Page 12 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

My chest caves in, and everything closes in around me. I shut my eyes and breathe around the feeling. Ash got me—again—and perhaps it was foolish to try to escape, but how else am I supposed to survive this? How can I warn my sister, the only person I have left, if I’m trapped here?

I hate feeling powerless. Finley told me the lunargyres would feast on me, but if I don’t go back, they’ll feast on Penumbra’s citizens the minute Ash tears down the veil.

“Go away.” My voice trembles as I speak, and I glare at him over my shoulder.

His wingbeats send my hair flying over my face.

The scent of pine and frankincense mixes with the rose musk, and I grip the bush harder, pushing down my fear.

And my body’s reaction to him, which I refuse to acknowledge any more than I already have.

His body heat sears my skin through the thin layer of my slip as he flies closer. A welcome reprieve from the icy wind.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” His voice is deep as his arms cage me into the rosebush. His breath against my neck raises gooseflesh across my skin.

My blood sings at his nearness, and I slam those feelings back behind a wall inside my mind. It’s a flimsy wall that I must strengthen if I’m to survive this.

“I’ve done nothing but try to escape your crumbling castle,” I snap, and even as the words leave my lips, I know that’s not entirely true. My mind feeds me images of Finley’s panicked expression when he noticed the roses were turning red.

I did something else, though not intentionally.

“How did you get out of your room, Monster?” Ash’s grip tightens around my waist, and a pleasant heat radiates from every point he touches.

I turn toward Naheli; she sits on the balcony, in the same corner as before, and is looking at me like she’s expecting me to follow his orders. The traitor... This is what I get for trusting anything that’s tied to the beast behind me.

“Did she let you out?” Ash whispers, and I turn just as he glances at the wolf. His lips tighten. “Please tell me you have nothing to do with this, Naheli...”

The spirit whines and tilts her head in that cute way that got me to trust her, and Ash mutters something in another language. He doesn’t sound happy. The wolf slowly vanishes into the shadows. Her eyes are the last thing to disappear, and they stare at me until they, too, are gone.

He wraps his arm tighter around me, and I hold on to the plant like my life depends on it, drinking in the soft pull of its magic. It feels like the roses are holding on to me as much as I’m holding them.

“Let go, Mia.”

My traitorous heart stumbles over the velvet notes of his voice, and how my name sounds on his lips. Gods, what’s happening to me? “What will you do if I don’t?”

He places his other hand on the wall, next to my face, and all the blooms on that side wither to brown mush. Whatever warmth was inside my body dies as fear takes over.

This is better, right? Fearing the beast is a normal reaction. I gulp, fighting to swallow the thickness in my throat. “If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me already.”

His lips thin, but his touch on my body remains gentle. “Perhaps I’ll change my mind.” His expression hardens. “You have a lot to lose, Monster. Let go of the plant.”

“You don’t scare me,” I lie. I know baiting him is foolish, but he ignites the rebellious side of me I hate the most.

“I’m not playing this little game.” Something rattles in his chest, deepening his voice. “I’ll put you to sleep like I did in the forest.”

I really don’t want that. I don’t want him to touch me, let alone lock me in that room. At least if I stay awake, I can ask him questions. Perhaps this time he’ll tell me what he intends to do with me. Now that I know who he is, maybe I can bargain for more.

While I know little about the fae, I know they like to strike deals. Surely, I can get out of here for a price?

I let go, Ash twists me in his arms so he’s cradling me like I’m his bride, and we fly away over the misty castle grounds.

The first lunargyre I spot is roaming through the courtyard like a ghost. Partially hidden by the fog and blending into the drab surroundings, it’s almost invisible to my human eyes.

More clicking noises reach us in the open air. I can’t tell if there are a couple of beasts roaming the space, or a dozen. If Naheli hadn’t tattled on me, I would’ve died today. But why help me escape my room in the first place?

I hold on tightly to Ash’s shoulders when he swoops under an archway that leads into a long hall held up by a sequence of rounded columns. Roses climb everywhere. Some blooms are still black, and others have shifted. The haunted beauty of this place takes my breath away.

“I don’t have to tell you what would’ve happened if you had been successful, do I?” Ash says, turning his sharp gaze on me. “Do you enjoy constantly putting your life in danger?”

“Constantly?” I stare at him in disbelief. “You don’t know me.”

In the daylight, his beautiful fae features are so clear. His glowing eyes strip me down, and the bond we formed tugs on my stomach. I’m so fucked, and I know near nothing about how to unravel my ties with him.

“I don’t need to know you to understand your character.”

I open my lips to retort, but he continues speaking over me.

“You attacked me with a spell you could barely control. Then, you lit me on fire to escape while we were in the air . And today, you were almost a tasty treat for a lunargyre because you attempted to escape into a kingdom you know nothing about.”

