Tangled

Unshift 249

Unshift 249

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

1. 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.

H

"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, Fac 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?

My mind reels, leaving me dizzy. "Does this happen often?"

"No, never." He clicks his 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 families have allied to keep peace in this sanctuary; no one can stand up to their combined power."

"Until now," Marcus says, surprising me. I didn't realize he was here.

"Until now," Magister Orion echoes with a sigh. "Too many people are missing. The body count keeps rising"

asks. "Why aren't

his

249 Ava: Unnest

no sign of Alpha Renard, or any other shifters in the city, including the rogues who have lived here for years. It's

murmur, wondering how all this ties into our inability to

no way this

What aren't we seeing?

p Trying to process this information has my head spinning one way, then the other.

woken

the rug get pulled out from under me? "Someone is coming who might have answers," Magister Orion adds. "Do you remember the strange Fae named

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

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 every document a Fae ever puts their hands

"What information might

not sure, but she seems agitated by the situation. That alone is cause for concern. Florice never involves herself in politics. She lives and breathes

light. "Florice may dislike me because I

you because you don't have a stake

myself with any faction.

shifts beside me, his posture tense. "But how can we

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

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

be dire enough for someone like Florice to seek help

249 Ava: Unrest

healed; I fall asleep not long

still

suppressant's working. That's good to

"You feeling okay?"

gruff voice warms

I think." I feel like I'm lying in a puddle of my own sweat,

Orion downstairs, waiting on Florice," Marcus says, noticing when I look around

brain takes a while to start up, slowly tugging at my memories. "Oh. Florice. Wait, how

"Three hours."

That's it?

face, he says, "You can

head, I'm

my neck. The room air is cool against the sweat gathered at my nape. "I think my fever's broken."

shower, and about twenty pounds of bacon, but

for Florice."

slide off the edge of the

onto my arm