Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 391 Lisa: Talking with the Grand Sage

LISA

With Ava out to purify the large mass of corruption she calls a taint, and Lucas busy being Alpha, I've been stuck

in Kellan's cabin, surrounded by ten werewolves in tactical gear and impassive faces.

They don't talk, no matter how much I try to be friendly to them. Maybe they're the kind of wolves who don't like

humans. Or maybe they're just really professional.

They aren't holdinghostage or anything, though, so | learn to ignore them. Eventually they followto the

Grand Sage's cabin.

Thick gray smoke curls from his chimney, lettingknow that it will at least be warm inside. Maybe no tea or

food, though. Ever since Elverly's been working in the kitchen to feed the pack, his cabin's turned into a bit of a

bachelor pad.

My boots crunch on the path to his home, shoveled free of feet of snow thanks to someone Kellan assigned to

the task during the last round of snowfall.

| duck through the doorway into blessed warmth.

Only two of my guards followinside. The others spread out around the cabin's perimeter like silent shadows

in tactical gear. At least | won't have ten pairs of eyes boring into my back while I'm in here.

Hopefully they know to keep their mouths shut, too. Almost no one knows the Grand Sage is actually a gnome.

Everyone just thinks of him as the eccentric Dr. Blackwell.

The two who entered position themselves by the door, weapons at the ready. Their faces remain impassive, but |

catch the slight wrinkle of their noses. The Grand Sage's cabin smells like a mix of burning metal, ozone, and

something vaguely medicinal.

It's ever-changing, depending on what he's working on.

Papers cover every surface, covered in the Sage's cramped handwriting. Bits of metal and crystal lie scattered

among the documents. The man himself hunches over his workbench, muttering as he sketches something that

looks like a cross between an hourglass and a medieval torture device.

I sink into the chair across from him, but he doesn't look up. His quill scratches against the parchment as he

adds more details to whatever he's designing. After watching him work for several minutes, | clear my throat.

He startles, ink splattering across his latest drawing. "Oh! Child, when did you arrive?"

"Just now." Lifting my arm, | nod toward the brace, its metal glinting in the lamplight. It's always dim in here. "I

had to use it."

His eyes light up behind his wire-rimmed glasses. "Really? How did it perform?"

An inkwell nearly falls over as he scrambles for a fresh sheet of paper. His quill hovers expectantly as he waits

for my response. I've given him so many pens, but he really likes his quills lately. Says it's a more authentic

experience.

"It worked." My words are hollow, but of course he doesn't seem to notice. When it comes to his inventions, he's

blind to everything else. "It manifested exactly as designed. Clean hit, complete incineration of the target.

Seemed more powerful than normal, though. Is it supposed to sync with my emotional state?"

"Excellent, excellent!" He scribbles frantically. "It might, as it's bonded to you by your blood. How was the power

consumption? Did you notice any drain on your personal energy reserves?"

Mira's lifeless eyes flash through my mind, and | cringe away from the memory. "No drain. Just death."

But he's too absorbed in his notes to notice my tone. "Good, good. No matter how much testing is done, it's

always a relief to hear it's working properly on the battlefield."

"It worked too well." My fingers trace the metal surface, remembering the searing heat of my rage. "I was feeling

more murderous than usual, and the brace seemed to pick up on that. The blast was much stronger than our

practice sessions."

The Grand Sage's quill pauses mid-stroke. "Fascinating. Tellmore about your emotional state during

deployment."

"I was angry. Very angry. | wanted to see her burn, and | wanted her to die miserably." Now that I'm so far

removed from the moment, it's crazy tothat | could have that level of anger toward another person. Even

someone who hurt my friend.

"Are you sure | can't use magic? Because that didn't feel normal. It felt like... like that power cfrom me, not

just the brace."

"Unfortunately, no. You cannot generate or manipulate magic. However, your magical affinity can influence

certain bondings, such as with your brace."

"Bonding?" | pounce on that word. It's his second tusing it now. "You never told| was bonded with it

before." Or he did, and it was lost in all the words he likes to use when he gets excited. It's certainly a possibility.

"Ah, perhaps | should clarify." He sets down his quill to regardwith a thoughtful stare. "It's not a bond like

what you've seen between mates or pack bonds. Think of it as a natural reaction. The brace becomes sensitive

to its wearer over time, affected by mental state and purpose."

"But how does that work if | can't use magic?" Magitech is already something way over my head. The fact that

sof my blood can power a magical item is already bonkers. Having something that can somehow read my

mind is crazier still. It was already weird tothat visualizing what | wanted out of my brace would cause that

shape to materialize; this is on a whole different level.

"While you cannot release the magic within your blood, what exists in your body can still be affected by you. In

fact, there was actually a fascinating case in history—a Fae-blessed human woman who transformed her blood

into a type of poison. She beca walking toxin. No one fully understood how she managed it, but she became

a much sought-after assassin. | hear she was beautiful, too."

My stomach turns. "That's disgusting." | stare at the brace with new wariness. "Wait, are you saying this thing

has skind of sentience? Because that's creepy as hell." Artificial intelligence, but with magic.

The Grand Sage chuckles. "No, no. Not sentience. Think of it more as an extension of your arm. It responds to

your intent, your emotions, just as your muscles respond to your brain's signals."

"That's... not as comforting as you probably think it is."

"Yes, | suppose it wouldn't be."