Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 249 Ava: Unrest

Magister Orion's booming voice wakes me from the unsettling dream, though it's too much work to open my eyes. I'm exhausted. My body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.

My ears tune in before I'm fully awake.

"—in an uproar. Every portal is guarded, and the death tolls keep rising. The militia's working on the riots, but they might not be enough. It makes no sense at all. There's no rhyme or reason to it."

"How safe are we here?"

"It's impossible to tell. The High Fae have already taken one family into custody for insurrection, but it's possible there are more. It's as though everyone's lost their minds."

That doesn't sound good.

My eyes snap open and I struggle to sit up, pleasantly surprised my body's aches are gone, even if I still feel heavy.

"What's going on?"

Magister Orion's face swims into view, his contorted features smoothing over. The sight jolts me fully awake, my heart rate picking up.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, his voice gruff.

I wave off his concern. My health isn't as important as this conversation. "I'm fine. What's going on?"

Magister Orion exchanges a loaded glance with Vanessa. My stomach tightens.

"The city is in an uproar," Magister Orion says, his words heavy. "In the First, Second, and Third Wards, there are riots and uprisings. There's no rhyme or reason. Vampire against vampire, Fae against Fae; it's unclear who is ally or foe."

The timing is suspect. We can't contact anyone outside this place, and now there's civil unrest?

mind reels, leaving me dizzy. "Does

been struggles of power, but they never involve the city. Assassinations, maybe. Financial destruction. Things of that nature. Too many powerful families have allied to keep peace in this sanctuary; no one can stand up to their

Marcus says, surprising me. I didn't realize

Orion echoes with a sigh. "Too many people are missing. The body

all these powerful families, then?" Vanessa asks.

his hands.

any other shifters in the city, including the rogues who have lived here for

wondering how all this ties into our inability to

no way this

What aren't we seeing?

way, then the other. It feels like I've woken up in a different world; this

answers," Magister Orion adds. "Do you remember

recalling the stern woman who resembled my mother. Her cold demeanor is hard to forget.

grudging respect in his tone. "But she's also a wealth of information. She goes through almost every document a

curiosity piques. "What information might

situation. That alone is cause for concern. Florice never involves herself in politics.

asks suspiciously. "Do you think this could be a ploy

his salt-and-pepper hair catching the light. "Florice may dislike me because I refuse to play by the rules, but

over. "So she trusts you because you

with any faction. My only interest is

tense. "But how can we be sure she's not using that neutrality against

with the territory; he's here to keep me safe, not

a wry smile. "Florice is many things, but not duplicitous. She's rigid, inflexible, and often infuriating, but she's also

what would be dire enough for someone like Florice to seek

* * *

I'm healed; I fall asleep not long after, despite