Page 113 of Unraveled
Gasps resound around me as torchlight drags over the dry patches of my dead skin.
“It seems some of the dark magic the fae uses is running through her as well. Mia is likely turning into a rabid monster herself, and since we don’t know how it’ll affect a human, she can’t be left out to attack us.”
Even Harper takes a step back, like being near me would allow the curse to spread to her, like a disease.
The corner of Skylar’s lip ticks. Somehow he knows we’re lying. I don’t know why he cares this much. Last time he saw me, I was ready to hurt Ash for him.
“Take her out to one of the back cells. No one upstairs can know she’s alive—especially Irene. Once we deal with the king and the princess, we can figure out how to cure her.”
Skylar looks at me with a knowing smile. The bastard thinks he’s won, and I’m not so sure I know how to get out of this mess.
Naheli?I beg inside my head as I’m dragged back toward the circular room I came from. But the spirit doesn’t reappear.
“Is she going to be alright?” Harper asks.
“Of course. We’re not the monsters here.” Skylar pulls his gun out of his holster, holding it down casually as his brown gaze travels from Ash to me. “Now, librarian, make sure the beast can’t open the cage again.”
It was a threat, even if it wasn’t worded that way. Harper pales and moves toward Ash with long steps. She mutters something under her breath to him, but his face is fixed on me. The spell Harper uses is not one I’ve ever heard of, however it slides across the room and tells me its meaning.
Bind. Repress. Silence.
It’s the same magic I felt when I first arrived, and blue swirls move across the cage and around Ash like a cocoon of silky strands.
“Wait,” I beg Harper, or anyone who will listen. I gather all my energy as I surge forward, escaping from the cage-like arms keeping me trapped.
The movement catches the man behind me by surprise, and I collapse to my knees on the hard floor. “Please, he isn’t a monster,” I say, ignoring the pain flaring from the point of impact as I talk to the scientists, Harper, and Skylar.
They look at me with everything from pity to fear—to hatred. My eyes meet Ash’s, and he implores me to remain quiet.
“No,” Ash whispers, frozen in place.
Harper continues chanting, undeterred by my words.
“Please, you can’t kill all the fae. This is wrong...”
But Harper doesn’t stop, and the spell thickens around him. Subduing him further.
“Please, Harper, I love him.”
I clamp my lips shut, even as the words ring true.I love him. The fae king who drives me mad, and makes me smile at the same time. Who challenges me, and teaches me about my power, about life. He took me from Penumbra and showed me the truth.
Ash reels back, and his eyes widen.
Everyone falls still as magic churns from me to him. Threads of red that wrap around his body and pour from his open mouth when he calls my name. Light bursts from his eyes and fingers, heating the cave to sweltering.
My ears drum as I crawl forward, taking the chance in the chaos to get closer to him as his body transforms until it’s made entirely of gold. The smell of magic mixed with roses drives away the previous stench in the room, and every feather covering his face and neck retreats.
When the light fades away, all that’s left behind is his true self. A beautiful fae king hunching inside his cage.
Admitting my love for him broke the enchantment.
His curse is gone.
Chapter 38
Ash shrinks a couple of inches,and when the light dims, he’s back to his fae form, breathing heavily and holding his body with shaking arms. He stares at me with something so pure and wonderful my heart skips a beat. Then his expression turns to devastation.
Because, in breaking his curse, I outed myself and my alliance with the fae. Losing any of the support I previously had. Loving him—admitting it out loud—could mean my death.
