Page 57 of Unraveled (A Kingdom of Beasts and Ruins #1)

The glow of the veil is blinding as we break out of the thickness of the canopy and into a clearing outside Penumbra. The gas lanterns twinkle in the distance, bathing the streets of the city beyond in light.

The wind howls in my ears as the wolf moves faster, and I tighten my hands on the cool mist of my saddle’s horn.

“Naheli, Ash doesn’t want you to step inside Penumbra,” I begin as the shield’s milky-white membrane, separating us from the citizens inside, grows near.

I never thought I would ride through the forest on an ancient spirit, but then again, things have drastically changed. Naheli doesn’t slow, and I prepare myself for impact as she leaps into the veil with a howl.

For a time, we are suspended in a heavy substance that burns all over.

We’re pushed and pulled in multiple directions, and the scent— It claws at me.

The curse rejoices at the surrounding death, and that horrible feeling brings tears to my eyes.

I glance down at my hand, and even though most of my arm remains hidden under my cloak, I feel the dryness of my skin going all the way up to my shoulder.

Mist bursts from Naheli, sending stars out to form a shield around me. A web of small cracks opens the wall, like it did the night Ash broke through, leaving a hole just large enough for us to cross.

We land on a wet cobble road, and for the first time since we left Irene behind, I hear the ancient spirit panting. Even though there’s a crack in the veil, no alarm rings to warn the city the shield is broken. At least when we cross through the streets, we find them desolate.

“Naheli, stop.”

She doesn’t.

The scientist quarters peeks out from behind the smaller homes at the edge of town. “If the guards see you running through the streets, they’ll warn the city, and they might kill Ash before we make it to him. Let me off. Sink into the shadows or become something less... magnificent.”

She slows down, turning her head to glare at me with her four amber eyes. I guess she doesn’t like to be told what to do.

The city is dark, and most everyone has gone to sleep for the night, giving us the perfect cover.

I point at a narrow alley to our left and Naheli rushes for it, stopping only after we’ve dived into the maze of passageways.

There are a few flickering gas lanterns on the streets, but not enough to reveal us.

Naheli’s misty body shrinks to the size of an actual wolf, and she loses two of her eyes.

She’ll look convincing to anyone who isn’t looking too intently at the fact that small shimmering stars float around her.

I don’t have time to worry about what-ifs when Ash may be dying right now.

The veil stretches up to the sky, undeterred by the fissure Naheli made.

Unlike the last time I came to the scientist quarters, we go through the back door, where there are fewer chances to run into someone.

I fish Irene’s keys from the depths of my pocket, and it takes me a couple of tries before I find the right one.

The metal door leads us to a long hallway and narrow steps up to an unknown location.

Irene told me to go to the basement, but how do I get there?

Judging by the area of the city we crossed through, we should be on the eastern side of the building.

I move to the stairs, but my eyes drop to Naheli when she whines. She tilts her head in another direction. Down into the depths of the corridor.

Footsteps creak on the floor above, their voices muffled, and I know this place is crawling with scientists who may or may not be strixes. Naheli’s body shifts to mist, and she goes through a narrow door at the end of the hall.

I follow the wolf down stone steps that take us to underground tunnels. The cavernous ceilings haze with distance, and we follow the serpentine underpasses that lead us away from the main building. Moisture skims the rock walls, and my steps squelch with the mess of mud on the ground.

We’re getting closer to Ash. I can feel it in the pit of my stomach. The farther into the ground we go, the angrier the wards and more aggressively the spells leech away every ounce of warmth remaining in my body.

They command silence.

They cause pain.

Wind hums through crevices in the heavy wooden doors that line the tunnels, and I glance at Naheli, who remains by my side. She’s regained some of her height as she leads me with purpose.

Then her body flickers, like it did back in the castle. Right before she disappeared.

“Are you going to leave?” I breathe out.

She tilts her head, and her four amber eyes pin me down. Her muzzle wrinkles as she peels her lips away from her long canines. It would be scary, except I hear a hissing sound that forms the essence of words. It leaves her mouth like an icy caress.

“Save him.”

And she disappears into thin air, right in front of my eyes. Her magic leaves this place, and I feel it’s directly tied to whatever’s happening to Ash.

