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.

tongue, running a hand over his face in frustration. "There have always been struggles of power, but they never involve the city. Assassinations, maybe. Financial destruction. Things of that nature. Too many powerful

surprising me. I didn't realize he

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

powerful families, then?" Vanessa asks. "Why aren't they keeping the city

his

in the city, including the rogues

all this ties into our inability to

way this

What aren't we seeing?

a different world; this feeling is getting too familiar. How many more times will the

might have answers," Magister Orion adds. "Do you remember the strange Fae

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

a giant pain in the ass with the way she sticks to protocols," Magister Orion says, a hint of grudging respect in his tone. "But she's also a wealth of information. She goes through almost

information might

head. "I'm not sure, but she seems agitated by the situation. That alone is cause for concern.

you?" Marcus asks suspiciously. "Do you think this could

hair catching the light. "Florice may dislike me because I refuse to

because you don't have a stake in the

never aligned myself with any faction. My only

posture tense. "But how can we be

it comes with the territory; he's here to keep me safe, not fight someone

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

enough for someone like Florice to

* * *

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