Tangled

Unshift 255

Unshift 255

255 Ava: The Golden Stranger

Light illuminates the room, and Marcus steps back, hiding me more fully behind his bulk.

"Who are you?" he asks, and I glance at the knife he's holding behind his back.

When I try to step around him to see who's talking, Vanessa steps forward to block the gap.

can't see anything, and yet I know who's talking. I just can't remember who they are.

"Easy, wolves. I am no enemy of yours, and no danger to the witch you shield."

"Give us your name, Vanessa snaps, uncharacteristic hostility in her tone. "Who are you, and why do you know us?"

"Ah, yes. I suppose you wouldn't know. I am known as Acarus, of the Fourth Beginning. You know my mother"

"Mother?" Marcus asks, shifting his weight as he edges a little closer. "And who might that be?"

"And what the hell is the Fourth Beginning?" Vanessa's annoyance is clear. "You can't throw around words and expect them to mean a thing."

"Oh. Yes, I suppose you wouldn't know that, either." A long pause. "Don't look at me so, wolves. My mother is Miriam, of the Fourth Beginning. Or, as you know it, Dakota Sanctuary. There's a lilt in his voice that tells me he's probably smiling. "Does that help?"

"Miriam?"

The talk of a mother dislodged a long-forgotten memory, and I shove past Marcus.

The golden stranger stands before us, his palms raised in a gesture of peace. His ethereal beauty. is just as striking as I remember-inhuman in its perfection. Golden hair catches the light, and those piercing blue eyes seem to shift to a crimson hue as they move. A mild smile plays on his lips, but it does little to ease the tension in the room.

Marcus and Vanessa tug me back, their protective instincts kicking in, but I shake them off as I

exclaim, "It's you!"

I turn to my friends, eager to explain. "He was in the woods during the Blackwood riot. He didn't harm me then."

Acarus nods in my direction, his gaze appraising. "You've become stronger since we last met, Ava

Grey."

A question that's been nagging at me since our first encounter bubbles to the surface.

+

vampire Margot was

perfect features. "I'm afraid

warn me about it, right before I found you in the woods. It was so long ago, the details blur in my mind. "She was worried about something. Worried I'd tell Lucas about their

The Golden

brows arch and he tilts his head in thought. "That seems unlikely. I have no contact

quite satisfy my curiosity, but before I can press further, he changes the

you all come down for dinner? I'm sure you must be hungry

and Vanessa exchange wary glances. I can feel their hesitation, their distrust of this beautiful stranger who seems to know so much

conviction in my voice.

knows

our ally," I point

Marcus shakes his head,

his pot out.

"He was near Blackwood before

That's too

who intruded on my privacy," Acarus points out from the bottom

cautious as he descends the stairs. His hand never strays far from his weapon. Vanessa follows, positioning

entire house looks familiar, but it isn't

just like the first place I met Sister Miriam. This

outside the windows is nothing but

as if a huge table that

cheese, and what looks like a hearty stew steaming in earthenware bowls. It's far from the claborate Fae meals we've grown accustomed to, but my stomach growls appreciatively at the

Vanessa remain

Wait a second.

did you know we would be

perfect. Melodious and deep, like a

nerves.

says, taking a seat at the head of the

slide into a chair, ignoring the pointed

The Golden

themselves on either side of

know we would be here? Second, you said Sister Miriam is your mother, I begin, unable to contain my curiosity any longer. "How is that possible? She never mentioned having children, and vampires aren't usually..." Well, that's kind of silly. She's the product of a

small smile. "Mother can be selective with the

all the times she's danced around the subject or promised to answer things later, much like Selene does-yeah, I'd

says, motioning for us to partake as he sits back in

and Vanessa sit stoic, not tempted by the

their lead.

raised me since I was young. In every way

did you know about our arrival? We didn't

every day for weeks. He nods toward the food on the table. "At least

about the pigs, but I keep