Page 33 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

“I’ve tried to destroy them multiple times.” He doesn’t even glance at them. “I still don’t know why they sprout everywhere I go, even ten years later...”

I’m not interested in premonitions and prophecies. No matter what that book says, I’ll help him. I care about Nera, Finley, Naheli—and him.

I hand him the book, and he sighs in relief as soon as it’s back in his possession.

“This is where I keep all of my premonitions, and I believe whoever stole the grimoires from our library was trying to find this one. But they didn’t know I keep it with me.”

I blush as the memories of days ago flood my mind. How he reacted when he saw me with it. How angry he’d been that I somehow had it.

“It looks more like a diary than a book that holds visions of your kingdom’s fate.”

He smirks and relaxes back against the wall, crossing his arms over his knees. “That was on purpose. It’s meant to look ordinary, and if unwanted hands get ahold of it, it will poison them. Only the king of the unseelie may glance at its pages.”

“But I opened it, and I’m fine.”

“A fact I’m still trying to figure out...”

I lower my gaze as shame weighs on my chest. “Naheli brought it to me,” I admit. Ash clearly didn’t want this to be read, not only because of what it contains, but because it could’ve killed me.

Something so powerful could be terrible in the hands of the wrong person, and I need to be more aware of what I am doing.

I glance at the wolf with a galaxy in her body. She barely shifted an ear when I said her name, not ashamed of her actions whatsoever.

“I figured as much. No one else in the castle would’ve been able to access the safe.”

“You two formed a powerful bond... Was that after the Hunt? Or during it? How did you convince her to stay?”

“The spirit is a gluttonous being. I just told her she could eat as many deer and geese as she wanted. Even an occasional human. She gladly stayed after that.”

My brows shoot up, and horror swarms through my body.

“Close your mouth, Monster. I’m just playing with you.” His chuckle begins as a slow roll, and deepens into a full belly laugh that breaks the gentle songs of the crickets below, and the hissing of the lunargyres that remain in the courtyard.

I hit the side of his arm with the back of my hand. “It’s not funny.” But there’s hardly any heat in my words. Whatever shock and anger I felt before dissipates like sugar in water. I’m just getting used to his teasing moods, and I really like the way he laughs. I’m so fucked.

I should probably go back inside. It would be the sensible thing to do.

I run my hands over my skirt, smoothing any wrinkles. Afraid if I change positions or make too much noise, he’ll stop smiling.

“She loves to eat deer, and it was the last thing I tried to bargain with that night. I was desperate, because she is extremely powerful. The Hellions, which is the type of spirit she is, are rarely seen roaming the mortal realms. But I think in the end, she wanted to be free. To live in our world. It’s brighter here, and she loves the sunlight. ”

I bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. My cheeks hurt from smiling, and my heart feels strangely large as I imagine Naheli running through the forest as rays of sunlight pierce the thick canopy.

I love that he’s sharing little details of his life with me.

Even though a hybrid cursed him and his kingdom.

Even though I’m part of the race that’s to blame for what happened here.

I wasn’t part of the atrocities my people committed against his, just like he wasn’t responsible for what the old fae did to the hybrids.

We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I’m still a hybrid. And he’s still the king of the unseelie.

I’m woman enough to admit to myself that I like him. For better or for worse, he has become the one constant that I look forward to every day.

“And what do you get once you bond with a spirit?”

“My powers are exponentially amplified, and I can do things most fae can only dream of. Of course, now that I have to keep the kingdom’s enemies from reaching the castle and the few people that remain conscious, we’re both exhausted.”

“What prevents other fae from bonding with a spirit and taking over the throne?”

“Oh, they’ve tried. But my bloodline possesses a magical trait that makes the bond possible.

They call us the soul weavers. Whatever that means.

..” Rough laughter escapes his lips. Unlike the true, beautiful sound of before, this one is raw with pain.

“When I was young, after I made the prophecy, I prayed a long-lost relative would come and usurp my father’s throne so I didn’t have to inherit a cursed land. ”

“Is that why Nera’s prophecy sends her to the seelie kingdom? Because she can bond to a spirit that might save them?”

Ash’s brows lift and he stares at me, jaw open for a moment before he can school his features. “You are intuitive, Monster, I give you that. And I assume that’s the case, though the prophecy didn’t reveal those details to me.”

I mull over everything he’s sharing and enjoy the breeze that hits my skin. It smells like a storm is brewing in the distance. Then my world comes to a halt. I turn sharply to Ash. “You’re Nera’s soothsayer?”

“Of course I am.” He sounds annoyed, though I’m not sure if it’s more with himself or me. “There’s one soothsayer born from five thousand fae. Only two recorded in the last three centuries.”

