Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 221 Ava: The Fae Ward (III)

A giant of a man fills the doorway, his broad shoulders nearly brushing the frame on either side. He's easily twice the size of any man I've ever seen, with pointed ears that stretch back into his salt-and-pepper hair. Despite the gray streaks, his face is unwrinkled, but his eyes—swirling from blue to black and back again—hold a wisdom that speaks of countless years.

"You're late," he bellows, his voice reverberating through the courtyard like a clap of thunder.

His larger-than-life presence fills the courtyard, very different from the Fae guards who led us here.

Marcus and Vanessa move to step between us, their stances protective, but the strange man roars at them. "Stand back, you flea-ridden mutts! Let me see my pupil!"

There's an excitement in his tone that belies the aggressive volume of his words, leaving me more confused than frightened. Selene slinks forward, her ears pressed back against her skull as she sniffs at the air to scent the new arrival.

"Your pupil?" I ask, my voice sounding small and uncertain even to my own ears. "Are you the one Sister Miriam told me about?"

The man throws his head back and laughs, the sound booming like a cannon shot. "Who am I? I'm the one who's graciously allowed you entry into the Fae Ward, girl. The one who's going to teach you to control that wild magic of yours before it consumes you whole."

All the Fae to this point have been elegant, their movements natural and flowing. Even the intimidating guards move with a grace that seems to come from deep within.

This man, this teacher of mine, is like a bear, with wide movements and a lumbering gait. Even so, his excitement shines through, making his sinister-seeming phone calls feel innocuous now in the light of his energy.

conversational volume. "And you, Ava Grey, have a great deal to learn. It took you too long to

more friendly phone call might have helped." Trying to keep my words firm and even, I

shade of blue I've ever seen. "Was I not friendly?

disguise your voice like

crawling across his face. "I, a respected wizard and Magister, disguise myself? Why would

back, scowling at the giant Fae standing before us. "Are you not the

course I called her. The daft child has no business

and we all step

Orion's secretary," Layla says from behind us, sounding amused. "We call her little Tinker, after

the light. She's even shorter than Layla, with vibrant pink hair and sparkling lilac eyes that dance with mischief. As she smiles at us, I

With a flick of her wrist, the wings flap open and closed, a whirring sound filling the

she gushes, her voice high and melodic. "Ever since I saw that fabulous movie about the tiny Fae and the

unsure how to respond. "This place is far more amazing than any movie I've

Ward? Balderdash. We're just a cheap imitation of the Fae Realm, but it helps us feel more at home here." Tinker chuckles. "We have more freedom,

of history to dig through, but Magister Orion clears his throat, drawing our attention back to him. "Shall we head inside? We have

about the, mm, what's the word? Oh, yes. The phone call," she says, her voice lowering conspiratorially.

his words, but Sister Miriam says it makes him sound sinister. Did it have the same effect on

on her face is almost rabid, her eyes eager