In all her years of living, she had never thought that one day she would be scared of the man who had saved her.
The one who had given her a roof above her head.
The one to whom she was debited.
The one who had given her a new purpose and a chance to live.
There was no mistaking whom those mesmerizingly violet orbs belonged to but still, she wondered if her eyes had started tricking her too. Had she hit her head too hard?
Wasn't Theo, like Gwen and Kai had said, taking care of an important business?
Or had it been a lie to direct her attention elsewhere?
The only thing she could see was his bewitching eyes and she didn't know how to re-enact her powers again.
Anger.
Rage was what she needed.
Closing her eyes, she clenched her fist and imagined herself back in her dream where she had seen her mother's dead body lying on the floor.
Diana's proud face as she told her what happened to her only remaining family.
When she reopened her eyes, her fist was glowing like a bright ember. Loosening her grasp, a brighter and larger flame sat in her palm. She let out a small sigh of relief and hesitantly raised her hand up to the unblinking eyes.
The sight of his breathtaking face came into her view and all her doubts vanished the next moment.
It was him.
He was finally here.
Or was he?
Eva's brows narrowed as she squinted her chocolate brown eyes to scan his face. He looked haggard yet the effect he had on her still remained as firm as it was before. His black shirt was torn from places and he had a small scar on the side of his face which made her close her eyes to erase the sudden wetness.
However, the biggest difference was that he wasn't the same man she knew.
The look in his eyes was different. He was staring at her as if he was wondering who she was and how he was supposed to deal with her.
He looked at her as if she was a stranger.
Eva tried to smile assuringly but no matter how hard she tried, her lips only fell down regardless of her futile tries.
"Theo?"
His eyes narrowed and then they flashed to the flame which was still sitting peacefully on her palm. Her heart fell when she saw no sign of recognition in his orbs as he looked her over and then got back to her eyes again.
He took a step closer and Eva ignored the urge to lean further back into the wall. It was him. What was the need to fear?
She watched as he knelt down on his knees and raised his hand up. She gulped hesitantly not wanting to show any signs of nervousness that would make him back off. His hands touched her cheek and she released a ragged breath as a flicker of curiosity flashed in his eyes.
It gave her hope, that maybe all was not lost yet. She set aside the questions brimming up in her mind for the time being. Why did he not recognize her? Why was he here in the first place? Why... why was he bleeding?
But then he closed his eyes, a groan escaping his lips and Eva forgot everything about her fear and how she was supposed to stay cautious around him for now. Leaning forward, she tried to touch his face but he backed off and she tried not to be too let down by his rejection.
He's not himself right now...
'Or maybe this is him being real-'
Oh, shut up.
When he opened his eyes again, Eva knew this wasn't the best time to talk it out with him. He stared at her as if she was his prey and Eva slowly clutched the wall behind her to slide her body back up into a standing position.
He observed each one of her smallest actions with a dark gleam in his dull violet orbs. Just as she had gotten up to her feet, Eva only saw him straighten up to his feet too as she swiftly broke off into a quick run without glancing back.
The urge to look back was unreasonable since she heard footsteps behind her in an instant. The thrum in her veins couldn't be described as fear, it was mostly all adrenaline and a spark that had lit up her blood and powers along with it.
He seemed to have lost control of himself since it was painfully obvious that he didn't remember her. Numbing down her feelings for the current time period, she focused on getting as far away from him as possible.
Internally, she knew that he wouldn't hurt her or even try to but he might end up doing something which indirectly did. Her senses which were already in jumbles had surprisingly calmed down at the sight of him. Even if he was chasing her and making her worry, knowing that she wasn't alone in this place still bought some sort of comfort to her nerves.
Increasing her pace, her breath heaved and she couldn't help but remember the times that he had played games with her back in Xandria. 'I'm crazy, aren't I? He's chasing me, doesn't recognize me, and all I can do is... smile!?'
'I hereby name this the Theo effect. Damn him...'
Out of nowhere, she felt a familiar slight touch on her bare arm and that was enough for her concentration to break apart. Her feet halted to look at her skin and that was when she saw his hand reach out with the help of the light still clenched tightly in her fist.
Theo whirled her around, and Eva felt her back hit the wall behind her. Blinking open her eyes, she saw him glaring daggers into her brown doe orbs.
Violet flashing against chocolate brown.
"Who are you?"