Page 39 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

By the time I’m back, three songs have passed, but the space is as busy as it was when I left.

I spot Nera and Finley dancing, though they’re far from me and keeping their gazes cast down.

I lift to my tiptoes and try to find Ash in the crowd.

It takes embarrassingly little time to find him, leaning against a wall, drinking from a glass of red wine, and talking with someone.

He is a light, and I’m a moth drawn to it.

“What do you say we go somewhere a bit more private, Hellion?” the woman purrs, and her hand goes to Ash’s chest where she straightens his already-straight cravat.

Hellion? Isn’t that the kind of spirit Naheli is? My stomach hardens, and I’m walking closer even while my head shouts at me to turn around and go the other way.

From where I stand, he is the perfect picture of relaxation, shoulder against the wall as he leans down toward her. I watch as Ash’s nostrils flare, and then his gaze snaps to me. I freeze, paralyzed by his intense, unreadable expression.

With the glamour both fae royals used to blend in, their eyes changed from metallic shades to common human colors. His were brown when we left Finley’s manor, but now, they’re back to gold.

His jaw clenches as he tears his attention from me and returns it to the woman in front of him. I purse my lips and straighten my back, ignoring the ugliness brewing in my chest.

If anything, I should tell him about the crack in his glamour. Maybe he doesn’t know.

“Can I have a word with you?” I choose not to use his name, just in case there’s a reason he’s going by another.

The woman turns to the sound of my voice, sharply. If looks could kill, I would be dead now. And she looks and looks. From the tip of my boots all the way to the amulet resting right above my ear.

“Who are you?” she asks with murder in her eyes.

“Yvette, this is my sister’s best friend, Monster.”

My expression falls. Is he serious . . . ?

The woman lifts a perfectly manicured blond brow at me, and the corner of her lips twitch. “Monster? What a peculiar name, or is it a pet name?”

“Does it matter?” Ash says, sounding bored. My blood boils as it collects in my face. “She came with us from the plains to celebrate Anna’s birthday.”

Hellion, Anna, the plains? Is he changing their names on purpose because she isn’t someone to trust? Or because he wants to bed her without forming true ties?

“How wonderful for Monster to travel such a long distance! I bet it would be difficult to travel with a man such as yourself,” Yvette coos, already turning to dismiss me.

I think she means it as a compliment?

A dry laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it, and I straighten my back to be at least as tall as Yvette.

“I’m Lia, not Monster.” Alright, not my best attempt at a new name, but I can barely think straight with the storm of feelings inside me.

“Apparently, Hellion isn’t bright enough to remember it. ”

I glower at him, and his eyes shimmer with amusement. “What is it you want, Lia? Anna was looking for you.”

And here I was, thinking of him as a victim just a few minutes ago. Worrying about his glamour, but I’m just being dismissed.

I do my best to ignore the pain in my chest and the stinging in my eyes. There isn’t a chance in this world I’ll allow myself to rage-cry in front of them. I came here for a reason, and it has nothing to do with interrupting them in the middle of... whatever this is.

“I-I need a minute, in private.” I hate how my voice wobbles, even as I try to communicate through my eyes that this is important, but I’m not sure I’m quite successful. “You know what? Never mind.”

I weave through the crowd of partygoers that fill every inch of the floor, talking loudly while drinking wine and spirits. I crane my neck and spot Nera’s shimmering white dress alongside Finley’s royal blue coat. They’re walking away from the dance floor, toward the door.

Something is off. I feel it drumming inside my stomach. If Ash wanted me to go because it was unsafe, why would he remain?

The whispers of old magic coming down the hall beckon me. I can’t decipher much of what they’re saying other than the same few words over and over again.

If I leave now, I’ll never get another chance to see if there are fae grimoires here, possibly stolen ones. If Ash thinks a book in the Penumbra library holds the answers to break his curse, what if these do too?

I chew on my lip and know I won’t be the one putting anyone in danger. Not anymore. I make my way around the edges of the dance floor and follow Nera and Finley as they get closer to the door.

“Hey, pretty.” I hear a voice from behind me, close enough for his breath to fan over my exposed shoulders.

Still, he could be talking to someone else, so I lengthen my steps to catch my friends before they leave.

“Hold on a second, red.” A hand grabs my wrist and holds me back. Not too hard, but firm enough I can’t keep going without pulling him alongside me.

My skin itches as I turn to meet his gaze. Brown eyes, a round face reddened by the heat of the room, and possibly alcohol. “Please, unhand me.”

“Don’t be like that,” he says with a crooked smile, but doesn’t let go. “I’ve never seen such a pretty thing as you in town. All I ask for is a dance, that’s all.”

My power burns through me, prickling over my skin. A fire spell crouches in the back of my throat. “I won’t say it again...”

“Why so serious, red? I’m just having fun.

