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 talking about?"

perfect features.

vampire on Blackwood lands. Margot came to warn me about it, right before I found you in the woods.

Ava: The

tilts his head in thought. "That

curiosity, but before I can press further,

I'm sure

hesitation, their distrust of this beautiful stranger who seems

the conviction in my voice. If

narrow. "He knows

is our ally,"

Marcus shakes his head,

his pot out.

Blackwood before

too convenient to be

my privacy," Acarus points out from the bottom of the stairs. "Come along.

as he descends the stairs. His hand never strays far from his

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

eccentric and eclectic, just like the first place I met Sister Miriam. This one isn't quite the

outside the windows is nothing but trees. Wherever we are, it isn't in a

as if a huge table

steaming in earthenware bowls. It's far from the claborate Fae meals we've grown accustomed to,

and Vanessa

Wait a second.

did you know we would be

chuckles, and even the sound is perfect. Melodious and

nerves.

taking a seat at the head of the table. "I'll do my best to answer your

slide into a chair, ignoring the pointed looks from Marcus and Vanessa. They reluctantly

The

positioning themselves on either

Miriam is your mother, I begin, unable to contain my curiosity any longer. "How is that possible? She never mentioned

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

or promised to answer things later, much

am not her biological son," he says, motioning for us

and Vanessa sit stoic, not tempted by the

their lead.

In every way that matters, she

rather have answers right now," Vanessa says, still suspicious. "How did you know about our arrival? We didn't plan on

his fingers together, he sighs. "Truth be told, I didn't know 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 it out for the

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