Page 32 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

When I wake up, there’s a small mountain of flaky rolls on the side table, a dish with butter, and a jar of honey. I’m smiling before I can stop myself. I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping. A day?

A week?

I shift out of Ash’s bed, and the silk of his sheets slides away from my crumpled dress. I’m feeling more rested than I have in a long time. A small win in a moment such as this.

I glance around the room to find that I’m alone. The fire is still going in that beautiful fireplace. The balcony’s doors are wide open, letting in the gentle breeze of the evening.

The polished floor is cool under my bare feet, and I absently wonder who removed my boots and socks. I guess feeling embarrassed about any of them doing something so intimate, like caring for me, should be the least of my concerns. But I can’t seem to make my heart listen.

“Hello?”

“We’re outside, Monster.” Ash’s voice travels in, and my stomach flutters in response.

I step out to the balcony, and the air of the night envelops me, carrying the notes of mint and rose petals.

Ash sits on the smooth stone floor, petting Naheli’s head.

Neither of them looks at me as I join them.

It’s beautiful here. Rounded balusters keep us from the drop of at least a hundred feet to the gardens below.

A light layer of moisture covers every surface, but the night spans over us.

Indigo and violet, peppered with shimmering white dots, framed by the forest in the distance.

Ash looks at peace, unlike I’ve ever seen him before. Slightly hunched with his wolf resting her massive head on his lap. She is as breathtaking as the night sky above.

“I know Naheli and I are quite a sight to behold, but are you going to just stare at us or actually sit like a civilized creature?”

I glower at him. “You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

He cocks his head in my direction. So completely at ease in himself and the way he looks—even with the remnants of feathers going down his ankles. I can’t help but feel flustered and annoyed.

“I wasn’t looking at you.” Why am I still talking? “I was merely noticing that it isn’t raining anymore. Ever since I arrived here, it’s been one rainstorm after another.”

Ash’s eyes shimmer with delight at seeing me so awkward. At least he doesn’t comment on it. “The curse’s magic makes a perfect environment for dark creatures, and many of those who live in shadows bring storms.”

I open my lips to ask about these creatures, and remember the shadow I saw in that reflection.

“The farther we get from the blood moon, the more it clears out.”

I’ve been away from Penumbra and Irene for almost a month. I wonder if she thinks I’m dead, like our father.

I lean against the wall and slide my body slowly down it until I’m sitting on the cold ground. Rosebushes climb the columns on either side of the balcony that hold the roof up. The blooms have shifted from black to red.

From this position, I can better see the dark circles under Ash’s eyes. I drink in his black pants and the loose shirt that hangs open over his clavicles, doing very little to hide his muscular chest.

I remember very little of the night after I lost control of my power in Eponde. Only our conversation back in his room, where I learned I may be under an enchantment. But the hours after that—they have been murky at best.

And even though I slept in his bed, I haven’t seen him much.

“How long did I sleep for?”

“A day.” He glances at the beautiful night in front of us. “I’m glad you’re finally awake. I was getting concerned...”

“Who would have thought that the king of beasts would be worried about little ol’ me? A hybrid who tried to kill him. And here I thought you hated me.”

“It’s a disaster,” he says, leaning his head back to reveal the thick column of his throat. Naheli snorts, and her surrounding galaxy deepens, giving away her temper. Ash scratches behind her pointy ears. “It seems I’m destined to die surrounded by difficult females.”

I chuckle and force myself to look at something that isn’t him. “I’ve never slept for so long before...”

“It’s likely your body was fighting whatever spell is keeping your magic locked and that drained you completely.”

“So, you actually believe what Finley suspects?”

“He looks young, but he is over sixty human years old. He has seen many spells in his life, and is a great sorcerer. It makes sense.” Ash lets out a long breath and turns to me. “I don’t know where you came from, Monster, but your family went to great lengths to hide your nature.”

“Sure,” I bite out, and familiar anger bubbles in my gut. “They did such a great job of hiding me, I didn’t even know what I am.”

“Being a hybrid is dangerous in this world. It has been for a while... Your parents might have been hiding you from the fae at first.”

“Except the fae have been gone for a decade.”

“Yes, but there are other dangers besides my kind. For example, there’s a different group of hybrids—a very dangerous one—that uses dark magic and wants to force others to join their cause.”