“I just didn’t imagine you were the one.” I wring my hands as I debate what to do with myself.

Ash’s expression sours as he drags his palm over Naheli’s fur and stars dance around his fingers.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t regret telling my father that Nera’s mate is Sylas of the seelie realm.

That prick is not the man I want for my sister, not even if their union could save their kingdom. ”

“Mates?” I almost laugh, but clear my throat before a sound escapes. I’m too much of a cynic to believe anything of the sort, but then again, I’m speaking to a soothsayer in the flesh.

Perhaps it’s time to open my mind to new possibilities—even if they sound ridiculous.

“Fated mates. There’s a difference.” Ash’s expression is unreadable as he meet my gaze. “Hasn’t one of the stolen books told you about them?”

There’s a bite to his tone, but there’s also hunger hidden in the way he looks at me. I must be imagining things again. My cheeks heat, and I don’t know if it’s from desire or frustration at myself. It takes all my willpower to remain seated. To learn more about the enigma of this world, of him.

The longer I spend with Ash, the more I understand he pushes away anyone that’s still coherent enough to want to stay close to him. I have a feeling he’s drowning in guilt. Perhaps he even feels he deserves this.

“They haven’t.” I lean back against the wall. Some roses beside me are still black, and they hum with small whispers, beckoning me to touch. “What is it... a mate, I mean? That’s not something we have.”

Silence descends upon us for a long time. And I don’t know if he’s going to answer my question, or speak at all. Am I being dismissed, and I’m just too stubborn to accept it?

“A fae takes a mate, much like a human takes a partner. Fated mates are different. The gods write their relationships in the stars. An unbreakable bond that can alter the world.”

“And the stars told you Nera and Sylas are fated to be together?” I ask, though it feels like the air has leeched out of my lungs. I study the same stars he’s been staring at since who knows when, trying to find something there for myself. “How does having premonitions work?”

“Like anything with magic, Monster. I feel it in my gut, how the stars whisper to me, and if I quiet my thoughts, I can understand what they’re saying. Even when I shouldn’t.”

Like me with the fae language, and the books, the roses, and anything else that has spoken to me before.

Just then, Naheli yawns loudly, stretching on her hind legs and blinking her four eyes at Ash—then me—before sprinting back inside.

Ash dusts off his pants, even though she isn’t a real wolf that leaves fur behind, and gets up. “I’m going to sleep. Please make yourself comfortable in my bed. Surely you find it more suitable than your previous arrangement.”

While I won’t deny that a king’s mattress is hard to beat, I am not about to stay here. With him. “About me sleeping here. You weren’t being serious, right?”

“Ah, but I was. You see, Monster, when a human stares into a fae’s eyes during the Hunt, we’re bound to protect you or we fail our side of the bargain. I can’t rest if I’m worrying you’re running the halls while everyone is asleep.”

I press my lips tight and think of one thousand ways to murder Nera and her big mouth. Though I guess it’s possible the lunargyres also whispered to Ash. He is the king of beasts, after all.

“I haven’t run the halls other than yesterday morning, and now that Nera warned me the beasts knew what I was doing, I wasn’t planning on doing it again. I know you don’t believe me, but I actually don’t want to die.”

“You will sleep here, in my bed, and I will take the small chamber next door. It’s meant for—company.” He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck. “I’ll know if any door in my room opens. That includes the balcony.”

“Are you going to sleep in the concubine’s room?” I tease, trying to ignore the warmth spreading in my chest. That’s too close to trouble, and I shouldn’t be flirting or obsessing about why he isn’t making me go there instead.

“Yes, very amusing. Now, please put this charm on”—he digs a hand into his pocket, pulls Finley’s green stone ring from it, and extends it to me—“and don’t take it off until we find you something else.”

I reach for the amulet, but it doesn’t want to come with me. Its threads recoil slightly from my touch, and it complains rather loudly that I stink. With a frown at the cool piece of jewelry in my palm, I meet Ash’s gaze. “It doesn’t like me...”

He laughs. “It’s Finley’s. Of course, it won’t feel right to you, but it will prevent you from killing yourself until we get to Hedrum.”

My skin tingles and... what was I thinking before? “We are truly going to Hedrum, then?”

“It seems like we have no choice but to leave as soon as possible. Finley can’t be without his amulet. We leave in two days. Try to rest, Monster. The trip is long.”

Hedrum, a city of sorcery and magic. One of the few places where humans, sorcerers and fae once lived amongst each other in peace.

But after what Nera said, I don’t know if the fae remained there.

She said all of them are in hiding. Still, I can’t help but smile.

Not because I’ll get to see a magical city for the first time and immerse myself in a new culture.

But because Nera gets her wish for her birthday.

She wants to be free, to live, and I’m happy to be there with her.