Page 26 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

Finley stops right at the door, his hand already extended to the handle. Then he slowly turns to me, his expression unreadable. “What if you’re out here and they’re both dead inside?”

I stare at him and realize there’s no reason for him to believe I wouldn’t hurt Ash now. It’s something that still shocks me—my strange feelings for the fae king.

I toss a couple potatoes into the basket and point at Naheli sitting by my side. “Would she be here if I killed Ash?”

Finley’s eyes cut to the wolf, and his posture visibly relaxes. “No, I guess she wouldn’t.”

“Exactly. They’re both fine. The whole situation with Ash being poisoned led me to understand what’s happening here.”

I want my freedom, but not at the expense of the fae.

“Why, if you can leave, did you come back?” I ask. “You’re clearly a magical human, but why live here, surrounded by the curse and the beasts? Don’t they attack you?”

“The lunargyres are most dangerous during the blood moon. It’s why I was in such a rush to get you into your room the night you arrived. I’m able to defend myself from them out here in the courtyard, since most are slowed down by their stone bodies.”

“Nera isn’t slow . . .”

Finley takes a sharp breath. I almost forgot he didn’t see my meeting with the princess. “Nera is one of the royals, and her power makes it so the curse doesn’t hold her back the same...”

“That still doesn’t answer my question. Why are you here, helping Ash?”

He’s quiet for long enough I don’t know if he’s going to answer me, but then his rough voice breaks the silence. “I’m a victim of the Wild Hunt, like you.”

“What?” It comes out on a stuttered breath. I open my mouth to continue, but can’t say anything else.

“I come from a small town of mostly humans and had never seen the fae before. I’d heard of them, of course, but usually they didn’t go east of Hedrum.

” He shrugs. “I was naive, a fool who didn’t understand the rules of the blood moon.

When word came to town that the Hunt was possibly riding through, I thought it would be great to linger in the market and see if I could improve my magical skills. ”

“How would being outside during the Hunt improve your skills?” I study his face and find he doesn’t seem angry about my questions, nor resentful when thinking back to that time.

“The fae ride alongside ancient spirits.” Finley gestures widely at Naheli, who seems more interested in a lunargyre who’s been encroaching on our space. This one is made of stone and stained with mold and moss. A male fae, with impressive wings frozen wide open.

Perhaps I should be worried, but somehow I feel, maybe foolishly, that Naheli wouldn’t let me get hurt.

“And you searched for the Hunt because you wanted to see a spirit?” I guess I can’t blame him. A part of me is drawn to the idea as well.

Naheli huffs, as if reading my thoughts and finding them idiotic.

“No, I wanted power, Mia.” Finley smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sometimes the spirits lose fragments of their magic, and if a sorcerer were to catch it—well, I can only imagine the kind of power they could gain.”

My eyes widen as I stare at him, not knowing what I expected to hear. I guess him admitting he got caught by the Hunt because he was ambitious wasn’t it. I don’t know what to say to that, so instead I ask something else. “Was it Ash, or Nera?”

Finley laughs. “Nera hasn’t taken part in the Hunt yet. She’s young for a fae.”

“And how old are you?”

“You don’t hold back, do you?” The tightness in his jaw tells me he’s ready to move on from this conversation.

I stare at Finley’s irises and the striations of gold that radiate from his pupils. Muted yellow tones, similar to Ash’s. Before, I thought they were amber, but they’re actually light brown, with gold streaks. “Your eyes...”

“It’s one of the marks that ties me to the king. When a human stares into a fae’s eyes, ours change color to match theirs. It’s a branding of sorts, and it dates back centuries. It signals the bond, and it used to be a great source of pride.”

“Who could be proud of that?”

“Me?” He sounds defensive, and pink tints his cheeks.

“It comes with perks. Being tied to a high fae gives us humans an unusually long life, which was particularly enticing in a time when we died young from sickness and war. For a sorcerer like myself, it’s meant decades to study magic, and perfect it.

It also heightened some of my senses, making me more powerful.

A young Finley thought it was the best thing that could have happened to me. ”

“And current Finley?”

“Well, the curse is not ideal, like you mentioned...”

I press my fingers to my eyes, horrified. There aren’t any mirrors around the castle, and I haven’t seen my reflection anywhere but in my bathwater every night.

“If you’re wondering about your eyes, they’re dark brown. Unlike mine, I’m guessing they remained the same.”

“Really?” Why do I feel disappointed? Something is wrong with me.

“Yes. So, if you’re going to help Ash break the curse, then I’ll do my best to help you with what I can.”

