Tangled

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"

"Where are all these powerful families, then? Vanessa asks. "Why aren't they keeping the city in peace?"

He spreads his hands. "Missing.

249 Ava: Unnest

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

"Very. I murmur, wondering how all this ties into our inability to contact anyone.

There's no way this isn't connected.

What aren't we seeing?

Trying to p Trying to process this information has my head spinning one way, then the other. It feels like I've

woken

up in a different world; this feeling is getting too familiar. How many more times will 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 Florice?"

I nod, recalling the stern woman who resembled my mother. Her cold demeanor is hard to forget. "Doesn't she hate you?"

"Florice might be a 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 ever puts their hands on."

My curiosity piques. "What information might she have gleaned?"

Magister Orion shakes his head. "I'm 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 paperwork." "Why would she come to you?" Marcus asks suspiciously. "Do you think this could be a ploy to get to Ava?"

Magister Orion shakes his head, his salt-and-pepper hair catching the light. "Florice may dislike me because I refuse to play by the rules, but she knows I'm neutral in the city's political landscape.

I mull that over. "So she trusts you because you don't have a stake in the game?"

"Precisely," Magister Orion nods. "I've never aligned myself with any faction. My only interest is in magic and its preservation."

Marcus shifts beside me, his posture tense. "But how can we be sure she's not using that neutrality against you? Against us?"

He's paranoid. I guess it comes with the territory; he's here to keep me safe, not fight someone else's war.

Magister Orion's lips quirk into a wry smile. "Florice is many things, but not duplicitous. She's 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 it."

But what would be dire enough for someone like Florice to seek help from someone she disdains?

249 Ava: Unrest

Being awake doesn't mean I'm healed; I fall asleep not long after, despite the turmoil.

At some point I wake up again, still groggy. Vanessa's gone, and only Marcus remains.

I guess the suppressant's working. That's good to know.

"You feeling okay?"

Marcus' gruff voice warms my heart.

"Better, I think." I feel like I'm lying in a puddle of my own sweat, but my mind has regained some clarity.

"Vanessa's with Magister Orion downstairs, waiting on Florice," Marcus says, noticing when I look around the room.

"Who?" My brain takes a while to start up, slowly tugging at my memories. "Oh. Florice. Wait, how long have I been asleep?"

"Three hours."

That's it?

Seeing the surprise on my face, he says, "You can go back to sleep."

Despite my muddled head, I'm wide awake.

"No, I'm good." Shoving myself into a seated position, I twist my hair off the back of my neck. The room air is cool against the sweat gathered at my nape. "I think my fever's broken." "You look a little better," he agrees.

"I want a shower, and about twenty pounds of bacon, but I'll settle for going downstairs to wait

for Florice."

But when I try to slide off the edge of the bed, I fall to the side.

Marcus steadies me, holding onto my arm as I try to stand.

After three different attempts-all ending in me falling, only saved from hitting the floor thanks to Marcus' help-he tucks me back into bed like I'm a child. "Just rest. When Vanessa gets back, I'll get you those twenty pounds of bacon."

My phone rings, and I nearly leap out of bed to reach for it.

Marcus grabs it as I fall into an unceremonious tangle of blankets and legs on the floor, staring at me with an impassive face that hides his amusement.

I know he's laughing inside, because there are little crinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his jaw's a little tenser than normal, as if holding back laughter.

"Unknown number," he reports, handing it to me.

Damn. Not Lucas.

Then again, maybe it is.

I answer eagerly, before I'm free of the mess I've created. "Hello?"

"Is this Alpha Westwood's mate? The voice is soft and feminine, her words coming out in a rush.

I don't recognize it. "Yes. Who is this?"

"You must return to the pack, or everyone will be slaughtered." The woman's voice trembles, urgency lacing every breathy word. "You can't trust the FacContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

My heart leaps into my throat. The room spins, and I grip the phone tighter, its edges cutting into my fingers. "What? Who is this? What's happening?" "There's no time to explain. Just come back as soon as you can. We need you."

"But who's in danger? What's going on?" My voice rises, panic seeping into every syllable.

"Everyone. Or else Alpha-"

The line goes dead.

"Hello? Hello!" I shout into the phone, but there's nothing but silence.

Marcus snatches it out of my hands, hands tapping at the screen. "Can't dial back."

No surprise there; the number didn't even show up. I struggle out of the tangle of blankets trapping my legs. "We need to go back. Everyone's in danger."

He frowns. "Ava, calm down. Sit, first."

"I can't calm down. Lucas-"

He shoves a hand over my mouth, shoving me back until my knees hit the bed.

I sit, glaring at him over the edge of his palm.

"Calm down," he repeats, his heavy brows drawn in as his eyes bore into mine. "You need to listen to me before you do anything."

My heart pounds like crazy. It's a war drum, each beat reverberating through my body. The rush of blood in my ears wants to drown out the world, but I force myself to focus on Marcus' face.