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.

+

the vampire Margot was talking

features. "I'm afraid

it, right before I found you in the woods. It was so long ago, the details blur in

Ava: The

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

don't quite satisfy my curiosity, but before I can press

come down for dinner? I'm sure

distrust of this beautiful stranger who seems

in my voice. If Sister Miriam is his mother,

narrow. "He knows things he

mother is our ally," I

Marcus shakes his head,

his pot out.

Blackwood before we

too convenient to be

the ones who intruded on my privacy," Acarus points out from the bottom of the stairs.

stairs. His hand never strays far from his weapon. Vanessa

giant dining room. The entire house looks familiar, but it isn't until I see the giant table that

like the first place I met Sister Miriam. This one isn't quite the same, but it

one. And outside the windows is nothing but trees. Wherever

the modest accommodations," he says, as if a huge table that can easily fit sixteen is

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

and Vanessa remain

Wait a second.

you know we would be

is perfect. Melodious

nerves.

head of the table. "I'll do my best to answer

slide into a chair, ignoring the pointed looks

Ava: The

themselves on either side of me like

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 vampire and

lips quirk into a small smile. "Mother can be selective with the information she divulges. I'm sure you've noticed

around the subject or promised to answer things later, much like Selene does-yeah, I'd say I've noticed

her biological son," he says, motioning for us

and Vanessa sit stoic, not tempted by the food. Though

their lead.

me since I was young. In every way that matters, she is

have answers right now," Vanessa says, still suspicious. "How did you know about our arrival? We

exactly when you would arrive. I've been preparing a meal every day for weeks. He nods toward the food on the table. "At least this time I won't be throwing

the pigs, but I keep my mouth shut. More important things to worry about