Page 49 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

The surrounding shadows grow longer and closer as I move down the corridor to the dining room. I tuck the mirror under the thick layers of my traveling cloak, and pure determination pushes me forward.

A month ago, I was plucked from my city, a simple librarian who knew very little of what was happening out here. Now, I’m on my way to risk everything to save a beast—a friend—who not so long ago, I hated.

New rose canes cover the walls, which means Ash has been using his magic while I was outside. All are blooming with blood-red petals that bring color to the dreary halls. Following the vines, I find Ash and Nera at a long table bearing a small array of food.

“Mia, I’m glad you made it out of Hedrum alive.

I have to say, this is not how I hoped to spend my birthday.

..” Nera’s voice is deep with lingering sleep, and I jump at the sound of it.

Some of the haze from before has left her eyes, but there is a dreamy quality to the way her eyelids droop, like she could fall asleep at any moment.

Today is her birthday, the whole reason we came all the way here. And unless we do something, this may be her last one. Panic seizes me, the need to help her becomes stronger.

Ash takes a sip of tea, pretending to be at ease even though his knuckles are white and he’s paler than I’ve ever seen him. “I was wondering if you ran away again.”

My shoulders ease as I realize he’s trying to distract me from Nera’s condition, likely because of my inability to keep my emotions off my face.

“I tried, but got lost and had to come back.” I plaster a smile on my face, and judging by his expression, I’m not fooling anyone. My fingers twitch as I reach for the back of the closest wooden chair and meet Ash’s eyes from across the table. “I figured you needed time to calm Nera down...”

Finley moves outside the windows, walking around the carriage, running his fingers over the spindly wheels, and inspecting everything before we depart for the castle.

“I did, but all is well for now.” Ash scratches the edge of his chin as he tentatively leans back in his seat. “Why are you glowing, Monster?” He grabs a couple of olives from a plate and tosses them into his mouth, chewing slowly as he looks at me like he’s trying to decipher what he’s seeing.

Sweat rolls down my temple. “Maybe I glow when I’m nervous and my magic comes out...”

My entire face is warm enough to cook an egg, but at least the suspicion in his eyes eases.

“What happened in Hedrum?” Nera leans her stone chin on the heel of her hand, blinking lazily as she studies me, tapping her nails on her cheek. They’re much longer than they were before we left the castle. Back when she’d been fine.

“I told you, we found some of the lost grimoires and decided to bring them along...” Ash pauses to clear his throat, then asks me, “Where’s your amulet? We need to leave within the next half hour.”

Instinctively, I touch my hair, but the amulet isn’t there. It’s in my cloak pocket, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“It’s still not working right, so I see no point in wearing it anymore.” It’s not a lie, but my voice quakes, giving away my unease. I hope Ash thinks it’s all about Nera and not because I’m planning on doing something reckless.

“You should probably still wear it, Mia,” Nera says, sobering up just enough for worry to etch her features. I think she’s started caring for me, just like I do for her.

I glance down to where the small hand mirror remains hidden under my clothes. I can do this.

She continues, “Magical artifacts weaken sometimes, but unless it’s shattered, it’ll help you when it matters.”

Yes, it will.

Which is why I need to get Ash away from here. “I found traces of magic around the carriage when I was outside. I tried to break them apart, but couldn’t. I wonder if that’s why Nera and the horses transitioned so quickly...” I set up the lie, and the words are bitter on my tongue.

As predicted, Ash goes still, his hand hovering motionlessly over his food. His brows pinch as he leans forward. “You saw spells over the carriage—could you tell what kind?”

“I don’t know. It’s probably nothing, and I know you and Finley throw protective magic on all sorts of things, so maybe it’s that?” I shrug and grab a butter roll for my plate, glancing at Nera from under my lashes.

She sits unmoving in her chair. Her breaths shallow enough that, if I look away for even a moment, I’ll miss the subtle movement of her chest. Her eyes are unfocused.

It would be much easier if I didn’t have to do this alone. I want Ash to stay, but I know deep inside that if he knows what I’m about to do, he’ll stop me.

Ash seems to hesitate for a second, then he stands fluidly, pushing his chair back. “Nera, are you well enough to stay here alone with Mia?”

