Page 82 of Unraveled
Then there are masquerade balls with fae and humans together, dancing, drinking. “This is peculiar...” My voice sounds hollow even to myself.
Ash remains silent, but I can feel his power drenching every corner of the room. Then, to my shock, I notice a plant growing where his magic kisses the walls. Roses, like the ones in the castle.
Except these aren’t black, they’re bright red, like my dress. I turn around, my eyes wide as I meet his. He told me back in the castle the roses were tied to the curse, but I never thought I would see that connection so clearly.
Ash turns to the new greenery with a frown. “They grow wherever my magic takes a deep hold. I believe it shows her where I’ve been.”
Her.
I piece together the fragments of truth I’ve gathered.
The one who cursed him was a woman. Someone close enough to Ash to steal his grimoires right out from under his nose. Someone he trusted, who was connected to him from the Wild Hunt. Another hybrid who apparently likes roses—or hates them.
I keep moving and continue inspecting every knickknack shoved into a dusty corner. Every stolen item that once belonged to the fae.
What Ash said makes sense. The roses could be a way for the spellcaster to discern where he’s been, to track his movements, but what if it’s more than that? What if they can somehow communicate with her?
The edge of an emblem etched in metal catches my eye. It hangs high above the ground over a narrow display case of dull old weapons.
It isn’t magical, but the hair on my arms lifts as I recognize the symbol. I know it well. A shield between two olive branches, and in the center, a pile of books. Except with one difference, this one has an owl with human eyes on top of the books, and a glowing star floating over its head.
With Knowledge, Powersays the scrolls beneath the shield. The words of the librarians.
I must have stopped breathing, for my vision blurs as I stare at it unblinkingly. Ash’s hand rests on my shoulder, and his warmth seeps into my freezing skin.
“Are you alright?” He follows the line of my vision to the wall and the emblem hanging from it. His eyes widen. “That’s the strix symbol. Come, Monster, we have to go.”
“What’s a strix?”
He crooks a finger at me, beckoning me forward as he heads for the door with long strides. I struggle to keep pace with him. “Strix is the name my father gave the hybrids after the prophecy was revealed. It’s a bird, a bad omen—and it kills infants. After my kingdom fell to the curse, some hybrids banded together and formed the House of Strix, which has been hunting fae across the realm for the last decade.”
“So the fae hunted the hybrids, gave them a name that would scare anyone, and now the same is happening the other way around?”
“It’s tragic how that works, isn’t it?” Ash looks away from me, but not before I see the shame hiding in his expression.
The ache in the back of my throat thickens, making it hard to speak. “So, whoever owns this house is a strix—or has ties to them?”
He nods as we pause by the door before he cracks it open, just a fraction. The music flows in, soothing, and he closes it again. “There’s a group searching the rooms down the hall. They may have found Yvette.”
The song outside ends, and a new one begins. I can hear the steps in the hallway coming closer.
The pressure of my power hums near my skin, hot, but not uncomfortably so. It’s ready to react. To defend Ash if it needs to... I’d rather not think of why my brain went there. Or what it could mean that I feel such a way.
Ash’s glamour is fading rapidly. His ears aren’t even rounded any longer.
His eyes are sharp, tense as they shift from mine to the door. “If they come in here, they’re as good as dead, and if this is a House of Strix, our exit might get messy.”
“You said they won’t hurt us if there’s a crowd. This place is full of people.” When I press my hands to his chest, I can feel how fast his heart is beating. “Perhaps we can leave through the window?”
“My wings are tied to the glamour.” He hesitates, glancing to the other side of the room. “Which is fading faster than I thought, so perhaps luck is on our side tonight after all and I can fly us out. But I need time.”
How can we stall? I run through possibilities, and heat pools deep in my belly when I think of a way. Physical shows of affection make people uncomfortable. I remember how Nera acted when Ash and I remained close after we arrived at Hedrum, which matches how I felt when I stumbled upon that couple earlier.
Fire pools ion my stomach as I remember their moans and the movements of their naked bodies, and I glance at my king. A cold wave snakes through me as those words echo in my mind. He isn’t mine—but perhaps I want him to be mysomething. If we make it through the night.
The steps are right outside, and I don’t have time to explain. Or to come up with a better solution. But this could help us escape without anyone getting hurt.
“If they’re coming here, I think I know how to distract them, at least a little.” The words stumble over my building nerves as I move in front of him, reaching for his face with both hands.
