A Touch of Death

by J. J. Dean

  I look at him with confusion. How does he know about the wisps? I look at the others and see them looking at me, waiting on an answer. Zayn speaks up. "The day we found you, we were walking through the woods with no destination in mind. Each of us felt a pull towards the forest, though Nix felt it the strongest. We'd been walking when Nix spotted the first wisp. We followed, the pull drawing us nearer while every wisp began to fade more and more. The last wisp we found had you lying beneath it before it disappeared."

  I'm staring at Zayn with my eyes as wide as dinner plates. I... I lead them to me. Without even knowing it, I used my wisps to lead them to me. I've never been more grateful for the extra ability I shouldn't even possess.

  My breath leaves me in a whoosh, and I drop back into Nix's chest, hearing him make a noise that sounded like an oompf. I shake my head and clear my throat. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, like the will-o-the-wisps. It's one of five abilities I've had since birth that no other fae has ever had. That shouldn’t be possible for any fae to have. The wisps and being able to phase are two. I can't die of natural causes, which I found out when I was eleven, and I became severely sick. Three children passed away from whatever illness we had, but I healed after a week. Other children became sick, and they passed away before the sickness was contained. Only I healed. Another ability I have is to slow my heartbeat until it's barely beating. It helps the healing process somehow. Like, if I'm not using energy to keep my heart beating, that energy goes towards healing any wound I have. It's difficult to do, and it'll trigger when my life is on the line, so it's not something I willingly use."

  I look up from my ring and catch the four sharing a look. Spencer catches my questioning glance and says, "When we got home, we checked your pulse, and we couldn't find one. Nix had to lay his head directly on your chest to hear your very slow heartbeat. We thought you'd died before Nix heard anything."

  I nod with my understanding and fiddle with my ring again. I'm quiet for a minute, thinking of how I can tell them about the fifth ability that really cements that I'm not an ordinary fae and is likely the reason I was kept alive instead of being killed like the rest of my people. Ezra seems to lose his patience, however, and asks, "That's only four abilities. You said you have five. What's the fifth?"

  My eyes meet his, and I hold his gaze. I know I need to tell them. They need to know all of me, it's only fair. Deciding it's best to show them rather than explain, I say, "I'll show you."

  Chapter 19

  Ezra

  Novia lets go of Spencer's hand and stands from Nix's lap, though Nix doesn't seem to like that development since he tries to pull her back. She walks around me until she's standing in the middle of the clearing, sunlight pouring over her through the trees. She looks ethereal with her white blonde hair shining in the light and her pale skin brighter than I've ever seen it before.

  She looks absolutely stunning. Even in the plain black shirt and leggings I dressed her in. With her hair loose and the wind running through her strands, she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

  But she's not mine. She won't ever be mine.

  I work hard not to scowl at the beauty that's managed to niggle her way into my chest. Ignoring her did absolutely nothing to fight off my attraction to her, and it didn't help one bit with the feelings I have for her. After I ignored her, I expected her to hold a grudge, to have something snarky to say about it. I should have known the woman would prove how perfect she is by forgiving me and spending time with me like it was exactly what she wanted to be doing.

  The unusual feelings I have for her are growing, but so is the knowledge that she'll never be mine. Watching her grow closer to Nix, Spencer, and Zayn is driving me mad, knowing they all have a bond to her that I don't. That I'll never have. After watching them all together, I know for certain it's a mating bond that Novia created and tethered to them all. But now I know for sure that they've all bonded to her, too. Nix can't ever stay away from her, Spencer always smiles around her, and Zayn... well, he's been taking trips to his personal blood bank more than he ever has in all the time I've known him. I know a blood bond when I see one. It seems they were all meant for her. But I wasn't. I don't have some cosmic bond to the woman I'm pretty sure I'm falling for. Taking care of her all week when she couldn’t do it herself has me caring deeper for her than before despite how long we’ve known her.