” He tilts his head and zeros in on my amulet, which is now shining so bright I can see the glow it’s casting over my face.

His expression remains friendly. His eyes, however, say something else entirely.

Sharp like a hunter. “Are you a new sorcerer in town?”

“Don’t let her big eyes fool you into believing she’s defenseless.

She will burn you alive if you don’t let go.

” Ash’s voice cuts like a sharp knife. Round Face and I turn to meet the king of beasts as he glides toward us, hands deep inside his coat pockets, and his face twists into something dangerous.

“If you want to keep that hand, then I recommend you remove it from her person. Now.”

It’s not an empty threat, and Round Face knows it as much as I do.

He drops my wrist so fast it’s like I actually burned him.

His face loses the redness that was there before, and immediately he’s backing away, muttering something that doesn’t sound like an apology before he disappears into the crowd.

Ash moves quickly, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind a curtain and into an alcove framing a silver suit of armor.

I pull my arm away once we’re safe in the darkness of our hiding spot and only the scent of dust and wine accompanies us.

“I thought I told you to go to Nera?” His jaw tightens as he points in the general direction his sister and Finley disappeared.

“I was trying to. It’s not like I had a lot of time, and I find it peculiar you followed me here after being such an ass. Where did you leave Yvette?” I turn away from him and peek around the curtain. Not sure what I expect, but it’s not him pulling me back.

We’re so close his breath warms my face as he leans down to whisper, “We have to leave. When Yvette wakes up, every hybrid in this place is going to be looking for us. If your friend wasn’t one himself.”

My breath stumbles out of my lips as I meet his eyes, and now I understand the underlying panic there. The pressure in my stomach bubbles more insistently the longer I stay here, and my amulet drums quicker.

Thump, thump, thump .

It’s giving me a headache.

“Hybrids, here?”

He nods, and I’m not even surprised. Not with how I’ve been feeling.

“What do you mean when she wakes up? Did you put her to sleep?”

His throat bobs, and he leans against the wall, peeling the curtain back and studying the moving bodies on the other side. His face darkens. “I was looking for you when I realized this place is crawling with hybrids, but you’d disappeared, and Finley didn’t know where you went.”

Guilt churns deep inside me. “I felt something like I did back in Penumbra, when I was in the library there, and I was coming to tell you that perhaps they’re holding fae grimoires here...”

“And—?” Ash pauses, turning to me. “They feel like the ones in your library?”

“They don’t speak the human tongue . . .”

He rubs his jaw, considering. “There’s an enchantment in this place that makes the glamours fail.”

“Is that why your eyes are gold?”

He nods. “I noticed Nera’s eyes changed when we were dancing. I asked Finley to get her out while she still looked human and went searching for you. It’s not a coincidence Yvette, if that’s even her real name, found me shortly after.”

He’s here . It’s the same words, over and over.

“She knows who you are?”

“That I’m the king? No. I rarely go anywhere without Naheli, so they would expect her to be here as well.”

It makes sense. Ash has power like no one I’ve seen before, but after he bonded with the spirit, he has to be almost invincible. Unless he was forever cursed, and his people all turned into beasts.

Cold rushes through me, and my fingers grow numb and clammy. It’s getting harder to ignore the magical whispers. “Why not leave with them? It’s dangerous for you here.”

“Hybrids rarely attack in crowded places like this. There are many powerful sorcerers in Hedrum who still speak in support of the fae. Plus, the hybrids don’t want to appear to be the aggressors. It goes against the narrative. I was hoping to draw them away and give you enough time to escape.”

“Everyone out there looks human. How did you know?”

“Not all hybrids pass for human, Monster. Yvette smelled like fae to me.”

“You would know, since you were close enough to count the freckles on her face.” Heat flares through my veins. It’s entirely unpleasant. I shift away from him, ready to have some space, and I hate the shadow of a smirk that graces his features.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re jealous.”

I scoff. “Please?—?”

“What is it, Mia? You hate me one minute, the next you’re kissing me, then you act like nothing happened but get mad when I speak with another woman?”

“I wasn’t mad that you were speaking with her.” I know the lie isn’t fooling him—nor me. “I was mad because you treated me like I meant nothing.”

I hate that the truth always pours out of me with him.

“I acted like an ass because I can’t fake not caring about you.

” Ash’s eyes cut to my lips. “I’m tired of pretending I’m not thinking of you every waking moment.

Of how much I want you to laugh with me.

I almost gave away who I am in front of everyone here when that bastard put his hand on you.

So no, Mia, I won’t leave you here because there’s a small chance they saw you come in with us, and they will torture you to get to me. Especially if they know you’re mine.”

My heart doubles in speed, and I stare into his eyes. Him speaking without reservation tears away every flimsy layer I had protecting my heart, and now I worry it’s truly his.

I’m not ready for that, but I don’t think it matters...

He’s here .

Our king is here .