Prophecy

Chapter 58: Famine

*Xavia's POV*

I was stirred from sleep by a sudden movement beside me, the warmth of Grace's body abruptly vanishing as she sat up. The bed creaked softly beneath her, and instinctively, I reached out to touch her, to reassure her—or maybe to reassure myself. The room was still pretty dark, the early morning hours casting long shadows across our shared space.

But something was wrong.

I could feel it in the air, in the way Grace's breath came in short, sharp bursts. I sat up beside her, my heart quickening in response to her distress. My fingers grazed her back, finding her skin cool and tense.

"Grace?" I whispered, my voice thick with sleep and concern.

She didn't answer immediately, her gaze distant, as if she were seeing something far beyond the confines of our bedroom—a vision.

A few minutes passed in silence, which felt like an eternity as I waited for her to return to me.

Finally, she exhaled a shuddering breath and spoke, her voice heavy with the weight of her vision, "I think I know where the third Horseman will rise... It's going to be today; I know it."

Her words sent a chill through me, one that had nothing to do with the coolness of the room.

The third Horseman.

We had barely recovered from the last battle that occurred less than twenty-four hours prior to this vision. Already, another threat loomed on the horizon. I nodded, swallowing my anxiety as I forced myself to focus.

"Okay, let's look up whatever you saw—any landmarks. We'll use Aubrey's laptop again. And maybe we should also look into getting one of our own. It might come in handy." I said.

Grace nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips despite the gravity of the situation, "I think that's a great idea. Yeah, let's do that now."

We moved quickly after that, our movements synchronized by necessity and familiarity. I dressed in silence, my thoughts a whirlwind of worry and determination. Grace had already started gathering her weapons, her expression a mask of concentration as she mentally prepared for the battle to come. It struck me how much we had changed in such a short time. Only a day had passed since we defeated the last Horseman, and now we were on the brink of another confrontation. It felt like a bad omen... like the Prophecy was speeding toward its inevitable conclusion.

The end was coming, and we were hurtling toward it with no time to catch our breath.

Once we were ready, we went to Aubrey's place, where Grace immediately set to work on the laptop, searching for the location she had seen in her vision. My heart swelled with pride and love as I watched her navigate the information with such exactness. Despite the looming threat, something was awe-inspiring about how she handled herself and took charge of the situation.

She was everything I aspired to be...

Strong, confident, and unwavering in her resolve.

"It should be in a 50-mile radius from this area," Grace said after a while, her finger tracing a circle on the map. "I say we get there, and we wait. Better to be there when he rises than to be there late and have people harmed in the process."

I nodded, already mentally preparing for what lay ahead as I agreed, "You're right. If you're ready, we can go now."

We didn't waste any more time.

We headed to the roof and took off, the wind whipping through our hair as we flew toward the area Grace had pinpointed. The landscape blurred beneath us as we covered the distance in what felt like mere moments. As we neared our destination, the sky began to change, darkening with an unnatural hue.