Page 5 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

Skylar and Irene take me to the west side of the building, and I clutch my amulet. The waves of magic lying dormant within the stone pull at something in my stomach.

We climb a spiral staircase, dozens of steps up into a narrow tower. My breath billows in front of my face as the air grows colder the farther up we go. The red light of the moon bathes the upper steps as we pass a tall, pointed window.

“Is the necklace a magical amulet or a lucky charm? You’re holding it like a lifeline.” Skylar looks back at me with a raised brow and focuses on my hand. And what’s within it. “I thought only sorcerers used such objects to harness their magic.”

He’s far too interested, and it makes my skin crawl.

I grunt noncommittally and drop my gaze. I’m not feeling chatty, and I never show my amulet to anyone, let alone speak about it.

“It’s a family heirloom and belonged to our grandmother.” Irene tucks a long strand of black hair behind her ear, doing her best to match his grueling pace, but her heavy breathing gives away how tired she is. “Nanny was rumored to be one of the first librarians...”

I inhale sharply, and my blood flares hot, my cheeks heating. First, we never met our grandmother. Second... “Irene! That’s my private business.”

She glances back and looks almost apologetic, but still, I glare at her. Amulets are rare. Coveted. Mine is embedded with a beautiful gem that originated in the fae lands, far beyond the veil, where humans should never go.

My father gave it to me when I turned twenty and showed an affinity for wielding magic.

A small amount. Nothing like the sorcerers I’ve read so much about, who could cast spells to end wars and who could fight the fae when they still walked this world.

Their magic was the kind a person like me yearns for.

I can’t create dragons out of fire, but I can light a few torches and candles, and tonight, I’ll wield a forbidden ball of energy to stop the birdlike beast attacking our city.

“Calm down, I don’t care about magic trinkets, much less a stone that’d be a paperweight for someone like me.” Skylar waves his hand over his shoulder, dismissing me. He doesn’t even look back this time, instead just exits through a wide archway and onto the upper landing.

I follow him onto the empty rooftop, which is surrounded by a four-foot-tall stone wall with a decorative pillar at each corner.

Irene stays behind, leaning on a rounded column of the open archway we came through.

She clasps her hands in front of herself and pins me with her doe eyes.

“I’m sorry. I know you hate when I talk about the necklace.

But I don’t understand all the little details that make it extraordinary .

” She puts air quotes around the last word, and my annoyance burns bright once again.

“Your non-apology is as refreshing as always,” I say, not hiding the bite in my tone.

I allow myself to mourn the relationship Irene and I had when we were younger.

We used to be best friends and always stuck together.

We’d spend hours out on our rooftop counting stars, planning how one day we would leave Penumbra and explore the world.

But all of that was before my magic wedged itself between us.

Before she put this place first... and before Father died.

Still, I’ll never stop fighting to protect her, even if we aren’t the same.

“You don’t have to worry about us, Mia. Skylar is right. The necklace won’t work for someone who has no magic—it wouldn’t do anything.”

She would know, she’s stolen it from me many times before. She wanted to study it, to replicate the protection it provided me, to share it with everyone. If only it worked that way...

“I don’t trust him. You can justify whatever you’re doing down in that horrid room however you want, but you’re killing beasts to use their magic. And my necklace is not a paperweight, no matter what he says,” I hiss, not caring if Skylar hears me.

“So I keep hearing... You can save your lecture for a time when we don’t have a beast flying over us. You came here to help me—help us—and that’s what’s important.”

I nod and move toward the edge of the rooftop, where Skylar awaits. The bells ring loudly, echoing through the city at an alarming rate. I know he’s out there, even if I can’t see him prowling in the darkness.

My heart pounds as I take in the beauty of Penumbra at night.

I know what Irene said is true, and there’s no reason to fight about something so minuscule when a beast is here.

I’m diverting my attention to something else because what I have to do feels wrong, even though I’ve been studying and preparing for months.

I inhale deeply to ease my heavy breathing and step closer to Skylar. He’s loading his pistol and doesn’t lift his gaze even as he says to me, “Before you ask, I intend to kill this beast today, whether you like it or not.”

He lifts his gun and inspects it before aiming in the general direction of the dome where the ray of light shoots into the sky.

“Irene will hide over there.” He points to one side of the tower where supply crates are piled high, covered in tarps.

“And I’ll be over there.” He shifts his hand in the other direction, to the ornate spires and the flying buttresses that support the stone walls of the building.

He’d have to walk across the tarnished copper rooftop if he wanted to actually hide from view.

“Once you cast your spell, run back inside the way we came and hide in any room down there. Don’t come out unless we come to get you.”

“I’m not leaving Irene here with the beast,” I say. She’s the reason I’m here. “Even if my spell fails, I’m not useless. In fact, I’ve trained to wield weapons for years.”

I eye his gun and swallow thickly. I guess I never got a handle on how to use a gun.

“Darling, do as you’re told,” Skylar says, and his lips tilt into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

I open my mouth to tell him what to do with his condescending words, but he continues on.

“If you stay here, it will force me to defend you instead of subduing the beast. Irene is a decent shot, but I don’t trust she can handle the beast on her own.

Plus, if she’s worried about your well-being, she’ll be useless to me. ”

Irene takes a sharp breath, though she says nothing to defend herself, and it makes the flare of anger running through me burn hotter. I’m one breath away from walking out and facing my fifteen weeks in jail for breaking into this place.

