Page 49 of Unraveled
“I can’t read it.” I shake my head “Can lizards breathe fire?”
Nera gasps and presses her hand over her lips.
Ash pulls the book back. “When did you learn to speak the languages of the fae?”
I stare at him as panic rushes through my body, because he isn’t speaking the common human tongue. I stand up so fast my chair tumbles to the ground. But I need some distance from them. The way words sound out of his lips is wrong. His inflection goes high and low, while the sounds form elegant, strange phrases. Words I shouldn’t understand, but I do.
My skin tightens, and I want to get out of here and hide somewhere I can think over the seemingly insignificant details of my experiences to figure out what this could mean.
He stands fast and rounds the table toward me. His scent chases away every rational thought I have. “Mia?”
I jump at the sound of my name on his lips. Gods, I hate that I like it. Monster is much safer.
“I-I don’t know when... how...” I try to see through the confusion clouding my thoughts, but everything is muddy. A shiver runs down my spine, and my heart pounds faster. I can’t say anything coherent, so I glance at the tome on the table and the strange letters it contains.
Nera leans forward, her eyes wide as her face shifts with a mixture of horror and hope. Hope for what?
“Well, your understanding of our language explains how you’re able to cast enchantments from the stolen texts. It explains what you truly are, Monster.”
“And what’s that?”
“Not human. Whoever made you believe that lied to you. You have fae blood.”
Chapter 18
“There’snothing useful in this one either,” I groan. Dust billows out from between sheets of thin parchment as I close the grimoire and push it away.
It’s been more than a week of constant reading, and I’ve found all kinds of interesting—yet useless—spells, from ward-weaving to the breaking of enchanted locks.
I sigh, kneading my fingers into the stiff muscles of my neck, and glance at Naheli’s semitransparent head and the twinkling lights dancing within her body as she lies under my feet. She’s been by my side the entire time.
“I’ve never had a dog, nor any sort of pet, for that matter. Not that I’m saying you’re a pet, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave you here when I go home. Do you think Ash will notice you’re gone?” I say, and the wolf snorts loudly, wagging her tails.
My lips tremble as I try to force a smile.
Home. Will I ever go back? Do I even want to return to a city where things aren’t what they seem?
The reality of my nature becomes more apparent the longer I sit at this table.
How can I have fae blood running through my veins?
Needing some air, I head for a window that takes up most of the wall, arching at the top with lattices dividing it into neat diamond shapes. A wet snout presses against my palm. Naheli sits next to me, tilting her head as she studies me with an eerie stillness. Her curiosity pricks my mind, a tingling sensation that feels strangely invasive.
Her body always glows in blues and purples. But right now, when she is trying to communicatesomething, her power waves around her, reaching for me like the grimoires do.
My vision hazes, and I can’t focus on what’s in front of me anymore.
She wonders why I’m here by this window instead of combing through pages upon pages of old fae writings that have nothing to do with the curse.
I almost laugh at the obviously sarcastic tone in those thoughts. So much like Ash, I wonder if she’s actually him and not a spirit at all.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” I admit out loud, and the heaviness in my chest thickens. Watching the rain fall does nothing to relieve the need to be outside, feeling the wind on my face. “I don’t know if I can break this curse, Naheli. There has to be at least a hundred thousand books inside this place. How can I break the curse before the next blood moon takes Nera?”
I think of the princess and the way she was the night we met. Mindless, hungry, and murderous. My heart aches for her and the hope that shone in her face days ago when we sat here last.
“I don’t even know where to start, and Ash’s hints aren’t doing enough. I need more guidance.”
Naheli stares at me and tilts her head down. A small nod while her four eyes pin me in place.