  I brush off the feelings that thought alone brings. It'll do no good to ponder it. So long as Novia is happy for me to be around, I'll stay and simply keep my distance.

  I focus back on Novia, who's watching us all apprehensively while she rubs her hands together. She looks down and nods to herself before standing straight. She doesn't look at us, but directly in front of her instead. Everything around us seems to quiet down, and I don't know about the others, but I find myself holding my breath.

  The air leaves me in a quick exhale, and I gasp when Novia's eyes gradually turn white. Her beautiful mismatched eyes vanish, and all that's left are white orbs in her sockets. She looks at us as though she can still see, and it sends a shiver down my spine. She looks away again, and suddenly the air around us grows cold. The grass around Novia's feet begin to wilt and shrivel until all that's left is dead grass where she stands.

  With my eyes wide open, I watch the moment Novia turns incorporeal. An invisible smoke-like substance surrounds her body while she slowly fades out of view entirely until all that's left to be seen is the ruined grass she'd been standing on. The air is still cold, but Novia has completely disappeared from sight. That is definitely not something a fae should be able to do.

  In a blink, Novia comes back in sight, though she's moved to stand in front of Nix again. Straight away, he grabs for her and yanks her onto his lap again. I stave off the burst of jealousy that infects my brain when I see her relax into him like she's done it a thousand times before.

  None of us say anything for a while, absorbing this new mind-blowing information. So, she can turn incorporeal and then invisible. How? How is that even possible? Only those who die and come back as spirits are incorporeal. Not a single living being has that kind of ability.

  With a soft voice, Zayn asks, "How is that possible, Novia?"

  She shakes her head before steeling herself and dives into her story. "Honestly? I don't know. I can keep the incorporeal state just fine, but it takes extra energy to make my entire body disappear while still in the same state. I don’t know how I can do it. All I know is what my dad told me.” She looks down briefly, but not before I notice the sad frown she’s too slow to hide.

  “When my mom was pregnant with Dahlia, things were fine. Her delivery was rough, and my mom came close to losing her life, but Dahlia came out kicking and screaming, and my mom recovered quickly. With me... I was a different story. The pregnancy went as well as Dahlia's, and my mom thought she had the easiest pregnancies ever. But then something happened, and my mom went into early labour. It was a month before I was due to be born. She'd been in labour for thirty-seven hours, but my dad told me I just didn't want to leave her."

  Novia smiles sadly as a tear streaks her cheek, and it takes everything in me not to reach over and wipe it away. I keep myself planted in my spot on the grass and wait for her to continue. "The thirty-eighth hour was when... was when my mom’s heart stopped, and she died. She died trying to give birth to me. I was never told what caused her heart to stop, but she passed away before she was able to deliver me.

  "My dad said they rushed to give her an emergency C-section to try and save me, but there were a lot of complications. The doctor told my dad that there was very little chance I would survive, and there was a strong possibility I'd be delivered as a stillborn. To everyone's surprise, I was alive when they delivered me. I didn't come out kicking and screaming like Dahlia though. My dad told me he'd never seen a more quiet baby, a baby who looked so sad. He said it was as though I knew my mom didn't make it."

  It's quiet for some time after that. A few more tears escape Novia's blue and green eyes
, but she doesn't brush them away. They drop from her chin and onto her shirt. There's nothing I want more than to comfort her, but it's not my place. She's not mine to comfort.

  "The doctors had no idea how I survived. They told my dad it was a miracle, and that it shouldn't have been possible, but I was a fighter. A year later, I phased for the first time. Only from my bedroom to outside. My dad brushed it off, thinking it was my unique ability. It wasn't until I was five, and I vanished right in front of him, that he knew I was different. That I wasn't normal, or what fae perceive as normal. I had all these abilities with no explanation for how I got them, how I was able to do things that no fae before me had ever been able to do, aside from the one ability I got from my mom. From my fifth birthday onwards, my dad begged me to promise I wouldn't use my abilities in front of another being, not even my sister. And I didn't. I practiced them alone, in my room or in my greenhouse. No one knew I was different, and if I slipped, my dad was there to correct my mistake. He had the ability to alter memories, so I was never in danger before.