I don’t allow myself to descend into a whirl of panic. Instead, I let those words guide me as I repeat them, again and again.

Save him .

Empty cages are spread around a wide, circular chamber with low ceilings.

A familiar voice drifts from an open door at the far end of the room. Skylar’s tone has taken on a taunting drawl, but I can’t understand what he’s saying from this distance.

I unsheathe one of my daggers and keep a mental handle on the power I repress. Using too much would expedite the curse taking my body, but I can’t think of how else I’ll be able to get Ash out of here. I cross the empty space, passing iron bars and runes carved into the walls.

Through the door, the stench is suffocating. Magic blending with sweat, blood, and something rotten that lingers in the air. The room is dimly lit, which works in my favor as I rush behind tall wooden crates, peering into the crowd that gathers around him.

My heart plummets when I see Ash’s black wings folded at strange angles inside a cage that’s too small for a man of his size.

Golden blood and tears stain his face, dripping down into the darkness of his feathered neck.

His hands aren’t talons like when he took me during the last blood moon.

Instead, they remain their regular shape, except for the black fingernails that mirror the appearance of my hand.

He leans against the back wall, resting both arms on his bent knees, taking deep breaths, and ignoring the group’s taunts.

“Did we capture the right beast?” a scientist asks, dragging the barrel of his gun over the bars. I watch as Ash winces at the noise, and I remember how sensitive he was to my screams the night we met. “Why isn’t he more... beastly?”

“Who cares,” Skylar drawls as if bored, leaning against the rock wall with one leg crossed over the other. “He’s the same beast. Once we harness his energy, the veil will have power for a long time.”

Anger boils inside me, and I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one’s sneaking close.

I try to form a plan to get him out. No one has noticed me yet, but there are too many of them for me to take care of on my own.

I’m decent with weapons, but my magic without an amulet is too unruly to rely on.

Back in the forest, I blacked out and turned a man to stone.

I can see at least four scientists wearing their regular outfits, holding guns in their hands.

Perhaps I can hide here and wait for them to leave?

I search around, trying to find Nera in a nearby cell—or cage.

But she isn’t anywhere. Worry pricks in the back of my mind.

Is she already in the machine? Power vibrates under my skin, and my fingertips grow warm as I lose control.

The curse takes another inch of me, and the skin of my chest turns dry and taut.

I close my eyes to settle my breathing, and I see it, that angry demonic face inside me. Waiting for me to use a spell, so it can take more.

“Honestly, he doesn’t look feral to me. I hardly think he’s a danger to us.” A female voice breaks through the chatter of males, and I open my eyes wide and peer around the corner to find Harper sitting behind a bulky table.

She blends with the shadows, and all noise fades away when she stands on shaky legs, looking as unsure as she did the night I saw her last in the library. “I don’t think this is right...”

A knot lodges in my throat as I remember how Harper questioned the scientists that night, and how mad it made me. She called their attempts weak. I couldn’t agree more, even as I worry about her being here. Why is Harper in this cave prison? Did she know about this all along?

“At least the hybrid is smart...” Ash says.

He looks and sounds tired. Iron shackles wrap around his bloodied wrists, and his clothes are torn in many places.

Roses grow from the corner of the room behind Harper’s desk, and their blooms are all black.

At some point, Ash regained enough energy to call the roses, which could be the reason Naheli came back.

The hybrid. Singular. Could it mean the scientists around us have no magic, just guns?

“I should’ve expected the librarian’s stomach to be too weak for her to do what’s needed for the greater good.

” Skylar’s lips peel back as he throws a glare at Harper, whose eyes round with fear.

“Do I have to remind you how important it is to protect our city from him , after he almost destroyed the veil last time?”

Harper shakes her head, sucking her lips between her teeth. “No, I understand.”

“It’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To be punished for allowing Irene’s sister out of the library during the last blood moon, which got her killed?”

Whatever color remained in Harper’s face drains away. She clears her throat and speaks after the snorts of multiple men die off. “Yes, I know why I was called here.”

“Good,” Skylar says. “Now that it’s settled, keep the ward around the cage up. When it failed last time, he killed two people.”