Page 64 of Unraveled
I’ve been away from Penumbra and Irene for almost a month. I wonder if she thinks I’m dead, like our father.
I lean against the wall and slide my body slowly down it until I’m sitting on the cold ground. Rosebushes climb the columns oneither side of the balcony that hold the roof up. The blooms have shifted from black to red.
From this position, I can better see the dark circles under Ash’s eyes. I drink in his black pants and the loose shirt that hangs open over his clavicles, doing very little to hide his muscular chest.
I remember very little of the night after I lost control of my power in Eponde. Only our conversation back in his room, where I learned I may be under an enchantment. But the hours after that—they have been murky at best.
And even though I slept in his bed, I haven’t seen him much.
“How long did I sleep for?”
“A day.” He glances at the beautiful night in front of us. “I’m glad you’re finally awake. I was getting concerned...”
“Who would have thought that the king of beasts would be worried about little ol’ me? A hybrid who tried to kill him. And here I thought you hated me.”
“It’s a disaster,” he says, leaning his head back to reveal the thick column of his throat. Naheli snorts, and her surrounding galaxy deepens, giving away her temper. Ash scratches behind her pointy ears. “It seems I’m destined to die surrounded by difficult females.”
I chuckle and force myself to look at something that isn’t him. “I’ve never slept for so long before...”
“It’s likely your body was fighting whatever spell is keeping your magic locked and that drained you completely.”
“So, you actually believe what Finley suspects?”
“He looks young, but he is over sixty human years old. He has seen many spells in his life, and is a great sorcerer. It makes sense.” Ash lets out a long breath and turns to me. “I don’t know where you came from, Monster, but your family went to great lengths to hide your nature.”
“Sure,” I bite out, and familiar anger bubbles in my gut. “They did such a great job of hiding me, I didn’t even know what I am.”
“Being a hybrid is dangerous in this world. It has been for a while... Your parents might have been hiding you from the fae at first.”
“Except the fae have been gone for a decade.”
“Yes, but there are other dangers besides my kind. For example, there’s a different group of hybrids—a very dangerous one—that uses dark magic and wants to force others to join their cause.”
“And you think the librarians are part of that group?”
“The hybrids who stole my books aren’t innocents, and neither are those feeding my people to the veil.”
Are they working together? It seems oddly coincidental that both are targeting the fae at the same time, but I’m not sure. It’s not like the librarians work with the scientists. We are separate entities.
“I need to get my sister out of that town.”
“Do you think she doesn’t know?”
“I hope she doesn’t,” I admit, and press my lips tight as sorrow fills my heart. “She hasn’t been the same since a lunargyre killed our father. She wants revenge, so perhaps she doesn’t know the full truth.”
I’m not even sure I believe that, but right now, when my entire life is falling apart, I need to hold on to something. Even if it’s a ridiculous idea.
“I can understand that,” Ash says. “If anyone hurt someone I love, I would burn the world down to avenge them.”
I’m grateful he doesn’t point out how unlikely it is that Irene is innocent.
“I haven’t been entirely truthful with you, Monster.” Ash opens his palms, and gold magic swirls around his fingers. Theblue book he took from me days ago appears in his hand. Perfectly fitting there. Like it was made for him. Maybe it was.
I stare at the grimoire with bated breath, trying to school my features so Ash won’t see my eagerness to get ahold of it again. I don’t reach for it, not even when the book sings to me. The little wisps of its power reach closer and closer.
“What are you not telling me, then?”
He seems to consider it and flips quickly through the book, stopping on one particular page. “A long time ago, there was a prophecy that warned my people about the curse, and it’s written here.” Ash frowns before his eyes cut to me. I can barely see the shimmer of gold behind his thick, dark lashes. “I didn’t want you to know about the prophecy, because it speaks of hybrids who would destroy my kingdom.”
