Page 35 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

“But you... glow,” I whisper, eyeing the movements of neighboring tables, feeling suspicious of everyone.

“Yes, but most people aren’t observant enough to tell.”

By the time Finley comes back, thunder rolls above us.

“Why is it storming at this hour?” a man says, tucking his loose white shirt into his kilt. “Get up, you three. We have to run home or we’ll freeze out there.” The family soon rushes out of the restaurant.

The rain falls with such intensity, I see a small river running down the cobbled roads. Did we bring the storm with the dark magic that surrounds both fae royals? That’s why it’s always raining at the castle.

“I’m going to get a tabletop game for us to play,” Nera announces and takes a large bite of a roll as she gets up. She loosens the ties of her traveling cloak and promptly lays it over the back of her chair. “Birthday week, here we come!”

With Nera gone to do who knows what, and Ash getting us a place to stay for the night, Finley and I remain at the table to wait for our dinner.

I sip on my glass of wine, taking in our surroundings. From the gold-framed pictures hanging on the walls, to the dark ceilings made of rough wood and dried bamboo canes.

“I never asked you. How is it you aren’t—affected, like the rest?”

“I wasn’t with them that evening, when everything happened, and I’ve avoided the ailment so far. But I’m still affected in a way, because of my connection with Ash.”

I absently rotate his silver ring around my thumb. It’s so large it fits loosely even there. The stone snaps at my fingers, not to hurt me, but to let me know it doesn’t like my touch. “Where were you when it happened, and how does the ailment affect you?”

“I was in Hedrum.” He seems to mull over my other question as he glances at our surroundings. We were mostly alone, except for a group of a few tables back. “I can’t divulge what I’ve learned about the situation to anyone who isn’t under it.”

I frown, trying to make sense of it. “If you’re one of his human ‘tributes,’ how is it you can go to Hedrum for so long and he doesn’t chase you?”

“Ash hates the forced connection, to be honest with you, Mia. I’ve been with their family for a long time, and his compulsion to hunt me back if I step away has always been less intense than it is with you, I suppose.

Before the—disaster, I used to live in Hedrum half of the year and travel back and forth often. I have a residence there.”

The wine warms my throat and stomach as I take a long gulp. Ash has told me so many times he will always come for me. It feels wrong I’m the one to get such treatment.

“So it’s different with me?”

“Every connection is.” Finley looks like he would be happier if someone were beating him raw than talking to me about this. “But that’s something you’ve got to ask him, and not for me to speculate about.”

“What’s not for you to speculate about?”

I jump as Nera sets a small wooden box on the table. How can someone who’s that tall be that sneaky? “Nothing,” I say, pressing a hand over my fast-beating heart.

“Gwofs, really?” Finley stares at the box as Nera empties the contents over the table. My curiosity is at an all-time high. She sorts an assortment of gems of varying colors and opacities.

Weird stones I can’t place, all shaped into prisms.

“Just because you never win, Finn, doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.”

“I never win because you cheat.”

“You can’t cheat Gwofs, it’s magically bound. If you cheat, you lose. It’s quite simple, really. I just have better judgment than you.”

He glares at her as she sorts the three types of gems around us. There are four of each type, of varying sizes and with slight changes of colors. Each has a small wave of magic bursting out of it. Finley’s ring snaps at my skin as I reach for one. “Ouch.”

“You can’t play this game while wearing someone else’s artifact, I’m afraid.” Nera waves in my general direction and continues to sort the stones.

“What are they?” I’m removing the ring before I can think about what I’m signing up for. As soon as I set it on the table, the pressure in my stomach returns, not too strong yet, but a reminder that it’s there. Waiting to be let out.

“Galena, wardite, onyx, and fluorite. They are all highly magically conductive, and each contains a spell to detect truths and lies. You pick a stone that feels right, and try to trick it. For example, if you choose a truth, then you have to convince the rock of something that isn’t true to you.

If you succeed, the rock will spin. Then you win your turn, and it goes to the next player. ”

“What happens if you lose?”

“You lose a hand,” Finley says dryly.

“Hush. And no, you don’t lose a hand, but there is a catch. If you lose, the winner gets to challenge you to do something. It can’t be life-threatening, but it is magically binding.”

I frown and pull my hand back. Not sure I like those odds.

“But if you win, you get to learn a magical truth from the stones themselves.”

“What kind of truth?” My hesitation wavers.

“Nothing huge, but you can ask about your own life, maybe even your past.”

“Nera.” Finley narrows his gaze on the princess. “You’re forcing Mia to play your game. You well know that she wants truths about her nature.”

“I’m not forcing anyone.” She hesitates, chewing on her lip while she stares at me, almost apologetic.

I feel like Nera usually gets what she wants.

But she’s very good at working for it, I’ll give her that much.

“I want you to play, but not without all the information. I know you want answers, and Gwofs can give you some if you win. But it’ll be fun either way, even if you lose.

It’s a truth or dare game, like what humans have, but with magic. You need to loosen up, Finn.”

“So, if I win, I can ask if my parents are my actual parents?”

They both stare at me in silence for a while, and then they both nod. Knowledge is what I crave most, and I don’t fear a challenge. I’ve got nothing to lose.

“Do we have to say our truths or lies out loud?” I’m not sure if I want my deepest secrets out in the open, but to learn about my past, I would do anything.

“No, you hold your stone and think of a truth or lie. The artifact reacts right after. You have to convince it that the truth is a lie, or vice versa. If you make it spin, you win your turn and it goes to the next person. Best out of five rounds wins the game.”

Finley scoffs and takes a long drink of his beer. “I’m not playing, Nera. Last time we did this, I ended up drinking an entire bottle of whiskey and was sick for days.”

