Page 116 of Unraveled
Something dark lurks in her eyes, and when she lifts her head, the glamour falls back into place. Morla is back to being Skylar. “Time to go. I have a very important guest to attend to.”
I glare at his back as he strolls into the depths of the tunnels. When I can barely distinguish his body from the shadows, he pauses.
“Did you know Ash’s father used to starve the hybrid rebels down in the dungeons? No one came around to feed them—except for me. I hope for your sake your curse takes you quickly. I hate the idea of starving. Don’t you?”
Chapter 39
My concentration isthe only thing stopping me from fading away. The sedative is strong, and time is blurry.
I blink my heavy lids and think of Morla’s words. Could it be true? Is Ash’s love actually killing me?
A dry laugh escapes my lips, because I know the answer to that question. My black hand, and how far the curse has advanced in the last day, show me I have little time left to help Ash and Nera. Which means I need to get out of here.
I grip one of my shackles and try to make my other hand as small as possible as I attempt to pull it off. The iron scrapes my skin, and the spell that clings to the rough texture of it zaps me.
But I don’t stop, even as I feel my energy—whatever little remains of it—dwindle further. These chains were poison to Ash. That has to be the reason he appeared so ill, and why Naheli was flickering even as she led me here.
To a normal hybrid like me, it stings, but it’s not life-threatening. What really hurts me is the spell woven into the metal. That the magic smells like Harper. Scared and unsure.
The sedative and the curse together quickly consume every ounce of energy I have left. I can’t free myself this way. And ifI fall asleep, who’s to say if I’d ever wake up? The curse has extended up my neck, and I feel it creeping to my chin.
Dread sinks in, and I know I have to unlock my father’s spell in order to access my full power. It’s the only way I can get out of here in time.
I follow Ash’s teachings. My magic feels familiar and warm, in contrast to the curse’s dark and slimy texture. I push the darkness aside and chase the threads of what belongs to me, locked away by my father years ago. This time, it doesn’t take me long to find the blocking spell woven tightly over the center of my being.
Familiar but foreign.
I close my eyes and imagine what it would look like if I could see it, and I reach beneath the enchantment’s layers. My repressed memories seep through as soon as I tear through the membrane. They flood my mind, and his words flow as I unbind myself from him.
“This is for your own good,” my father said. “They don’t know who you are and it must remain that way.”
I can’t remember how I answered him. I pull another thread of his spell, and more of my magic streams through me. The curse gloats, consuming everything it can get its hands on, but I don’t let it distract me from my task.
“We didn’t want to do this, Mia. We wouldn’t have come here had we known the prophecy existed. You won’t remember it...”
They wouldn’t have come to Penumbra, a city full of hybrids and stolen grimoires.
“ . . . it will keep you safe.”
I pull away a few more strands of his spell, and a sob escapes me. I won’t ever feel my father’s warmth again. He’s been a part of me even after he was killed. The pressure in my stomach increases along with the heavy throbbing inside myhead. The spell snaps, unleashing the rest of my memories of that afternoon with the force of a dam bursting open.
“I won’t remember what?” I challenged my father, barely speaking past the knot in my throat. But somehow, I knew he was going to take this memory away. Just like he intended to take my magic. “All the librarians have little magic. We have this order to protect the?—”
“That’s a lie, Mia. Your peers can wield power without amulets, and certainly without grimoires sharing whatever little power they may have from the king,” my father scoffed. “Your power isn’t like theirs, and when they find out what you are, they will kill you.”
“Who will kill me?” I hated how afraid I sounded. My father’s words sank deeper, and I looked at him, shocked and uncertain. “What am I?”
“You’re the one who will destroy the curse keeping the fae away from this place.” He swallowed deeply. His magic tightened around me, and my power dulled. Everything in my body, except for my head, was paralyzed on this chair. He continued, “And the strixes will kill you. They’ve infiltrated the librarians, and the scientist quarters. It’s dangerous for you to be so close to them. We didn’t know you’d be drafted into this role or we would’ve left.”
I sobbed loudly, hoping Irene would come in and stop him from doing this to me. “If I’m unable to access my magic, I won’t be able to do anything in the library, including defend myself.”
“You’ll have your mother’s amulet. It’ll allow you to access your power to protect yourself in an emergency, but more importantly, it’ll make them believe you’re a sorcerer, not a hybrid.”
“How do you know what they’ll do to me?”
“Because I’m a member of the strix, and if you weren’t my daughter, I would be forced to kill you.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him, seeing him for the first time. Ice crawled over my skin, and my power dulled further. The man in front of me wasn’t the warm and caring person I thought he was. Not even a scientist working to protect the people of Penumbra from the Hunt.