  "The only problem is... now I am. I'm pretty sure Davis and the Top Psycho didn't have a clue about any of my extra abilities. They just knew I was different. Something about my blood being an anomaly. That's probably why they experimented on me more and why I didn't die with my family and people. But now Davis knows I can phase. I tried to think of any other option to get out of there without giving anything away, but phasing was the only thing I could think of. I've spent five years hiding who I am from those assholes, and then I slip and give away one of my secrets that will no doubt have him and the Boss chasing after me more than they probably were."

  What do you say after that mic drop? I'm lost for words, and the others look just as shell-shocked.

  Novia doesn't speak after that, leaving us all to think over what she's told us. She's not wrong when she said her different abilities is what kept her alive. Sure, the assholes that took her didn't know she had abilities that were more than fae, but they knew she was different. She's the only survivor, and we already know they're looking for her. They need her for something, that's for sure. Only question is, for what?

  That brings the question of how they found Novia in the first place. "Novia, how did Davis find you?"

  She looks up at me with sad, glassy eyes and says, "Don't know. He didn't tell me. He said it didn't matter how, only that they did."

  That has a spike of worry rushing through me. If they were able to find her after leaving the house for a couple of hours, what's to say they won't track her here?

  I face Spencer and ask, "Are the runes still working around the house?"

  He nods quickly. "Yeah. I enforced them as soon as we got home, but they were fine before then too. I'll just have to keep checking on them, make sure they're still working."

  Novia's head snaps up and asks, "How far out are the runes? What's the parameter?"

  "Uh, about a mile from the house in all directions. Why?" Spencer answers.

  Realisation dawns on me just before Novia answers. "That's how they found me. The runes are blocking whatever is helping them find me. We were well out of the barrier of the runes, which meant I was easy to find. We just need to figure how what they're using to search for me."

  Nix nods. "It could be a tracker. Like an ordinary human tracker. Or, they could have more Naturals in that facility and used one of them to track you. Whatever it is, we'll work it out."

  "We'll work it out," she repeats, looking distracted while she plays with the ring on her finger.

  We sit in the sun a little while longer, making sure Novia receives all the energy she can get. When her stomach growls, and we remember she hasn't had food since passing out in pain, we hastily return to the house.

  Just before I walk through the door after the guys, Novia stops me with a gentle hand on my arm. She had started lagging behind us but stayed close enough that I could hear her walking at the back of me. I turn to face her, and I'm surprised when she steps close enough to timidly wrap her arms around my waist and squeeze. Shock has me turning to stone, but when she begins to pull away, my arms dart up to wrap around her in a tight hug. I didn't realise until now how much I needed the contact, to know she really was okay and alive. How I've come to feel this way in such a short time is something I'd love to know.

  All too soon, Novia pulls away. She crosses her arms over her chest, and a light blush taints her cheeks.

  "What was that for?" I ask her. Not that I'm complaining, but I am pretty damn curious.

  She clears her throat and says, "Thank you. For cleaning me up and dressing me and just taking care of me while I was out for so long. I appreciate it."

  I blink and blink again. How did she know- Fucking Zayn.

  "You're very welcome, Novia. You didn't need to thank me for it, though."

  She shrugs as though it's no big deal, but the way she clung to me just now tells me it meant a great deal to her. "Sure I did. Taking care of me when I can't do it myself is definitely something to thank someone for. So, thank you."

  I nod, awestruck that she's thanking me for something any of the others would have done if I'd allowed them. Her head rises, and she gives me a cute smile that I really wish didn't do anything to me as she takes a step closer. When she's just short of a foot away from me, she leans up and drops the sweetest kiss onto my cheek. She's gone in the next blink, walking through the door like she didn't just figuratively drop me on my arse from that small contact alone.

