Page 25 of King of the Unsightly

I embraced the sorrow and bitterness and went through every possible scenario leading me here—but the outcome never changed. My mind circled to the necklace and the last memory I had of my mother before she disappeared.

Her big doe eyes had held so much concern that day as she desperately searched for something and went through the house like a tornado until she found it.

I recalled her snatching my hand and shoving the necklace in my pocket and rushing us out of the kitchen.

I rode shotgun in her cobalt blue Cadillac, looking up at her—hypnotized as she drove us down the freeway. The windows were down, and her long, black, wavy hair whipped behind her as the hot air caressed our faces. Her tanned skin and dark eyesilluminated as the sun fell. The car wobbled each time it glided over a crack and bump in the road as she chanted along to the radio blaring through the speakers. Her signature cigarette in hand was perched slightly out the window.

Her attention never left the road as we both hummed along to our favorite song until we reached a worn-out cabin in the middle of nowhere. She may have acted free, but I still saw the irreversible damage someone had left on her, and the spark of anxiety revealed through her quivering hands as she opened the car door.

My only memory of her was a cloud of confusion. I didn’t remember walking into a cabin. I didn’t remember a goodbye. A hug.Nothing.

I only recalled waking up in the Kelleys’ house, unaware my mother left me.

I had no idea what made the necklace she gave me so special, or why it chose now of all times to put me in constant danger—or why it even came back to me.

I wrestled with the memory over and over again, as if something new would come to mind, but the more I dug, the more it left me empty and confused.

I craved answers, but first, I had to deal with my connection with the necklace. I rolled to my back and stared at the black ceiling.

“You look like shit.”

I launched up and nabbed the candelabra still at my side and waved it around.

Ryas strolled out of the darkest corner of the room with a menacing smile on her face.

I couldn’t believe my heart still worked from all the jump scares these psychos put me through.

I never wanted to witness her crawl out of the darkness like the girl fromThe Grudgeever again. “What do you want? I’m sure I still have some time before sunrise,” I said, my tone loaded with irritation.

Ryas tossed a bunch of clothes on the bed and crossed her arms. “Get ready. It won’t stay in one place for long.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Stay in one place?”

Ryas shook her head and chuckled. “You really are so naïve, even with a familiar.”

All I could think of was witches with brooms and black cats, and them making potions in a huge cauldron or some shit like that. Was my mother really part of a coven?

Gren popped into my mind. Wait, was he frantically looking for me after what happened?

I scrambled to my feet and stood in front of her. “Could you possibly get a crow for me? He would be waiting at my place. Possibly by my window. Probably brooding.” I rambled on, ignoring her detached expression.

Why couldn’t I leave Gren? I didn’t owe him anything. But with what happened to his brothers, maybe we could offer each other moral support since we were both alone.

Ryan grinned and I scooted back; her frightening eyes contained nothing but chaos. “Yeah, I grabbed him.” She reached her hand through the thick darkness and tossed him to my side. “Now hurry and get ready.”

She disappeared and left me shell-shocked. I eyed Gren who shook his wings out like he was drenched in something slimy, his feathers all sticking together.

“Hi.” I couldn’t think of anything else.

Gren lifted his beak, angling his one good eye at me. “You are a walking, talking danger magnet. I can’t leave your side for a second.”

“Hey, I didn’t have a choice,” I lied.

Gren sighed. “They’re coming for you, Adeline. Did your mother teach you nothing about magic? I couldn’t fix the barrier without my brothers. I’m-I’m sorry.”

Gren had said similar words before.What barrier?

I settled Gren’s feathers down with a pat hoping to calm his nerves. “Everyone keeps saying the same cryptic words to me. Who’s coming for me? What barrier? I need answers.”

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