Page 42 of Unraveled
“What do you mean?” I wring my hands, still feeling the stickiness of his blood between my fingers, and step away from the bed to follow behind him as he moves toward the massivewindows. I’d never have expected this place to be so lived-in and human—so normal.
“If you break it”—he pauses, and his brows knit in the middle as he reaches for the gauzy curtains fluttering in the frigid breeze—“you will release more than one hundred of my people, and so you’ll be free.”
“You have a deal.” A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I extend a hand to him.
Ash turns to me and looks at it like snakes are curling around my fingers.
“If I’m connecting all the pieces of this massive puzzle correctly, then you’re running out of time. It’s why Nera turned feral, isn’t it? It’s why you ended up in Penumbra even though you’ve been cursed for a while. You’re desperate. What do you have to lose?”
“You don’t know...” Ash’s face loses whatever little color he regained. The door to his room swings open, revealing Nera’s marble body.
Ash clasps my hand with his, and a cyclone of gold magic envelops me, wrapping over both of our forearms and extending up our shoulders to seal our bargain with a brand over each of our hearts. I’m afraid I will never cease to smell like him, even if I succeed.
“Be thankful, Monster, that I didn’t feed you to Naheli for all the mess you’ve brought into my life.” He pulls his hand away.
The wolf lifts her head from the floor. A deep rumbling breath leaves her, and then her purple tongue rolls out of her mouth. She blinks her four eyes and lies back down, wagging her two tails rather heavily over the tile floor.
“I’m terrified,” I say flatly, and turn to pat the wolf’s enormous head. Her hair is coarse and cool under my fingers.
“What did I miss?” Nera asks, stepping forward, a pink potion in her long claws.
I press my hand to my chest and feel the warmth of our deal buzzing under my skin. I no longer have to run away to be free.
Chapter 16
Knock,Knock.
A rhythmic tapping pierces through the deep layers of my dreamless mind. Distant, yet close. I stir reluctantly, chasing the remnants of sleep and the warmth that seeps from my covers, beckoning me back into slumber.
Someone speaks from the other side of the door. I don’t care who’s here, all I want is to sleep just a little longer.
“Go away!” I mumble into the down feathers of my pillow. The cool silk of the cover is soft against my cheeks.
The knocking continues, and I blink my eyes open. My vision clears to the soft light that spills through the window. I sit on my bed, rubbing the sleep from my face, when my eyes meet a dark shape of galaxies resting at my feet.
Naheli lifts her head, blinking her four yellow eyes before a massive grin splits her face and she pants her good morning.
“What—?” Sleep roughens my voice, and I don’t know why the spirit is here, nor can I ask when whoever is outside my room has little patience. I grunt loudly and scoot off my bed. Could this be Morgana? I hope whoever it is hears my displeasure, so next time they’ll leave the food on the floor and leave me be.
My tiredness evaporates when I yank the door open, because I don’t see a maid, nor my new gowns. Instead, outside my chambers, the king himself leans against the doorframe. He straightens to his full height, casting a shadow over me as his gold eyes travel from the tips of my bare toes to the top of my bedhead. His perusal is slow, like a caress that trails over my poorly covered body through my sleep gown.
The mortifying thought breaks through, and my face goes up in flames as I take a step back and attempt to cover myself behind the door.
“I thought you were Morgana,” I say, and cross my arms over my chest to hide whatever remains visible of my breasts through the sheer layers of my chemise.
“Who?” Ash blinks a dazed expression off his face, then he turns away abruptly, hiding his blushing cheeks as he focuses somewhere outside my room. He clears his throat. “Get dressed, Monster, we have somewhere to be.”
“What— Where? I would much prefer going back to sleep now. I was up all night and all day yesterday.”
“We’re training, so get into something you can move around in that’s not...what you’re wearing now.”
I step away from the door, gripping the handle and moving to close it. Ash’s hand shoots up and blocks it before I’m successful at shutting him outside.
He’s looking past my shoulder at the wolf still resting on the bed. “Naheli, you traitorous mutt.”
The spirit’s ears shift around, but she doesn’t even lift her head from the mattress. Just snorts loudly.
I grin, glancing back at Ash, unable to hide my triumph. “Are you jealous, Ash, king of beasts?”
