Page 60 of Unraveled
“You tookher to the city. What were you thinking, Finley?”
“For the last time, it wasn’t his fault.” Nera’s voice barely registers over the beating of my heart. I snuggle closer to the coolness enveloping me, and the burning inside me eases.
Everything hurts, and through the webs of my cloudy mind, I remember. The light of my power wrapped around me back in Eponde, taking every ounce of my energy.
But . . . I’m not dead, at least.
“When was the last time anyone but you could stop Nera when she set her mind to something?” I hear Finley’s voice in the distance, like he’s rooms away. Maybe I’m dreaming this. “Not all of us can simply put a high fae—who’s turning to stone—to sleep, nor do I want to.”
I open my eyes when thunder cracks. Rain pads against the windows, and a dull headache beats any cohesive thoughts out of me. The scent of pine, leather, and frankincense assaults my senses. Somehow, the smells and shapes around me calm the adrenaline coursing through my body as I take in my surroundings.
Naheli is by my side. I know not because I can see her with my blurry vision, but her familiar warmth and the ease of herbreathing soothes me. As my vision clears, the shapes of tree roots weave together, forming a dome shape over me. This is not my room.
My head spins when I sit up and take in Ash’s chambers and the purple covers draped over my legs. Nera, Finley, and Ash are talking in hushed tones by the door. All I can see are their fuzzy shapes as they all turn in my direction at the same time.
“You’re awake,” Ash says, unfolding his arms from across his chest and striding toward me. He’s wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, which lets me take in the light sprinkle of feathers that remain on his forearms.
“Why am I here?” I croak and shift closer to the edge of the mattress. It doesn’t matter how much my body screams to remain here and rest, I need to be out of his bed. When my feet hit the ground, everything around me spins, forcing me to remain seated or I might lose the little food I’ve had.
Naheli’s head presses against my shoulder, and she growls. A warning to remain seated. I’m not sure how I know this. I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it.
“It seems I need to lock you in my room if I’m to keep you safe, Monster. I can’t even trust my family when I’m out.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment, anger—and desire. “I’m not staying here.”
“Really?” He lifts a brow and steps closer, reaching for a glass of water on the nightstand, before handing it to me. “I have all night long to see how you will leave. This should be interesting.”
There is a challenge in his eyes that pins me down, and my throat feels so dry I’m reaching for the water before I can talk myself out of it.
I have long accepted that I’m an impulsive person. Why stop now? “I would like to know how you plan to stop me when you’re slumbering?”
Ash’s brows shoot up, and I hear Nera snickering in the background. Ash glares in her direction, and the buttons of his tailored shirt strain when he crosses his arms back over his chest. “Your loyalty is at a low point right now, Nerala.”
Ash turns back to me, ignoring his sister. “I figured that’s how you’re escaping your room, but the question is, how did you learn about the slumber?” His eyes narrow as he watches me.
Morgana’s face flashes in my mind. I haven’t seen her—nor the dresses she promised—since that first morning. She’s been leaving my food in front of my door, though I guess I don’t technically owe her anything.
I bring the glass of water to my lips to prevent myself from dragging her into this mess, and the cool drink eases the burning in my throat.
I jut my chin up and don’t elaborate further. We stare at each other in silence. His pupils enlarge right as his eyes dip to my lips. Thankfully, he is far from me. Not sure why it feels like that detail will save me from a true disaster, like throwing myself at him.
My heart soars, and heat pools in my stomach. The same ridiculous reaction I had before, when he took my book away, right before he told me he didn’t want me.
His words sting as much now as they did when he said them.
“Do you know what almost happened to you today?” He leans on the bed, and the mattress dips as he puts pressure on the edge. “When you followed my little sister into our fallen city, did you think you might die?”
“What? No.” Though I’m thinking of myself as the worst of weeds, that not even monsters and beasts can kill me.
“You’re being an asshole,” Nera hisses. “Sure, it was irresponsible to go to Eponde, and bring Mia, but I needed to see what happened there, and I thought perhaps she could get some ideas about how to help us.”
“It looks to me like she almost killed herself with a power she has little control over.”
I open my lips to protest, but the pressure in my stomach is a reminder that he’s right.
Nera’s usual graceful movements look so much slower as she steps closer to the bed, like her stone limbs weigh her down. And for once, I hear the marble scraping together. “I need to live before I’m gone. You can’t stop what’s happening to me. I’ve accepted it.”
“I’m not giving up on you.” Ash’s raw pain taints his inflection. My throat closes as he moves toward Nera, lifting a hand and gently cupping her face. “We can’t go to Hedrum. It doesn’t matter what other suicide mission you’re ready to drag Finley or Mia into”—Ash isn’t looking at her. His eyes are fixed on me, and I find myself unable to look away—“I’m going to protect you until my last breath.”
