A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,74

should tread very cautiously when dealing with them, especially in Faere. As long as you’re with me, you have my protection and won’t be harmed.”

“And what exactly is the game plan when we get there?” Finley asked.

“Protocol,” Carrick muttered with a grimace. “We’re going to have to seek welcome by the royal family first, who will give us permission to travel the realm.”

“And what exactly constitutes the royal family?”

Carrick leaned back in his chair, picked up his bourbon, and took a sip. Holding the glass in his hand, he decided to give Finley a lesson on Faere and its inhabitants.

“As you well know, Faere is a realm the Light Fae created after their numbers became far outnumbered by humans. Desiring to have their own home where they didn’t need to be glamoured and could be free to use their powers without discovery, Faere was created by a Light Fae named Nimeyah, who owned a stone from the meteor. She took Callidan as her king. Over the millennia, they were able to have two children, Pykalias and Deandra. Those four—the queen, king, prince, and princess—make up the royal family.”

“Pykalias? Would that be the Pyke you’re looking for?”

“Indeed,” Carrick affirmed. “He spends time between realms, but he must be in Faere, which is why we can’t find him.”

Finley’s head tipped in curiosity. “And they’re royal merely because Nimeyah created the realm?”

Carrick shrugged. “I’d guess it had more to do with her having a stone, which meant she had more power. She bestowed the same powers she held to her husband and their children. She filtered down more power—but not as strong—to her closest allies, those who were original fallen angels. They became part of the royal family by inclusion and are referred to as the nobility. Just below them are the gentry or the higher-class citizens. They are distinguished from the nobility as they are not original fallen angels, but rather offspring of Light Fae. However, they have the same powers as the nobility. Below the gentry is the lower class—those who have fallen from society or were outcast for one reason or another. They make up the working class. The society as a whole basically lives in harmony now, but after Faere was created, like with any civilization, there were wars and attempts to wrestle power. Over time, the nobility and gentry settled in and accepted Nimeyah as supreme ruler, and the lower class was subjugated as they had lesser powers.”

“Doesn’t sound that much different than most of the world’s history when it comes to war, class status, and power?” Finley muttered.

“No, it doesn’t,” Carrick agreed. “You need to know the royals’ powers are immense. As happens in all evolutions, it has adapted and grown stronger.”

“You’ve never told me about fae powers,” Finley said, finally taking another sip of her bourbon. “Not comprehensively, anyway.”

“Working backward, the lowest class of the Light Fae have strength, immortality, and the ability to glamour. Those were the original three powers they were bestowed when their ancestors fell from the heavens. That’s pretty much the same with the Dark Fae as well, but they were locked away in the Underworld, so far less is known about them.”

Finley frowned. “But I remember Zaid saying some stones made their way there, and some Dark Fae developed powers.”

“That’s true, but not our worry right now,” Carrick admonished before continuing. “The royal nobles and the gentry have strength, immortality, and glamour as well as the ability to heal and alter reality.”

“Alter reality?”

“Use their magic to conjure things, or bend distances to travel more quickly. The original royals, however—”

“Wait,” Finley exclaimed, holding up a hand to interrupt. “What do you mean bend distances? And they can conjure anything? Like if they were thirsty and wanted a cup of water, they could just conjure it? Oh, and can they fly… you know… since they used to be angels?”

Carrick patiently waited until she blurted all her questions, then asked her not to interrupt again. He promised to tell her all, so he did, settling in to give her as much information as possible that would keep her aware and safe.

He explained bending distances was like pulling two faraway places close together, so you could step from one to the other in the blink of an eye. Finley wanted to argue that was teleporting, but he shut that down quickly. Carrick also explained that conjuring depended on the individual strength, which often had to do with how old the fae was, since powers seemed