Maia thought death was the end, until the alluring Nix brothers summon her back to life. Now, she must embrace her newfound existence as she is thrust into a dark prophecy that could unravel their cursed fate.
With each step, Maia is inexplicably dr...
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"The dead must stay dead!" echoed in my mind, like a chant over and over again.
My body ached all over, and as I was being pulled out of the muddy water, the only thing I could feel were a pair of arms holding me tightly.
"I told you she won't make it," a child's whisper made its way to my ears, "you ought to give me that vermillion claw now."
The ickiness of the water that had been submerging all around me was still lingering.
Cold splashed against my face violently, and duckweed rubbed against me, clinging onto my hair and skin.
As the waves formed on the surface pushed me around, I tried to pull myself upward, but I couldn't feel my arms and feet.
"I will give you thirty-five Valkyries, if you agree to let me hollow out her eyes, and fifty for her hair," a mumbled voice echoed in my ears.
"We are not bargaining on dead bodies, merchant."
At any given moment, I could have been crushed under the pressure of the waves.
As I moved viciously through the water I felt an unbearable pain in the back of my head, and from all sides I was being pushed down to the depths of oblivion.
"I'm telling you; she can't be dead!" another voice whispered in the distance.
"But look at her, she's all cold and we can all see she hasn't been moving since he brought her here."
My lungs begged for air, and I gasped for my last breath, letting the freezing water fill my lungs, my throat burning as blood pounded in my ears.
"She is not breathing! Why isn't she breathing?" a deep hazy voice questioned.
Paralyzing sensations persisted to dominate against my will, clouding my judgement, and I could feel the water dripping from the tips of my fingers. Warm rough hands brushed against my forehead.
"Please don't look at me like that," entreated the same voice as indistinguishable mumbles buzzed around. "I know I'm not supposed to do this."
The foul water stung my eyes. With my last breath, everything around me seemed to have calmed down, and above me, I saw the shine of moonlight rippling on the surface of the lake, mocking me and my fate, as if it already knew what was about to happen.
People say that just before you die, your entire life flashes before your eyes. But ironically, I didn't see anything.
"I'm telling you, Rex," I ultimately was able to distinguish a woman's voice, rather raspy, as if belonging to a chain-smoker, "even if it's not in my power to help her, if Mother chose her, she will make it." She paused, and exhaled sharply. "But you are just making things worse."
Blinding light burned against my eyes, which made me struggle to keep them open, leaving the fuzziness in charge.
My hair, still wet and tangled, clung onto my face, making me feel icky all over. The smell of wet soil, mouldy and rotten, clogged my senses and poisoned my insides. Filthy blood flavours stained my tongue, metallic sensations scrambling down my throat. Shivers were running through my back, and my insides churned like milk with lemon, ready to bubble up.