I place my hands on my hips, tapping my foot on the stone floor, and match his glare. “For your information, I know how to cast more than one spell. I might save you instead.”

We stare at each other, and his expression shifts from cool indifference to curiosity. “Is that so? Well, he’s coming. Better be ready.” He laughs, pointing to the sky. It’s a blend of red and deep blue shades, and a black dot moves toward us.

My stomach sinks as I stumble toward the wall that marks the edge of the rooftop.

Up here, darkness shrouds us, and I know the beast hasn’t seen me yet, for he flies toward the dome. Placing my hands on the cold stone and breathing deep, I center my focus on the pages of the grimoire.

The old, scripted sorcery flashes through my mind, my skin tingling as my amulet warms over my chest.

I open my eyes, and my heart lurches. The beast is flying so close, I can distinguish the long shapes of his black wings.

He extends one of his hands, and from his fingertips, a massive ray of golden power shoots out, swirling rapidly toward the veil. The beast’s spell collides with it, and a wave of pressure blows the hood of my cloak back. It smells of something familiar, mixed with the bitterness of burning metal.

Lightning crackles around the beast’s spell, and the veil flickers off and on, fluttering like a bird’s heartbeat. The domed shape enhances the shrieks of the beasts in the forest, and while I can’t see them, I know they’re out there, waiting for it to break so they can feast on us.

The iron beams of the building’s dome move with the onslaught, and an intense wind shatters some of the glass beneath it. Metal screeches as it scrapes against metal.

I stretch my arms wide, and my hands prickle as I recall the words of spells written in languages I don’t know, reaching for the whispers the grimoire shared with me.

My power doesn’t come from my head or my heart.

It comes from somewhere in my stomach, slowly pouring out as waves of magic circle my fingers.

I close my eyes and ignore something exploding in the distance.

The alarms of the city grow louder, thundering in my ears.

I press my lips together and force myself to focus back on the memory of the pages of the forbidden book I read hours ago. The surrounding noises fall away.

The words of a great spell flash through my mind, and my skin heats. I’ve never used a forbidden spell out in the open. Especially one that feels like destruction—like this one does.

I remember the spell vividly, and I don’t need to speak the words aloud. I simply focus on the sensations inside me, and magic surges around my wrists and arms.

I open my eyes again, and every inch of my body heats and burns, bringing tears to my cheeks.

I direct my hands toward the beast and throw the attack across the rooftop.

It’s bright blue, opaque, and it crackles like electricity.

It moves so fast, the beast doesn’t have time to dodge out of the way.

He stumbles back with a flutter of wings that gets lost in the night, barely catching himself before he spirals down. He shifts his attention from the veil to me, breathing with difficulty, though what the spell did to him is... unclear. All I know is what I felt from the magic itself.

It was meant to consume all his energy. To drown him in a deep sleep. But the beast is awake. And angry.

“Run!” Irene shouts in the distance. And I want to, but I’m paralyzed, like I’m under a strange enchantment.

The beast charges at me. His golden power trailing him like fairy dust. Lead weighs my arms as I slowly lift them to grasp my necklace.

A burst of furious energy rushes through me when I wrap my fingers around the red stone, vanishing whatever spell nearly froze me.

I regain the function of my limbs little by little until I’m able to sprint toward the stairs.

A shot rings out, but I don’t turn back.

The air burns in my throat as I push my body to move faster and try to recall any other spells from the book.

None come to mind as another shot echoes off the stone walls around me.

The beating of his wings sends debris flying across the floor, and the warm air from his body sinks through the layers of my clothes.

Tendrils of magic raise the hair on the back of my neck like static.

I scream when the fingerlike threads grip my shoulders, extending down my back, slowing me.

More shots, desperate now, but the beast is still behind me. He growls, and my blood turns to ice.

He doesn’t sound like a normal beast—at least not any I’ve heard before.

I’ve never excelled at wielding fire, but it’s the only spell that comes to mind. Ready to attack as the smoke dissipates, I turn around. He’s close enough I can see his eyes, gleaming like they’re made of liquid gold.

Every thought I had vanishes, and I’m left balancing on a precipice of emotions I can’t place.

His face resembles a human, with pale skin framed by black hair that turns into feathers trailing down his neck, and growing longer over his broad shoulders and the expanse of his massive wings.

He reaches toward me, and the dim light catches the tips of his pointed claws.

Bang, bang .

When has a beast looked so human before? My subconscious mind knows the answer even before I can fully accept it. For I know deep within myself.

Something inside my chest tears free, leaving behind a hollow sensation that spreads like a disease, and magic freezes my movements.

Another shot booms, and this time, the bullet grazes his arm.

The beast flinches, glaring across the distance to where Irene is running toward us. I can’t warn her off. He moves so fast it doesn’t matter. A spell of his own bursts out of his hand as he points at my sister. So fast, I don’t know if she can escape it.

I yell so loud it tears at my vocal cords until they give out. The beast is six feet away from me, like no bullet hurt him. He shows no pain, no remorse. Just red, unabashed anger.

His teeth are long and sharp as he snarls at me, his arms outstretched.

My energy is depleted and I can’t cast another spell to defend myself. And I know one thing for certain.

He is going to kill me.