A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,48

physically. Instead, he only watches with a worried expression. I take it as a good sign that he doesn’t try to stop her, maybe not fully trusting me, but trusting in Rainey’s trust of me.

Rainey studies the vial before unscrewing the eyedropper top. She sucks in a bit of the pink liquid, her gaze coming to me in a silent moment of camaraderie.

She then tilts her head back, opens her left eye with the thumb and forefinger of the same hand, and squeezes one perfect drop into it at the inside corner. She repeats the same on the other side.

Rainey straightens, blinks her eyes a few times, and then brings her gaze right to Zaid.

There’s a tiny gasp, and her expression turns to one of surprise and fascination. “Oh my God,” she whispers as she walks past Carrick toward Zaid.

Rainey moves up to him slowly, but without fear. It’s almost as if she’s drawn to him, and I know she sees Zaid’s true face. His prominent brow, sunken cheeks, and the gray mist of an aura surrounding him.

She comes toe to toe with him. Reaching a hand out, she tentatively touches his cheek, despite his surly expression. I half expect Zaid to bat it away, but he holds perfectly still as she presses a palm to his cheekbone. I have to give her props because I would have never had the guts to do that myself.

Palm still to Zaid’s cheek, Rainey turns to me. “And this is what you’ve seen all these years?”

“Some aren’t as handsome as Zaid,” I reply dryly, shooting him a wink. He glares back at me.

Rainey’s hand drops and she looks at Titus for a moment, then to Carrick. “You’re both normal.”

“That’s debatable,” I mutter under my breath.

She then looks over to Myles, who stares at her with a flat expression. Is this too much for him? Has this killed his adoration for Rainey that she so recklessly took the eye drops?

“It’s okay, Myles,” she says with a smile, then nods toward the vial she had left on the counter. “You need to see this.”

I hold my breath as I watch him, not daring to let it out until he picks up the bottle. His attention stays focused on Rainey as he pulls some liquid into the dropper, then puts a small amount in each eye.

CHAPTER 11

Finley

“So you’re saying you never age in Semper Terra?” Myles asks Titus as they sit at the dining table, their breakfast plates just now cleared away by Rainey and Zaid.

The sun had come up a few hours ago, and we had mostly filled Rainey and Myles in on everything. After Myles took the drops and saw beneath Zaid’s glamour, it was a nonstop information barrage with dozens of intervening questions, which had to have driven Zaid and Carrick crazy.

Despite that, Zaid kept the coffee coming and we all moved into the living area, choosing the largest grouping of furniture to sit on. I told most of the story, continuing from how Carrick knew I could see under Marcus’ glamour and how he taught me about fae and daemons, all the way through what happened on the eve of my birthday with Fallon.

That was a tough one. It hit Rainey and Myles hard when they realized what it meant that Fallon was now a Dark Fae.

That, most likely, my sister had essentially died.

Rainey cried and hugged me, but I didn’t have any more tears at that moment. I had used them all up on Adira, who had been killed less than twelve hours earlier, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to hug the hell out of Rainey right back. I was so relieved they knew the truth that I’d hug everyone if I could.

Just as dawn was breaking, I told them what happened with the incubus and Adira. The tears did come again and both Rainey and I were soggy messes.

Throughout it all, Titus and Zaid would pipe in on some details, usually about daemons and fae or the meteor’s history and the magical stones it produced. Titus explained the concept of alternate dimensions separated by veils by telling them about where he lives in Semper Terra.

Throughout it all, Carrick remained quiet unless he was asked something directly. When Titus’ stomach growled like a lion, Zaid insisted on cooking breakfast and Titus regaled Rainey and Myles with more tales of Semper Terra. I glanced at Carrick a few times, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts. His face is