Page 55 of Unraveled
As soon as she passes me, the gentle scent of blackberries and roses lingers behind, but then she pauses by the door, turning to meet my gaze. “I don’t suppose you want to go to Eponde with me?”
“Eponde?”
“It’s the largest fae town in our kingdom. It was the most prosperous too.”
“Are there still fae living there?” I immediately regret my words when her face darkens.
“I’m afraid not. The lunargyres that didn’t turn to stone abandoned their homes when they lost their minds and now live in the forest.”
I shouldn’t go but nod before I can talk myself out of it. “Will Ash stop us from going?”
“He doesn’t have to know, and we’ll be back before he notices we’re gone. I overheard him and Finley talking yesterday about a fissure in our wards. He’s going out to fix it this morning.”
I remember the afternoon Finley said he had to leave to get the crystal from Hedrum. He mentioned that fissure.
“How will we know when he leaves? Are the lunargyres going to tell you?”
Nera narrows her eyes at me, tapping her foot on the floor. “Are you making fun of me?”
“No, I’m actually curious. I don’t know enough about the curse or how your connection to everything works.” I’ve barely accepted that somehow I can speak to the roses, the grimoires,and the necklace that’s now, admittedly, permanently around Nera’s neck.
Nera points with her chin at the wolf resting on my bed and smiles like a cat. “When Naheli leaves, then we know he’s gone. He never goes to the edges of our land without her.”
Naheli poofs out of my room mid-morning. One second, she’s by my side, grooming her dark fur like a cat instead of a dog, and the next, she’s gone.
I follow Nera through the halls, feeling almost naked without Naheli by my side. The excitement of getting to know the fae kingdom has me forgetting about the power that’s been driving me crazy all morning.
That is, until Finley finds us on our way out of the castle. Apparently, Nera is not one to lie, and she tells him about our plans, even though she clearly doesn’t intend to change them.
“Do you think that’s a good idea, Nera? What happens if a beast wakes up and eats Mia for breakfast?”
Nera laughs dryly. “They’ve faded fully into stone, Finley. If only they could start moving again, then I wouldn’t have to worry about what’s happening to me, would I?”
“You know not all the stone lunargyres are completely asleep. Will, Carren, and Hane, they all turned, like you, and are still moving right outside.” Finley points to the courtyard.
And now I know the names of the beasts that roam this place. The ones that don’t look like bald moles but like garden decorations.
“I beg you to not go, much less take Mia with you. What would Ash say?” Finley’s expression has morphed into panic. And perhaps he knows our minds are made up.
His eyes shift from the princess to me, as if he’s looking for a more reasonable person. Has he met me? I wasn’t so sure I wanted to see the devastation this kingdom suffered, but now I feel I should. Perhaps it will make me work harder.
I don’t know what he expects me to do either way; I can’t stop Nera from doing anything, and I’d rather go with her than let her meander through a ghost town on her own.
“This kingdom is not only Ash’s. I’m their princess, and I’ve never been back to Eponde, not since the curse ran its course. I should have mourned with them, fought for them, not hidden here while I was also taken hostage.”
I’m nodding along with her, and my eyes prickle with unshed tears. Nera was raised to rule, much like her brother. I can see it now.
“I beg you to reconsider.”
“And I have decided. I’m going with or without my brother’s permission,” she says. “I don’t know how much longer I have left. The next blood moon is just over two months away. I want to live a little, Finn, don’t you?”
“Is this because of your birthday?” Finley asks. He sounds resigned.
Birthday?
“Of course it’s because of my birthday,” she groans, lifting her arms to the sky. “I’ve told Ash multiple times that I need to leave this castle. It’s been a decade. I haven’t left the grounds, not even before I showed traces of the curse, and I no longer care. I can’t see my friends, my distant family. My people. They are all gone. The only thing I have is this castle and the two of you. But he left early this morning to strengthen the wards, and I can go to the city before he realizes I’ve gone.”
“Wait, is today your birthday?” I don’t know why and when I began to care about these people. I guess it happened slowly over the last few weeks. It would be much simpler if I were just trying to go back home, then worrying about them would be the very least of my problems.
