Alexei POV

Novel had been acting strange lately. She wouldn't leave her room, she refused to go to school, and though I tried talking to her, she wouldn't open up. Every time she tried to step out of the room, her nose would begin to bleed. I couldn't understand it; I couldn't think of a single reason why the very air outside her door seemed to hurt her.

Today, I’d finally had enough of the quiet tension. I stepped into her room, facing her.

“Talk,” I said. She looked nervous, her skin pale and waxy.

“I can hear them,” she said, her lips trembling.

“Hear what, Novel?”

“Their thoughts. I...