Page 44 of A Touch Of Death

I don't get an answer, so I lift my head from the book and look at the guys. As soon as my eyes lift to meet theirs, they all look away and dive into their books, or movie in Nix's case. Ezra stays with us to search through the stack of books on the bed, and we quickly fall into silence while we look for answers to the mystery that is me.

When the first book I read doesn't provide any answers, I move onto the next. I pick up an old looking book, the cover and spine worn and slightly tattered on the edges. Flicking the page open, a shiver runs down my spine. Nix brushes a hand over my back, maybe without realising he's doing it, but I'm grateful for the warmth it provides when I suddenly grow cold.

I flick through the pages, my hand growing colder with every page I turn, until I feel compelled to stop at one particular page. I read over the words carefully:

'And so a new story begins. The prophesied will return, a being born of life and death, who lives with the earth and spirits. With the return of the blessed being will bring the hope for supernaturals of all kinds, for the last fae will hold the only chance of survival. Our only chance at salvation.'

The page is blank after that. I turn the page and find nothing but blank spaces where words should be. That's unusual.

I flick through the pages, skimming over everything about the history of Naturalsbefore I reach the part where the words just...stop. What the hell? What kind of book is this? Why does Zayn own a book that isn't even finished? And what does that last page mean? The prophesied, born of life and death?Lives with earth and spirits?The words don't make sense to me, but they ring with something familiar. Something I feel like I should be understanding, but the more I try, the more confused I grow.

Shaking my head, I close the book and settle against Nix, who's found his way wrapped around me again. Quietly, he asks, "Everything okay, babe? Found something?"

"Uh, I don't know. I don't think so. It's probably nothing."

"Want to tell me what it was?" he probes, brushing my hair so it drapes over my shoulder. I shake my head slightly at myself, thinking on the words in the book. They seem so familiar to me, but I know I've never read them before in my life. It's the first time I've seen them, yet I feel as though I've known every single word from that paragraph for years.

I pick the book up and flick to the page I was reading. Nix reads the page over my shoulder, resting his chin in the dip of my collarbone. I move my head just to watch his expression as he reads, but nothing akin to recognition sparks in his blue eyes. I turn my head and read over the words again. The feeling that I know these words grows stronger the more I read them.

I climb off the bed and begin pacing the room. I don't pay attention to anything around me; instead, I recite the words just above a whisper as I walk back and forth. "A new story... return of the prophesied… life and death, earth and spirit... hope and chance of survival-"

Cutting myself off, my head snaps up, and I stare at the photos on the wall.Born of life and death.Just how literal is that sentence? Because I suppose you could sayIwas born of life and death. Mom passed away giving birth to me. She'd died before I was delivered. Could... could this be about...

Facing Zayn with enlarged eyes, I ask, "Please tell me you were listening in on all of that."

He nods, his eyes widened with awe but distant.

"Heard what? Fill us in here, guys," Nix says, sitting up on the bed while he pulls the book onto his lap to read again.

Zayn snaps out of his thoughts and makes his way to the bed, reading over the page with the shifter. "Of course. How didn't I put that together as soon as you told us about your mother?"

He stands and walks over to me, cupping my face gently in his hands. His eyes bore into mine, the intensity of his gaze enough for me to need to hold on to his arms for stability. "Born of life and death; your birth. Prophesied returning; you returned from your capture. The lastfae; that's you, Novia. It doesn't make sense right now, but that entire paragraph is pointing towards you. How didn't I see this sooner?"

My mind is reeling. If it is about me, what does it all mean? Prophesied for what? Hope and salvation? I don't understand. None of it makes sense, and yet... itfeelslike Zayn is right. Like there's something deep within me urging me to accept the words on the paper, what Zayn has voiced out loud.

I take a seat on the bed facing Nix and Zayn. My eyes drop to the book, and I reach for it slowly, needing to read over the paragraph one more time. When my hand touches the book, I'm once again shocked when a cold sensation runs down my spine, and I begin to shiver as though the temperature in the room has suddenly dropped.

I place the book in my lap, getting colder and colder, but something is suddenly drawing me to the words on the paper. It doesn't feel like I'm in control, but subconsciously, I know this is what I should be doing.

I take a deep breath, and when I release it, the air leaves me in a fog of condensation. My body grows even colder, my breathing grows slower and deeper, while my heart slows steadily.

Looking down at the book, I raise my hand and hover it over the writing on the page.

"Novia, I can barely hear your heart. What's going on?" Nix asks, worry growing in his voice.

I vaguely hear Zayn hush him because my focus is on the book. Like a magnet drawing my hand closer to the page, I drop my trembling fingers to the ink on the paper. My hand grows ice cold, the feeling trailing up my arm quickly. My veins feel like they’ve turned to ice, and my heart slows until it's barely beating.

The last puff of air leaves me in a thicker cloud, and suddenly... my vision goes white.

Chapter 21

Novia

I blinkrepeatedly until the blinding whiteness fades from my vision. I look around, and a frown etches itself onto my face. I'm not in my room anymore, no longer surrounded by the fourNaturalsI've grown to care for. The bed I'm sitting on, orwassitting on, isn't anywhere to be seen. Where the hell am I?

Around me is a large expanse of nothingness. There's not a thing anywhere around me, only a dark grey mist that eerily floats along the ground in slow crawling movements. Other than the ghostly mist, there's only a gaping void of emptiness.

"Hello?" I call out. My voice echoes ominously, fading slowly until only the sound of my footsteps ring out as I move further into the bleak abyss before me. I keep walking, the mist curling around my legs as I walk through it slowly while my body chills until goosebumps rise on my skin.

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