Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 287 Ava: Seeing Lucas Again

"Ava?"

Lisa shakes me awake, but it takes a few blinks for my eyes to adjust to reality.

"What is it?" My throat is croaky, and I clear it with a few dry coughs.

"Kellan brought dinner. You've been sitting like that for a few hours. I wasn't sure if I should bother you or not."

My muscles protest as I push myself to my feet, my entire body stiff after hours of stillness. Every joint in my body seems to creak and pop, like I'm twenty years older than I am. Or maybe it's just the weight of everything bearing down on me.

"Thanks," I mumble as Lisa hands me a plate with a simple turkey sandwich. The sight of food makes my stomach growl, and I realize I'm ravenous.

I take a bite, savoring the simple flavors. It's nothing fancy, but right now it tastes like the best thing I've ever eaten. Lisa watches me, concern etched on her face.

"Did you make any progress?" she asks hesitantly, after depositing the wardstone between us for security. It's only a ten-foot radius; better to keep it close.

I grimace, swallowing hard. "I'm not sure if what I did was considered progress."

Lisa's eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

I take another bite, chewing slowly as I try to gather my thoughts. How do I even explain what happened? The eerie forest, the mysterious pond, the spirit... it all seems so surreal now that I'm back in the real world.

"There's a place I go sometimes. It's like some sort of magical realm, but it feels kind of like a dream. This time, there was a dead forest and a dark pond. And a spirit."

Lisa tilts her head. "A spirit? Like a ghost, or…?"

I shake my head. "No, not like that. More like... a guardian, I guess? Of the magic in that place. But I still don't know where that place was, or why I was there."

Resting her chin in her hand, she watches me eat. "Well, where were you trying to go?"

"To the book. Well, I wasn't trying to go anywhere, but I wanted to connect with the book."

"So doesn't it stand to reason that it has something to do with the book? That place, and the spirit?"

said—" Wait. Squinting, as if that somehow makes my memories clearer, I think back. The spirit never gave me their name, but gave up Grimoire's without a second thought. The spirit somehow

Could it be…?

I mutter, scowling at the sandwich in my hands. I want to go back to that place

just have to

"What is it?"

I hold up a hand, chewing furiously as I think. If the spirit is Grimoire, then that place is—what? I don't know. Either Grimoire's place in that

many

lands. They called it a hellhole. Said they were

Curious. Very curious.

I tell Lisa, "I think the spirit is the book. I just missed

* * *

sure she's right—it would be better to try after a

help the feeling of urgency, like I'm lagging behind as things inexorably move

a few steps

But first, Lucas.

wondering if he'll be happy

quick shower later, I'm back

running—but Marcus is, and his presence behind me makes it

"Oh. You again."

right," I say, forcing maximum cheer into my voice. "Here to visit

words. I'm sure she's cursing my

I see if he wants visitors?" she

ready to snap. Without turning, I raise my hand slightly, a silent signal for him to stand down. This

injecting a healthy dose of false sweetness into my voice. "Do you do this for every patient under your care when a

receptionist's face tightens, her lips pressing into a thin line. She's clearly not used to being called out so directly. I can almost see the gears turning in her head as she tries

following protocol, Miss Grey," she says, her tone clipped. "We take patient privacy

my hands on the counter.

me, then back to me. "All visitors," she

that several other visitors walked right in without

of anger and embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "I-I don't have

voice low and steady. "But you do have to do your job fairly

itching to step in. But I need to handle this on my own. I'm tired of this. Tired of feeling like everyone's looking at me sideways. Tired of worrying