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 they keeping the city in

spreads his

249 Ava: Unnest

other shifters in the city, including

murmur, wondering how all this ties into our inability to

no way this isn't

What aren't we seeing?

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

woken

out from under me? "Someone is coming who might have answers," Magister Orion adds. "Do you remember

who resembled my mother. Her cold demeanor

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 every document a Fae

curiosity piques. "What information might she

sure, but she seems agitated by the situation. That alone is cause for concern. Florice never involves herself in politics. She lives and breathes paperwork." "Why would she come to you?" Marcus asks suspiciously. "Do you think this could be a ploy

may dislike me because I refuse to play by the rules, but she knows I'm neutral in the

"So she trusts you because you don't have a stake in

Orion nods. "I've never aligned myself with any faction. My only interest is

posture tense. "But how can we be sure she's not using that neutrality against

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

is many things, but not duplicitous. She's rigid, inflexible, and often infuriating,

for someone like Florice

249 Ava: Unrest

healed; I fall asleep not long

still groggy. Vanessa's

guess the suppressant's working. That's

"You feeling okay?"

voice

puddle of my own

waiting on Florice," Marcus says, noticing when I

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

"Three hours."

That's it?

my face, he says, "You can go back to

head, I'm

off the back of my neck. The room air is cool against the sweat

twenty pounds of bacon, but I'll settle for going downstairs to

for Florice."

to slide off the edge of the

my arm as I