“And you think the librarians are part of that group?”

“The hybrids who stole my books aren’t innocents, and neither are those feeding my people to the veil.”

Are they working together? It seems oddly coincidental that both are targeting the fae at the same time, but I’m not sure. It’s not like the librarians work with the scientists. We are separate entities.

“I need to get my sister out of that town.”

“Do you think she doesn’t know?”

“I hope she doesn’t,” I admit, and press my lips tight as sorrow fills my heart. “She hasn’t been the same since a lunargyre killed our father. She wants revenge, so perhaps she doesn’t know the full truth.”

I’m not even sure I believe that, but right now, when my entire life is falling apart, I need to hold on to something. Even if it’s a ridiculous idea.

“I can understand that,” Ash says. “If anyone hurt someone I love, I would burn the world down to avenge them.”

I’m grateful he doesn’t point out how unlikely it is that Irene is innocent.

“I haven’t been entirely truthful with you, Monster.” Ash opens his palms, and gold magic swirls around his fingers. The blue book he took from me days ago appears in his hand. Perfectly fitting there. Like it was made for him. Maybe it was.

I stare at the grimoire with bated breath, trying to school my features so Ash won’t see my eagerness to get ahold of it again. I don’t reach for it, not even when the book sings to me. The little wisps of its power reach closer and closer.

“What are you not telling me, then?”

He seems to consider it and flips quickly through the book, stopping on one particular page.

“A long time ago, there was a prophecy that warned my people about the curse, and it’s written here.

” Ash frowns before his eyes cut to me. I can barely see the shimmer of gold behind his thick, dark lashes.

“I didn’t want you to know about the prophecy, because it speaks of hybrids who would destroy my kingdom. ”

“Do you think I’m one of those hybrids?”

He inhales and shakes his head. “Surprisingly, no. At least not anymore.”

I peek at the neat calligraphy marking the parchment as he reads: “ The hybrids will come under a blood moon to the unseelie halls .” He speaks in the fae tongue, and the hairs on my arms stand up.

Ash meets my gaze and continues from memory.

“ Their eyes are a mix of human and fae with a power unlike anything we’ve seen before . ..”

He hands me the grimoire, and I’m reaching for it before I can think twice. It hugs my fingers in greeting, its small voice singing through my veins, bringing warmth even on this chilly evening.

“You seem far too happy about this,” he says dryly.

The smile that sneaks onto my face falls, and I blink through the haze of excitement that clouds my thoughts.

“Sometimes magical items like this one speak to me in a way that’s strange to explain.

They aren’t words, but feelings. This book is happy to be read by me.

Even though I can’t actually read what it says. ”

I study the symbols and words on the page.

Ash shifts closer and reaches for my hand. The moment we touch, electricity jolts through me. His eyes widen, and perhaps he felt the same. Hesitating, he shifts away, but not fully. His scent drives me mad. He’s thinking of letting go—and I don’t want him to.

Our gazes meet, and he moves my hand over the page as he recites in a voice that is honey to my ears.

“ The hybrids will come under a blood moon to the unseelie halls. Their eyes are a mix of human and fae with a power unlike anything we’ve seen before .”

He moves my finger over the paper. Gooseflesh races over my skin as my heart drums faster. I follow each line as he says it, and his voice feels so familiar, so like the one from the grimoire.

“ A blackened rose will bring destruction to those who ride the Hunt. Only when the king who cries tears of gold loses all, will there come a new hope, and the one with the black rose will fall. ”

My eyes round and I stare at him, shocked. “Did you write this? Are you a soothsayer?”

“In the flesh.” He frowns and shifts back to his old spot on the balcony floor.

I immediately miss him near me. “The stars have been speaking to me since I was a young boy. It’s a curse on its own.

Everyone wants to know what happens in the future, but when it’s something tragic, they sharpen their pitchforks. ”

“Is that what they did when you told them about this?”

He lifts a hand and waves it toward the castle grounds that expand beyond the rooftops. “No. My father forced me, his crown prince, to partake in the Hunt. Even though the prophecy clearly said it would bring on our downfall.”

“The prophecy says the blackened rose will bring destruction.” I stare at the rose canes growing over the wall, dread sinking in my stomach at the thought of how much I’ve been touching them. “Are these part of the curse then?”