My cheeks heat. “I didn’t see the beasts roaming the courtyard from the room’s window.” And honestly, I’m desperate.

“You’re a menace to yourself—and to everyone here.

” His frown eases right before his plush lips tilt into a crooked smile.

A beautiful disaster framed by a mixture of raven hair and feathers.

“Perhaps that’s what I should call you. Menace.

Though I have to admit, I’ve grown fond of Monster. I think it suits you.”

“You don’t seem like someone who thinks too hard.” I glare at him, ignoring the fluttering of my stomach at his widening grin. “Where is my amulet? I know you took it from me.”

“And how would you know that?”

I don’t. But what else could’ve happened to it? I press my lips tight and wield the only weapon he hasn’t taken from me. Knowledge. “A fae king would recognize a magical artifact. It isn’t a stretch to conclude that you took it.”

It happens fast. His eyes widen with horror, and for the briefest moment, his arms loosen around me.

A heartbeat and gravity pull me down. He catches me before I have time to scream, and I cling to his shoulders with all the strength left in my arms. If I’m pulling feathers from the back of his neck, he doesn’t complain.

We glide through the air to the end of the hall where it spills into a round chamber surrounded by archways and the castle’s overgrown gardens.

His throat bobs as he swallows. “How did you figure it out?”

“Like it’s hard?” My voice echoes off the domed ceiling as Ash lowers us to the ground.

The minute my feet hit the stone floor, my legs nearly buckle under my weight.

“Return my necklace to me, I’ll leave, and you won’t have to worry about me messing with anything else in this castle. .. like what happened with the roses.”

Studying me like he’s seeing me for the first time, he uncoils his arms from around me. “If it were that easy, Monster, I would’ve done it already. But you knowing who I am changes nothing.”

My body might miss his heat, but I’m glad for the space as I need it to regain a semblance of clarity. “Why not?”

“Because I’m bored, and you’re a mystery I want to unravel.” Anger rolls off him in waves. He eats up the small distance between us, and I have to steel my nerves to not cower. “Because you were foolish enough to unleash something in my castle this morning.”

Curiosity swirls within me, and my mind urges me to step away from him. His canines are sharper—longer—than a human’s, yet somehow, something tells me Ash won’t hurt me.

Maybe he’s right and I am reckless.

His breath hits my face. Fresh, like citrus and mint. I’m paralyzed by something grander, something I can’t figure out. “You silly little human, stared right into my eyes and now you’re mine.”

“I’m not yours!” I hiss, pushing against his chest with all my strength. My fingers slide over his slick feathers, but he’s an immovable object under my palms.

“Are you sure? Would you be willing to bet your life on it?” he asks, casting a shadow over me as his eyes settle on my lips. “Do you feel a pull toward me? Does your blood heat when you’re near me?”

My heart sputters and I pull away, baring my teeth. Mist rolls through the open arches to either side of us. Thick enough, I can’t even see the roses I know wrap around every column.

I open my lips to tell him I feel nothing of the sort, but my stomach rumbles instead. My cheeks warm as I shut my mouth and move away a few more steps, hating the way his lips curl in response.

One of his brows tilts up. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” My stomach is so hollow, and it complains again at my response. So loud, I hear the silence that comes after.

I drape my arm over my torso, shielding myself from the cruelty I know is coming. I have heard so much about the fae. The malicious ways they play with and torture their humans. Perhaps any food he offers will make me go crazy.

A ghastly sound comes from my right, and then everything is a blur. A pale beast, the same shades of gray and white as our surroundings, leaps out of the mist. A long-clawed hand swipes toward me.

Muscular arms wrap around my stomach, and my gravity shifts as Ash pulls me into a cyclone of feathers and golden magic.

His wings beat, and we glide across the hall toward a green door etched with gold.

The lunargyre chases after us, growling as its nails click over the tile.

A bald face with wrinkled skin, its white eyes rolling.

Hundreds of razor-sharp teeth jut out from bleeding gums.

Not even with the power of Ash’s wings can we get away fast enough. The putrid scent of its breath blooms over my face, warm against my cheeks.

A scream echoes off the tall ceiling. It’s me—I’ve been screaming the entire time, and my throat gives out as it tears.

Ash pulls me behind his body so fast I stumble when my feet hit the ground.

He lifts a hand toward the approaching monster, and translucent golden ribbons made of magic burst from his clawed fingers.

Ash throws the lunargyre against a column.

The sound of bones breaking and its screeches are all I hear.

“This is why you can’t be out here.” Ash’s voice is deep. He tilts his face toward me, and something in his expression has gone dark. “Don’t escape your chambers again, not unless you want to become their meal.”