Nera blinks a few times and tears shimmer in her eyes. When she meets my gaze, I notice her irises are back to the usual shades of rose gold. Her lips tilt into a weak smile. “Don’t worry, brother, I won’t eat her. She is yours, after all.”

I open my lips to protest that I’m not his, but the words don’t come as easily as they once did.

Ash glances at me, lifting a brow, as if expecting my usual retort. But... while I don’t believe in the kind of ownership the fae seem to throw around when speaking about people, I’m not so sure my heart belongs to me anymore.

A breath escapes his lips, and his voice is warm with affection when he says, “Even as a statue, you’re the most mischievous creature I’ve ever met, Nerala.”

Rounding the table, Ash approaches me with that ease in his steps I’ve grown to admire, then reaches for my waist to pull me close. His lips brush my forehead. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.”

My eyelids flutter shut, and I tighten the mirror against my body, hoping he can’t feel its shape hiding beneath my cloak. He knows me well enough to suspect I’m up to something, but he can’t stop his compulsion to go and check we aren’t being tracked.

“I’ll try my best,” I say and push down the guilt churning inside me.

Nera remains seated in silence, and I wait until his steps fade into the distance. “I know how I can break your curse.”

Nera straightens where she sits, and the wooden chair squeaks at her movement. Her brows pinch and loosen as she takes me in. “Let me guess, you’re going to do something that could get you killed. Is that why you sent Ash away?”

I hold her gaze as I reach for his abandoned drink and take a sip of the unsweetened tea, hoping the warmth will chase away the cold that’s settled into my bones.

“Yes.” I shrug. “I don’t want him to stop me before I can at least try. It’ll be your birthday present.”

Nera watches me in silence for a while and smiles again, so her response surprises me. “No.”

I blink. “No?”

“When I took you to Eponde, I was being selfish, and I didn’t know you. But that’s not the case anymore. I can’t let you risk your life to help me, because you mean something to me now.” The gem of my old amulet blinks along with the rhythm of her heart. Too slow for someone who is alive and well.

Neither Ash nor Nera want me to try to help them with my magic because I mean something to them. Unlike Irene, who demanded I use my magic even though Ash could have killed me that night.

“I can do this. Please, let me try.” I pull the mirror from under my cloak and place it on the table. Nera stands, and her chair falls to the ground. I know I have only seconds to convince her before Ash or Finley run back in. “I can see the curse in mirrors, and I can capture it with my amulet.”

I take the aforementioned hairpin out of my pocket and set it on the table with a shaking hand. The darkness I met in the hybrid’s home dulled my red stone’s glow.

“Mirrors are the catalyst for the curse to travel, but I found I can trap it by using a magical artifact,” I say.

“I accidentally captured a portion of Ash’s curse back in the hybrid house.

But because his curse is too large, it weakened the amulet.

But yours is different. Yours should be a small copy of his. ”

“How do you know?”

“Because I saw it in Eponde, in a reflection in a window. It’s much smaller.”

“How did you find the mirror?” Nera asks, and hope shines in her eyes. “Ash and Finley have been destroying them ever since we discovered how it spreads.”

“Finley’s niece gave it to me.”

Nera frowns at that, and for the first time since she arrived, that old spark of something flares behind her expression. “She shouldn’t have done that. If Ash hears about what she did...”

“It’s fine.” I swallow deeply and reach for the silver handle of the mirror, feeling my resolution settle in. “Let me help you. Ash won’t have his head in the right place to find a way out of this mess if he’s worried he’ll lose you. Isn’t that why he hasn’t left the castle in years?”

Shame churns in my stomach as I see Nera’s expression fall. I shouldn’t be playing with her guilt to get what I want. But I’m running out of time, and this opportunity is slipping through my fingers.

Nera hunches over and reaches for her untouched glass of water, drinking half in one go before she nods at me. “Alright, do you need me to do anything?”

“Nothing yet.” I stand and shrug off my cloak, draping it over the back of my chair. My stomach is bubbling, an obvious reminder of my locked power, and it reaches up my chest and neck. My body heats, and distantly, I can hear movement from the hall.

Holding the mirror in one hand, and my new amulet in the other, I go over all the things that could go very wrong.

One of them being that I have nearly zero control over my magic, other than being able to speak to my broken amulet. But I know my power’s at its strongest when my emotions are high, and I can work with that.

Especially since Nera, one of my only friends, doesn’t have long before she fades away.