Page 61 of Unraveled
I have a feeling he wasn’t only talking to his sister, and my blood burns again, but for a very different reason.
“It’ll be my last breath, not yours,” Nera rages and points at the corner of the room.
I gasp as I take in the rose vines that have overtaken the ceiling. I’m fairly certain those weren’t there before.
“Even if I said yes, have you seen how we look? We don’t fit in Hedrum, cursed as we are. If we go, you won’t be able to enjoy your day. We can do something else.Anything.”
“I may be young compared to you, Ash, but I have been listening during this last decade. I know our people are hiding behind glamours inside Aphelion. In small towns or even in our ruined cities. They are hiding in plain sight, and we can do the same. You and Finley can figure out an enchantment that will keep us hidden long enough. I get to decide how I spend my last weeks of sanity, and it’s not inside this castle. You have thechoice whether you’re going to spend them with me or not. I’m done waiting, and I’ll leave without you.”
Ash presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose as Nera bolts for the door. The silence descends on those of us who remain.
He moves forward, picks up a golden plate from the nightstand, and places it on the bed beside me. Naheli lifts her head, sniffing at the food and eyeing it curiously.
“Eat, Monster, you used a lot of energy earlier.”
“So what, now you’re taking care of me?” I don’t mean to sound snippy, but the way my traitorous heart somersaults keeps me on edge.
“It seems I have to?—”
“Why?” I cut him off. Frustration seeping into my words as my hands shake. The water inside the glass I still hold sloshes over my fingers. “Why do you need to keep me alive when you clearly think I am— What was the word you used? Ah, yes, a pest.”
If I hadn’t been staring at him, I may have missed the subtle hitch of his shoulders as he winces. Like he isn’t proud of his outburst from before.
“You called her that?” Nera’s voice turns high-pitched from the door.
“I thought you were leaving after making your point?” he says to his sister, who huffs and exits the room. When he glances back to me, there is a softness to his brows. “I didn’t put my best foot forward yesterday,” he says, rubbing his temple. “I’m not used to having a human—let alone a hybrid—walking the castle and getting into my things.”
It wasn’t quite an apology, and I shouldn’t care. All I have to do is find a way to unravel the curse so I can leave.
“If I’m actually going to help you, you need to be truthful with me.” I hold my half-full glass between my thighs, and the layers of my full skirt do a somewhat-decent job of keeping it straight.Then I reach for the food on my golden plate and take a slow bite of the buttery biscuit. The salty flavor coats my tongue, and I have to bite back a moan.
“I guess it’s as good a time as any to talk about this.” Ash scrapes his raven hair back with a groan and moves across the room, sitting on a massive wingback chair in the corner. “Ask your questions...”
“Did you know what I am?”
“Yes.” He crosses a leg over his knee and leans back, draping both arms over the armrests. He is the perfect image of relaxation. “I suspected you were a hybrid the moment you used fae magic in Penumbra.”
It’s not surprising he knew, and it makes sense why he asked all those questions the night we met. Why he had so much hatred toward me, which I returned. But I didn’t know the entire story then. I feel different now.
He continues, “It quickly became clear you didn’t know what you are or what happened here.”
“What gave it away? I could’ve been acting...”
He lifts a brow, like that’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard.
Naheli shifts forward a bit, her snout inching closer and closer to my plate, her mouth making wet sounds as she salivates over my food. I shift the plate away from the gluttonous wolf. I might lose my old identity, my home, my bed, my sanity—since apparently I find the king of beasts insanely attractive—but I’m not losing my gods-damned biscuits.
The spirit’s four yellow eyes meet mine, and I narrow my gaze at her in a challenge, then I quickly pick up the second biscuit and consume half of it in one bite.
“There are more where that came from, Monster. No need to fight Naheli for it.”
“Shut up.”
The grin that takes over Ash’s face is wonderful. White teeth and fucking dimples.
There goes my stomach again, hollowing and flipping, which feels gloriously terrible when blended with the dull buzz of energy that remains trapped in there. I might be sick all over the floor.
“Either way, how would you have known I wasn’t playing a game? Getting into the castle to make this curse more agonizing?”
