Page 87 of Unraveled
The grimoires pile in through the front door. One after the other, carried by golden magic. Ash waves a hand, and they all line up on the coffee table, across the floor, and even on the couch. I shut the door after every single book has floated in.
“Should I be worried about lunargyres in here?”
“No.” Ash picks a smaller grimoire from the pile, pages through it, and his lips tighten. The grimoire grunts in displeasure when Ash puts it back.
“Is the book disappointing?” I ask, but keep the book’s weird emotions to myself.
“It’s not that...” He loosens his cravat before undoing the top buttons of his shirt as he strolls aimlessly around the place. “A fae I knew well wrote it. I haven’t seen him in a decade.”
Silence settles between us to match the severity of his turbulent emotions. But I don’t dare to break it, instead I try to keep myself busy by studying the large painting over the fireplace.
“To answer your previous question: The lunargyres that may have been here moved downstream a long time ago. I imagine they’re living closer to your old home, Penumbra. The rest of the fae who used to live here are out in the back, frozen in stone. There have been no living creatures in this house for at least four years. Except for Finley and Amaia, the old hound that belonged to the family. A nightwalker ate her, though.”
I stare at him, horrified. “Are you serious?”
Ash steps toward the fireplace, drops a few logs into the hearth, and chuckles darkly. “Monster, you make it too easy to tease you.”
Nightwalkers, creatures of fable that live and feed on nightmares. I can see them thriving here if they exist. After meeting Naheli, I’ll believe anything is possible.
“That’s not funny, Ash. If nightwalkers exist, they must be attracted to dark magic, which you keep mentioning is all around you.”
Plus, if I’m frank with myself, I canfeelthe ugly marks of wickedness weaving around us. Tight in the crevices of the wooden floors and deep in the shadows of this room.
“You’ve been acting strange ever since we arrived here.” I reach for the pin in my hair, and trace the smooth beads that surround the stone, a soothing motion that used to calm me when it was my mother’s old amulet under my fingertips. But not now. Even as I stand here, wanting to be in control of my magic, I can admit to myself things have changed. I’ve changed.
Ash’s jaw ticks, and his expression turns thoughtful. “I used to come here when I was a child, to see my best friend. Before life got complicated.”
He leans against the mantel and a curtain of wavy black hair falls over his forehead, droplets of rain grazing his skin. “Seeing this place in this state is difficult. But we’ll be fine for a day or two, and in the meantime, we can work on your magic as you requested.”
Ash steps into the dark hallway, stopping briefly to glance back at me. “I’m going to find something for us to eat. Can you make a fire?”
There’s a challenge in his eyes, but it isn’t unkind. He knows I can cast a fire spell. The trick will be to use magic when I’m so clearly dependent on my broken amulet. I was able to use magic in the forest by focusing on my fear. Now, I can focus on other feelings.
His footsteps disappear in the distance, and wind hisses through broken glass as I kneel by the hearth. I raise my hands to the fresh wood he just dropped in there. Layers upon layers of ash and old charcoal coat the interior of the cave-like fireplace. I allow my sadness for those who called this place home to come to the forefront of my mind.
The knot in my throat thickens as I focus on that emotion and what I felt back in Eponde, when Finley, Nera, and I walked through its streets and saw all those fae frozen in time. My fingers prickle, and I weave the words of the fire spell in my mind. A few sparks burst out of my fingertips, falling into the kindling and producing a decent amount of smoke.
I’ve never struggled this much to cast a fire spell, but even though the flames take several minutes to catch, this is the proudest I’ve felt in a long time. When Ash comes back with a small linen sack in one hand and a pitcher of water in the other, weak licks of flames peek through the wood. Warmth blooms in my chest as I watch the fire grow slowly, pushing back the unnatural cold in the room.
He doesn’t coddle me, nor does he comment on the fact that I did it. Instead, he lays a spread of dried fruit and aged cheese in front of us, settling himself by my side, and we eat while staring into the fire.
Ash’s rumbly voice breaks the silence. “Let’s see what else you can do with your magic before we turn in for the night.”
I tuck my legs under myself, turning to face him from where I sit on the floor. A thousand questions churn in my mind, but I choose not to get hung up on the idea of where I might sleep in this place. “How are you going to help me?”
He stands from the floor and arches his back into a deep stretch before extending his hand to me. “We can start with you giving me the trinket you use as a crutch.”
I narrow my gaze at him. “Are you going to give it back? Last time you took my amulet, it ended up sticking to Nera.”
“Come on, Monster, surely you’re aware things have changed? Back then, I couldn’t have you setting me on fire whenever you pleased.” He watches me intently as I get to my feet and brush the dust off my wrinkled gown.
Of all the clothes I could have been wearing to go trekking through the forest, a tight corset and silky dress are far from ideal. I take off my amulet and hand it to him. “I guess you’ve got a point, though I could reconsider and set you on fire now.”
“Perhaps I wouldn’t be opposed to burning up for you,” he whispers, closing his hand around my amulet and pocketing it.
I meet his gaze and can’t decide if the burn traveling through me is magic, or memories of our kiss last night. “So what now? I’m not feeling threatened or afraid.” At least not for my life. My heart is another subject altogether. “I’d rather not focus on how sad this place makes me, or I may spiral down somewhere I don’t want to go.”
Ash circles me, like a predator does prey. “You need to work around the enchantment that’s holding you captive and not rely on your emotions.”
