~Hazel's POV~
The dream still clung to me like wet fog... "
"She smirked, it is you who has to pay…"
I jolted awake, heart slamming against my chest. A soft gasp escaped my lips as I sat up, breath hitching. For a split second, I didn't even know where I was. The air was thick. My head buzzed. And then I saw her.
Aurora.
She was standing right beside me, her eyes wide and rimmed with tears, fear etched into every crease of her face.
"Oh my God," she exhaled shakily, pressing a hand to her chest as she leaned in. "Hazel, I was checking your temperature, your pulse—you weren't breathing. You didn't even look alive." Her voice cracked. "I thought you were" She shook her head. "No. No, no. What happened? Did you feel anything? Did you see anything?"
"I'm fine," I whispered, though my voice was anything but steady. "It's just…"
My gaze drifted downward, and there it was.
Crumpled softly in my left hand.
The paper.
