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?

me dizzy.

the city. Assassinations, maybe. Financial destruction. Things of that nature. Too many powerful families

now," Marcus says, surprising me. I didn't

"Too many people are missing. The body count

asks. "Why aren't they keeping the city in

his

Alpha Renard, or any other shifters in the city, including the rogues who have lived here

wondering how all this ties into our inability

way this

What aren't we seeing?

I've woken up in a different world; this feeling is getting

have answers," Magister Orion adds. "Do

mother. Her cold demeanor is hard to forget. "Doesn't she

way she sticks to protocols," Magister Orion says, a hint of grudging respect in his tone. "But she's

curiosity piques. "What information might she have

That alone is cause for concern. Florice never involves herself

would she come to you?" Marcus asks suspiciously. "Do you think this could

shakes his head, his salt-and-pepper hair catching the light. "Florice may dislike me because I refuse

that over. "So she trusts you because

nods. "I've never aligned myself with any faction. My only interest is in magic and its

beside me, his posture tense. "But how can we be sure she's not using that neutrality

paranoid. I guess it comes with the territory; he's here to keep me safe,

wry smile. "Florice is many things, but not duplicitous. She's rigid, inflexible, and often infuriating, but she's also honest to a fault. If she's coming to me, it's because she believes the situation warrants

what would be dire enough for someone like Florice to seek

* * *

I fall asleep not long after, despite the