Tangled

Unshift 244

Unshift 244

244 Lisa: Seriously, It's Just Weird

LISA

At the mention of Ava's name, my heart clenches. God, I hope she's okay. I haven't seen her

since....

I push the memories away, focusing on the present. "What does Ava have to do with this?" "Everything," he says simply. "Your friend is at the center of events that could reshape our future, Lisa. She needs allies. People she can trust. People like you."

I shake my head, too confused. I'm missing huge chunks of the picture.

"Sorry, I don't understand. What events? What's happening to Ava? Isn't she safe with

The old man sighs, suddenly looking every bit his advanced age. "She is safe enough, I suppose. But the danger is always present, waiting for the right moment to strike. Decades, if not centuries, of planning have come to fruition, and we're only just learning of it. For now, I will have to apologize as we leave you in the dark a little longer. Just know that you're in a safe place."

"So why tell me anything at all?" I demand, my patience wearing thin. "Why not just leave me in the dark?"

"Because I don't need a human gallivanting off to what she thinks is freedom, only to be snatched up once again" He peers over his spectacles. "You thought of escape at least once, didn't you?" My cheeks heat a little, even as my chin lifts. The stubbornness deep within me is coming back to life, at least a little certain that I'm safe enough to snap back. "Wouldn't you, in my shoes?"

of a gentleman. Someone you'd see on those TV shows about posh royalty in England. “Hopefully I'll have a little more

Ava has never been kidnapped in the human world. But add werewolves to the mix?" I snap my fingers. "Kidnapped. Twice!

"I am truly sorry for what you've endured, Lisa, No one should have to suffer as you have. But

his tone, in the earnestness of his gaze, gives me

you mean?" I ask

old man's smile returns, warm and encouraging. "You, my child, are Fae-blessed. This

244 Lisa: Seriously. It's

Just Weird

above a whisper. "If I was stillborn... does that

human?"

brought you to life, but it didn't change your fundamental nature. You're simply enhanced. For every child brought back to life, a tiny piece of a High Fae Priestess'

word echoes in my head, bringing with it a mix of emotions I can't quite sort out. Fear, confusion, a strange sort of wonder, and underneath it all, a

voice stronger now. "Why would the Fae do this? What do they get out of it,

inscrutable, even to us gnomes. But from what we understand, Fae-blessed humans serve as a sort of bridge between our world and

this vampire-the Mad Prince? Why does he

darkens. "The Mad Prince has an obsession with them. He once. believed that by consuming the essence of a Fae-blessed human, he can gain access to Fac magic himself. Several have died in his pursuit of that power, and he never succeeded. But he gains something from their blood,

had

it

What a freak.

about it, and suddenly want nothing more

true-" which it can't be, because my parents are normal humans and definitely have