“It’s my birthday,” she pouted.

“Not for another four days, and you cheat.”

“You’re such a sore loser.” Nera turns her attention to me. “You can’t cheat in this game, Mia. If the rocks sense there is magic at play, they will all shift to this.” She picks up a rock and shows me a red dot on one side. “And then you lose.”

“Alright, I’ll play.”

I shouldn’t have played. By the second round, it’s crystal clear that Nera knows how to trick the stones, while I struggle to come up with a half-truth—or lie—that might allow me a spin. A chance to learn a fraction of the truth I crave.

I don’t like coconut , I think, remembering that time I had a coconut cake that was all stringy and gross.

It reminded me of worms. But then again, I enjoyed the flavor most times.

The stone spins after a moment of hesitation, and Finley whistles loudly as he serves all four of our plates with garlic roast and rosemary potatoes.

Where’s Ash? He hasn’t rejoined us since we split up when we arrived, and to my absolute horror, I miss him.

Which I would never admit out loud. Finley assured us he’s sorting out a cabin and the horses for the night.

Twilight is getting closer, and we have to get to our sleeping quarters soon, before both Nera and Ash are taken by the slumber.

The pressure in my stomach is more present now, a bubbling that’s heating my blood as it rushes through my body. Even my face feels warm. Dread fills me when I look at Finley’s ring on the table. I don’t want to put it back on.

Nera’s stone spins again, and I curse my luck. One round left.

“Truth or lie?” Nera asks.

“Lie.” I bring the stone close to my lips and close my eyes.

I love the castle . And I envision the lunargyres.

All the times I almost died. The never-ending storms and gray skies.

The roses. Somewhere deep inside me, I know all these things are connected to the curse.

Then Naheli flashes as she fills the rooms with starlight.

And I know I’ve lost this game. Lightning cracks in the sky, thunder follows, and my stone doesn’t spin.

By the time Nera stops hollering over her win, I’ve accepted I might end up drinking an entire bottle of wine and swimming in that frigid lake Finley keeps talking about.

“Your dare is simple.” A mischievous light shines behind Nera’s newly blue eyes. “I want you to give in to something you’ve been wanting but haven’t allowed yourself to have.”

Finley ticks his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “You can’t be serious...”

“What? It can be anything. Perhaps she’s never gotten drunk on whiskey, unlike others at this table, and wants to let loose. Or she wants to go skinny-dipping in the lake, though, fair warning, it’s frigidly cold?—?”

“Or”—Finley slams his drink on the table—“maybe she isn’t you, and her wild desires are to escape.”

“She doesn’t want that anymore.” Nera leans forward on the table, waggling her brows at me. “I like you, Mia. Take this chance and do something fun. Don’t let fear steal away your life. Live .”

Something magical spreads in my veins, through my chest. I want to do so many things; the possibilities are endless and impossible to narrow down right now.

I open my mouth to tell her this, but I feel something click in the back of my mind.

A crawling sensation that matches the energy coming alive in the pit of my stomach.

I want to prove to myself I’m good enough to save Irene, like I couldn’t with Father. I want Nera to be free. I want... Ash.

A magnetic pull turns me toward the entrance to the restaurant just as he strolls in. He swipes droplets of rain off his shoulder, and his wavy hair sticks to his forehead.

He was caught in the rain outside and looks so... kissable.

Oh gods. No.

The chair scrapes under me as I stand in one fluid motion. I want to sit back down, but the little spark of energy inside me challenges that impulse.

I don’t want to sit back down. What I really want is to go over there and kiss him. My steps are long, and panic bubbles in my gut because magic binds me to move forward, regardless of my reservations.

Oh no, oh no.

We meet in the middle of the dark room, where, being closer to the door, the air is cooler. He tilts his head to the side, eyeing me with curiosity.

He must see something in my expression that makes him drop his guard because he lets me take hold of the collar of his coat and stands still as I fit my body against him. His scent is intoxicating, and this time, I don’t chastise myself for loving it.

Pine, mint, and power.

Everything around me falls silent.

I want him.

“Mons—?”

I lift to my tiptoes and press my lips to his before he can finish speaking. The little pressure of the magic pact falls away as I fulfill my side of the bargain, but I remain there, my lips on his as his hands descend to my waist. He pulls me to him and kisses me back like there is no tomorrow.

The air around us grows hot against the cold, and everything feels like too much and not enough. His lips devour me, and he demands more.

Heat bursts between my thighs as his tongue enters my mouth and dances against mine. I can’t get enough of this—of him. When we break apart, I tell myself to step away. But I can’t, not when Ash lingers, dipping his face ever so slightly until our lips barely graze.

“Do you often kiss unsuspecting people?” He presses his forehead against mine, and his breath washes over me.

“Only when I lose my fucking mind.” I shift just a little closer to feel the smoothness of his lips against mine again. Perhaps he will understand the signal and kiss me without holding back.

“That mouth of yours is dangerous,” he purrs, and traps my chin with two fingers and his thumb, examining my face like he’s trying to find something hiding there.

My blood sings at how right this feels. I have never reacted this way to a simple kiss, so heated I’m ready to throw caution to the wind.

Someone hoots in the distance, and Ash pulls back just enough that I can drink in the sharpness of his cheekbones and his plush lips right before they tighten into a fine line.

“Let’s get you something to eat before we need to head to our cabin for the night.” His jaw clenches as our surroundings come back into focus. The sound of cutlery scraping over ceramic plates. The slurping of beer. The cook shouting at the server.

Droplets of rain cling to his raven hair. My body is hot, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment, as I come back to my senses and force myself to let go of his coat.

I kissed the beast I’m supposed to hate, and he kissed me right back like I’m air and he’s been drowning for years.