Page 74 of Unraveled
She opens the doors, and the room is beautiful. Sparsely decorated compared to the rest of the manor. Maids are already there, opening the curtains and leaving a tray of delicious-looking food on a tea table in front of the large windows that overlook the garden.
After I get some rest, I dream I’ll get to curl up in bed with a book and maybe actually read in peace. But even as the thought crosses my mind, my power stirs in my stomach.
Gods, I doubt I’ll ever sleep again, especially since Naheli isn’t here. How I miss my friend.
I make my way to the table and the delicious array of biscuits, a small bowl of soup, and a steaming teapot. Marlena follows behind me with a severe expression. “Finley suggested that you stay on the king’s floor, alongside his sister. I hope you don’t mind that I placed you so far from him, but this is the only empty room in this wing that fulfills that request.”
I’m already making myself comfortable. I hadn’t realized how hungry I am, though we’ve eaten little since this morning when we left the last inn.
“This is perfect, thank you.”
“Is there anything I can get the maids to bring you before I leave?” she asks from the door.
“Actually, I would love it if I could get a mirror. I haven’t seen my hair in a long time, and it will be nice to get to for a change.”
Marlena’s lips tilt into a smile. Then she nods. “Of course, the maid will bring you one at once. Anything else?”
I’d love to see that tapestry with the familiar emblem. “No, that’ll be all. Thank you so much for having me.”
Chapter 25
I stare at my reflection,unblinking, as if at any moment someone will come in and take this mirror away. This is the first time I’ve seen myself, unfiltered, since leaving Penumbra a month ago.
With mechanical movements, I pat tinted powder over my skin and apply a thin layer of rouge to my cheeks as I focus on the stranger staring right back at me.
Once I was Mia Clementine. A woman who borrowed magic from grimoires and guarded knowledge from ancient races with enchantments and wards. Now I’m Mia, the hybrid, who needs to wear an amulet or my repressed magic could kill me—or worse, hurt someone else. Lied to by those I love. Protected by my enemy.
Except I can’t think of Ash as my enemy anymore. Not when he’s telling me truths no one else has shared, protecting me, and training me. He’s a victim of the hybrids, just like I am.
I stand from the stool by the dressing table and put the ornate silver hand mirror in my trunk, under layers of dresses and fabric. I’m sure Marlena won’t miss it. And by the time she notices, I’ll be long gone.
I can barely breathe for the tightness of my corset—or the intensity of my feelings. I spent far too long making sure my breasts won’t spill over the low neckline, but I love this dress. And the fact that Nera insisted I have it.
She claimed she can’t wear such a garment, but I think she simply wanted me to have something nice. I’m not sure when Irene last gave me a gift.
Skimming my fingers over the red fabric, I smile at the delicate, embroidered patterns stitched into the bodice in shades of dark green and white. I can’t remember ever wearing something this elegant—nor this daring.
A knock, and Nera peeks through the doorway, her hair twisted into a crown of intricate braids high on her head. I don’t know why I do it, but I step in front of my trunk, hoping she won’t see the mirror, even covered by my clothes, and take it away.
There’s something suspicious about the lack of reflective surfaces around the castle, and in the inns we stayed at on our trip. Like they disappeared before we ever made it to our rooms.
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
“I knew that color would suit you, Mia,” Nera says with a genuine smile as she pushes the door fully open and reveals herself, and the beautiful gown she wears, to me. White with silver lace, it makes her look like the moon.
“Thank you again for giving it to me.”
Talking about the clothes reminds me of Morgana, who never came back with my dresses. Did she lose herself to the curse before she got around to making them?
Nera nods enthusiastically and we leave my room to head downstairs, where Finley and Ash await us. It’s past twilight now, and our plans for the night were sorted earlier when we went out to get my amulet only to find most establishments were closed in preparation for tonight’s lunar celebrations.
So with the silver moon shining upon us, I make my way into a new city, surrounded by the fae I grew up fearing, to go to a magical market. The celebrations sound exciting, though I’ve read little about them even with all my years of studying old customs. All I know is they last a month, and apparently, we caught the tail end of it.
“I don’t know what to expect out there,” I admit, while trying to ignore my heated blood as my power, brought out by my nerves, hovers way too close to the surface.
“Lots of dances in the bigger establishments or manors, delicious food from other parts of the kingdom, and of course, drunken fools attempting to get your attention.” Nera threads her gloved arm through the crook of my elbow, and we make our way down a long corridor to the receiving room. “It’ll be nice to see the full moon in my regular form. Well, without my wings and ears, but still. I feel almost normal.”
We spill into the round room at the front of the manor where Ash and Finley wait for us. Everything goes quiet.
