would move about in her sleep but her eyes always remained shut. Even more tormenting was what she was saying. Kiara kept repeating the names Killian, Kellan, Kieran, Kalen, Karina, Kara and Kira. None of us knew what those names were but with how often she said them, they must've been important in whatever dream she was having. Kiara also mentioned another name: Zarek. Hearing this prompted Kyrian to call the Roman up in Alaska. The conversation didn't go well until my friend explained that Kiara had said Zarek's name in her unconscious state. Zarek had begun to tell Kyrian that the only memories he had of Kiara were good ones, but then his line went dead. We didn't hear back from him for four days. It was exactly a week since Kiara had slipped into her coma like state when Zarek called us back.

"Dude, what the hell happened?!" Kyrian demanded.

"Don't snap at me. I've been in asleep for four days. Literally. I'm calling you before I even use the bathroom."

"What happened?" my friend repeated.

I heard the Roman sigh. "Memories. A lot of memories. Bad ones. Kiara was in them. If she's having the same ones or ones similar... it's bad. Worse than that. Let's just say this: I'm starting to understand why she wanted that wall up in her head."

"What exactly did you dream about?" Kyrian questioned softly, his eyes glancing over at Kiara.

"We were being tortured by her brother's guards and some Romans, one of those being Valerius. I watched her sons and some other guys' sons be brutally beaten and killed, and don't get me started on what they did to her daughters... I can't repeat that."

"Do you remember their names?"

"Kellan, Kieran, Kalen, Karina, Kira and Kara. Why?"

"She's been saying names. We're trying to figure out who they are. Do you need someone to come check up on you?"

"No. I'll be fine. But Kiara's not going to be when she wakes up. You take care of her, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. I'll let you know when she wakes up." Kyrian hung up his phone, clenching it so tightly in his hand I thought he might actually break it.

"Still no sign of waking up?" Nick's voice floated from the doorway.

"No. Zarek just called. He had a flood of memories come back, all terrible ones. He warned us that if she was having the same ones as him, that it wasn't going to be good. I don't think bad even begins to describe it," I informed. I squinted my eyes at him, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I was too worried. I haven't been able to focus in class and one of my professor's noticed and asked what was up. I told him a very close family friend was in a coma and he gave me the day off. I came straight here. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can you watch over Kiara while I talk to Kyrian really quickly?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Julian, I need to stay here," Kyrian protested.

"We need to talk. Now." My tone made it obvious that I was not taking no as an answer. He followed me into his bedroom where I said, "You're worried."

"Point for you, Sherlock," Kyrian retorted.

"I'm not just talking about Kiara being asleep. I'm talking about when she wakes up, especially now that we can reasonably assume those names she's saying are from her memories. She wakes up, she might remember her husband, and then you might lose her."

My friend was silent for a few moments before, "Yeah... don't get me wrong, I want what's best for her and I know that's her getting her memories back and figuring out who her husband is, but we've had a good thing going. Surely if she's been getting her memories back, her husband has been getting something of his memories back too and if he has, why hasn't he come looking for her?"

"Maybe he doesn't know where to start. Once Kiara figures out his name, she'll find him. She won't stop until she does."

"I just hope her husband accepts it when she tells him. She'll be crushed if he doesn't."

"Maybe she'd come back to you if he did."

"Maybe... but I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, can we please go back to her room?"

"Yes. But only after you shower. I know you're worried but she won't appreciate you trying to console her if you smell. We live in the twenty-first century, my friend. I suggest you use the amenities we have available."

With a sigh, Kyrian listened to my advice. I went back to Kiara's bedroom where Nick was pacing up and down, texting someone on his phone.

"Who's that?" I asked in an attempt to make small talk.

"My girlfriend. She's asking how Kiara is. She doesn't know her. She just knows I care about her," he replied. "Kiara's still saying names but hasn't woken up. Any idea who she's talking about?"

"All but one is her kids' names. Zarek wouldn't say what his memories were about them but he told Kyrian their names. Kellan, Kieran, Kalen, Karina, Kira, and Kara. We don't know who Killian is."

"Her husband?"

"For Kyrian's sake, I hope not."

The two of us fell silent, taking seats around her bed. I called Grace to see how she and the kids were doing. All was well at the house, but I could tell she wanted me home. I wanted to be home but I also wanted to be with Kyrian. My schedule went something like working all week, going home for dinner with Grace and the kids, and coming straight to Kyrian's after. It was tiring but I needed to be there for everyone.

About ten minutes later, Kyrian entered the room. "Any change?"

"None," I said grimly. With a sigh, he took a seat next to me.

I woke up a few hours later to find Kiara being cradled by Kyrian. She was most certainly up now but she was an absolute wreck. Kiara had her hand over mouth, her other hand gripping one of Kyrian's arms as she silently wept with no sign of stopping. Without saying anything, I looked up at my friend. We made eye contact and nothing needed to be said for me to know that everything we'd suspected from his conversation with Zarek was true. Her memories had been about her kids and if Zarek couldn't talk about it, the gods only know what she was feeling if it was that brutal.

"Call Ash. Let him know she's up," Kyrian requested quietly.

"Got it boss," Nick voiced from behind me. I turned around, not even realizing he'd been up. His tan face had lost most of its color as he stared at Kiara, in shock by her state. Somehow his feet moved though and he left the room to go make the call.

"Has she said anything?" I queried.

"My kids," Kiara cried softly. "My poor kids..."

"She just keeps repeating that," Kyrian answered before kissing her on the top of her head.

"What happened to your kids?" I gently inquired. She only shook her head, unable to form words to explain.

"Kiara?" Ash said worriedly, striding up to us. She ignored him which came as no surprise. Kneeling in front of her, he added, "Talk to me. What happened?"

"She got her memories back about her kids. Zarek got the memories back too. He said she'd be bad off when she woke up but I don't think any of us were expecting this," I explained. "Zarek wouldn't even go into detail which I think says something about how bad it is."

"That definitely says something. Zarek's been through a lot. If he won't talk about it, then even I know it's bad. I'm going to try something." Acheron placed his hand on Kiara's forehead and closed his eyes. For a brief few moments, she ceased her crying and froze.

Ash's eyes suddenly flew open, his hand snapping back as he swore colorfully under his breath. Kiara sunk against Kyrian's chest, her eyes shut.

"What did you do?" Kyrian demanded.

"I knocked her out."

"What did you see?" I asked suspiciously.

"I saw what made her upset. The memories were the death of her children, among other things. They were brutally beaten and killed, both her sons and her daughters. Her daughters though... and Kiara had to watch it all. As much as you won't like it, I'm calling Zarek. If she's going to talk about any of it, she's going to talk to someone who knows exactly what she's talking about."

"If it'll help her, then so be it," Kyrian said.

"Don't leave her side. She'll wake up in a few hours but she won't be much better. I'll bring Zarek tomorrow night."

"Thank you Ash." The Dark Hunter exited the room.

"Julian, Nick, you two don't have to stay if you don't want to. You two both have school tomorrow and Julian, you have a wife and kids to get back to."

"Will you be okay by yourself though?" Nick questioned, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"I'll be fine. She's awake. That's all that matters. I'll be fine."

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" I said, standing up.

"Same goes for me," Nick chimed in. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The two of us left his house, unaware of the shit-storm that was about to engulf all of us.
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