I nod and reach for my borrowed grimoire. “Will this lead me to an answer?”

Finley eyes the book warily. “I have gone through every book and diary in the library, searching for anything that could release him, and that book wasn’t there, Mia.”

My cheeks warm, but I don’t turn to look at Naheli. No matter what, I won’t be the one to get her in trouble. Even though I doubt an ancient spirit could get reprimanded in any way that matters.

Just then, the lunargyre who has been slowly inching closer leaps toward Finley with a ghostly snarl. Goose bumps rise over my skin, and it takes a second for Naheli’s mist to envelop him inside a cocoon of stars and darkness. Then she flings him across the courtyard without moving a muscle.

Both Finley and I stare at the space where the statue landed, unmoving and at a loss for words.

He moves first, picking up the now-full basket beside me and loading it into his cart. “There’s a better chance of finding something in your city’s grimoires than here.” He pauses, following my gaze to where the door of the kitchen swings open.

“Finley, I thought the mountain people ate you.” Ash beams from the open door, walking toward us with his arms wide in greeting.

My heart rate doubles as I take him in. He’s wearing different clothes from earlier when we trained. A dark blue coat with gold embellishments and a tall cravat a similar color to the feathers that still hug his thick neck.

I hold my breath and bring the book to my chest. The movements call his eyes, and his steps slow. His expression darkens as he takes me in. Out here, in the open.

“Monster, what are you doing here?”

My traitorous stomach flutters at his throaty tone. “Studying.”

Ash glances at the wolf who remains by my side, her tongue lolling, and she greets him with a whine.

He brings two fingers to his temple and massages gently. “Naheli, I hope you’re behaving.”

“I don’t think she is,” Finley pipes in, reaching into the depths of his wagon and dragging out a heavy-looking crate of wine bottles. “I brought you the wine you requested. But I had to go through the Crossroads to avoid a confrontation...”

Confrontation with whom?

“I was afraid that was the case, but I’m forever thankful.” Ash’s lips quirk, but his face falls when he notices what I’m holding.

One second, he’s far away, and the next, he’s looming in front of me, his scent harassing my nostrils, and I can’t get away.

“What’s that you have?”

If I hold the book hard enough, could I stop him from ripping it away from me?

My fingers go numb as I try to do just that, and I shift my body away from him.

Naheli stands, blinks in both of our directions, looking at least two feet taller than she did before Ash arrived.

Then she poofs away without so much as a glance back.

That mischievous wolf is up to something.

“This book? I found it in the library,” I lie through my teeth with the ease of someone who has been doing it for far too long. Something I had to practice often when stealing chances to study the forbidden grimoires.

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did. I was in the library all morning before Naheli brought me here.”

Ash glares at me and takes another step forward. His breath warms my face, and I hate the way my body reacts to his closeness.

“I know well where that book was this morning, and it wasn’t the library. Has anyone ever told you you’re an insufferable pest that causes trouble wherever she goes?”

His cruelty lights something in my chest. A challenge I want to take, to prove him wrong. I’m flustered by his nearness, and a wave of pure desire courses from the top of my head down to my chest.

“You’re the biggest ass I know, Ash.” I tighten my lips and grip the book harder. I’m so close to finding something new. My curiosity demands answers.

He studies my face, pausing on my mouth, and his expression sharpens with the ferocity of a predator.

A breath catches in my chest, and my blood sings. “Don’t look at me like that...” I whisper, hating the way my voice cracks on that last word.

His eyes crinkle with cold amusement. “And how am I looking at you?”

“Like you want me.”

Finley gasps. I can’t believe I actually said it.

My heart drums so fast I feel it in my throat. Ash looms over me with his massive, beautiful body. We stare at each other, and only the sound of the wind whistling past surrounds us.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he says at last, and pulls the book from my hands. “This is off-limits.”

The haze in my head is still too thick to make sense of what just happened. I watch him storm away from me, past Finley, who’s staring intently at something inside his wagon, and across the open courtyard.

“Why?” I demand, rushing after him. I have never felt this need to read through a grimoire before. Not even the one I left in my locker in the city.

Not ever.

I fight the need to reach for the book again as wisps of its golden magic reach back for me. It whispers, and I can’t discern its feelings from this far. “It can help me break your curse?—?”

“You won’t look for this book again, Mia.” Ash stops abruptly, and I barrel into his iron back. He whirls, meeting my gaze with a challenge in his own. “I know the contents intimately, because I wrote them, and there isn’t a thing inside that will help you break the curse.”