A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,105

dust around.

“Are those little fairies actually fallen angels?” I ask Carrick, wondering how creatures in this realm could be so vastly different.

He shakes his head. “They’re just magical experiments by Nimeyah and evolution happening down there. The original fallen angels are Nimeyah and her husband, as well as the nobles. All others were birthed here or created by Nimeyah.”

“Zaid had told me before that not all Light Fae are beautiful, but I’ve yet to see anything less than ordinary. I mean, the fairies and the gnomes are weird, but you know what I mean.”

Carrick nods as he touches the gryffin on the left side of the neck to turn that way, following Pyke. “You have to remember that Faere is thousands upon thousands of years old. You’ve got simple evolution working along with Nimeyah trying to tweak things with her powers. Many fae were born with defects over the millennia. They bred and created new species of Light Fae. But going to your earlier point of the beauty of the Light Fae, there are many that are not easy to look upon. They’ve been shunned and live on the outer edges of the realm. They form their own little societies where they aren’t so different from one another, and they survive. Some choose to live in the Earth realm because they can glamour themselves and not be ashamed of their looks.”

“That’s horrible and sad,” I mutter sympathetically, remembering just how vapid the people at the castle were.

“I agree,” Carrick replies. “But isn’t that the way society functions in the Earth realm? Preference given to the beautiful, educated, and rich. Those who aren’t have to claw their way to make something of themselves or they don’t even bother.”

I ponder this as Carrick isn’t wrong. Knowing he’s a demi-god, and supposedly as immortal as the fae and daemons, I wonder how many different societies and cultures he’s lived in throughout the ages. It’s something I’m dying to ask him now, but I bite my tongue. I had decided last night that the time to confront Carrick with my knowledge was not in Faere where I was not exactly safe and welcome. For all I know, it could piss Carrick off that I’d eavesdropped, and he’d leave me here to fend for myself.

As we fly along, I’m grateful we’re at a low enough altitude I only have the minor shivers from the wind and cool air, made bearable by being able to press in tight to Carrick’s warmth.

I’m not sure how long we travel, but I know my butt is hurting and I’m hungry as we start to descend. Pyke circles us around a copse of trees to a small clearing on the eastern edge where a small domed hut made of branches and what looked like tanned leather hides sits. There’s a campfire built and burning hot with a pot held over the top on a tripod of sturdy branches.

Pyke brings us in low for a landing. It’s far bumpier than I had anticipated, but at least I stay seated. Carrick dismounts first, then lifts his hands up to help me down. Once my feet are planted on the ground again, I take stock of how stiff my legs and back are and my butt is numb. As far as experiences go, I’m okay if I don’t ride a gryffin again for a long distance.

Pyke and Carrick pat the gryffins on the haunches, which sends them loping several yards away into the trees.

“Will they stick around?” I ask.

Pyke shakes his head. “They’ll hunt for some food right now, but then return to the castle on their own. I’ll bend distance to get back, and you and Carrick will return to the Earth realm from here.”

We start heading closer to the domed hut, and Pyke calls out, “Greetings… Arwen… are you in there?”

When there’s no response or sound from within, Pyke moves a little closer. “Oy… cousin… it’s Pyke. Get your hind end out here. I brought guests.”

Cousin?

That shocks me, because if this Arwen is his cousin, then he’s nobility, which begs the question why he would live so far removed from the wealth of his family.

There’s a rustling at the flap entrance to the dome, then it’s pushed outward. To my surprise, when Arwen steps out, I see it’s a she rather than a he. I’m not sure why I assumed The Scryer would be a male, because well… I’ve never met a scryer in my life. Never even knew what one