  Shaking my head and doing my best to remind myself that I should be keeping my distance, I walk into the house to find Nix and Spencer arguing about who gets the remote for the TV. Zayn and Novia are leaning against the island counter whispering about who knows what, so I head straight for the kitchen to cook something for Novia. How ridiculous that we managed to forget the woman hasn't had a meal since the morning she was shot. Fucking idiots, each one of us.

  "Did you want anything specific to eat, love?" I ask Novia without turning. I'm also rolling my fucking eyes at the term of endearment that keeps slipping out. Since the first time I said it, it's like the word stuck, and it's all I can think to call her. Bloody typical that would happen, like I'm not suffering enough.

  I almost miss Novia's answer with the way I'm giving the stove a death glare, but I catch it in time. "Could we, uh, maybe have that spaghetti meatballs you made before?"

  My smile is brief, but I can't deny the feeling of happiness it gives me to know that she enjoys my cooking. Turning my head enough to see her, I say, "Of course. Why don't you go to your room and relax. I'll bring your food when it's done."

  Once again, I'm gifted a blinding smile that has my chest tightening, and she says, "Okay. Thank you, Ezra."

  I nod and busy myself with fetching the ingredients I need while simultaneously pretending like hearing my name fall from her lips does nothing for me. I hear Novia and Zayn leave the room, their conversation picking back up effortlessly. When it's just me in the kitchen, I place my hands on either side of the stove and hang my head, blowing out a long breath.

  "You alright, bro?" Nix asks from directly behind me.

  My body tenses before relaxing again, and I turn my head enough to talk to him without showing my entire face. "Yep. Just fine."

  "Looks like it," he quips, sarcasm dripping off each word.

  "I'm fine, Phoenix."

  "Sure, you are. Because every man who's fine melts a marble counter with his incubus power," he says with a smirk I can hear.

  Wait, what did he-

  I look down, and sure enough I've melted two hand prints into the marble counter. "Shit! Bloody hell. Spencer, can you fix this, please?"

  Spencer joins Nix and I in the kitchen and whistles low when he sees the damage I unwittingly made to the countertop. His hand sparks gold, and, with a wave of his palm, my handprints have disappeared, and the counter is back as it was. "Wanna share why you're melting shit?"

  He says it like it was intentional. "No. I'd like to cook th
e fae her dinner and then go about my day, so if you'll both leave me to it, I'd be humbly grateful."

  "You're full of shit, man," Nix proclaims. I know exactly what's to come now, so I drop my head back and glare at the stupid ceiling. "You're hung up on her just as much as we are, but it's like you don't want to be. Or, it's not so much you don't want to be, you're just keeping her at arms length, and I don't have a single fucking clue why you're doing it."

  I don't answer. What do I say to that? I don't want to have to explain my reasoning. I already feel enough of an idiot. I think I'll bypass my inner musings on the topic of wanting Novia.

  "What's he talking about, Ez?" Spencer asks, genuine confusion evident in his voice.

  Nix doesn't wait for me to answer. Oh no, the animal takes matters into his own hands and answers for me. "I mean, Ezra likes Novia, but he's pushing her away. First, he was cold towards her, but slowly started warming up. Then he quit cold turkey and started ignoring her, pretending she wasn't even in the same damn room as him. And now he's talking to her again, but I can still practically see the wall he's built that's separating him from her. I want to know why because it's clearly making you miserable."

  It is making me miserable. It's screwing with my head more than anything has ever done before. But how can I tell them that nothing will ever happen between Novia and I when I can't even bond to her like the others can? I've never met a demon in my existence who has ever bonded. It's said that demons can’t bond at all. Being an incubus means that I won't bond to anyone. I won't find my mate or link or create a blood bond. Even though I feel the tugging of the mating bond she created, I have nothing to offer her in return.

  In short, I'm replaceable.

  But I'll be damned if I tell them that. I don't need their pity or sympathy. We haven't known the fae long enough for me to warrant these thoughts, anyway. I'd rather keep them to myself, so I'm not at risk of being made a fool of.