A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 2)

I take a deep breath before opening the back door of Rainey’s car. They both glance over their shoulders at me. “I’ll be in and out before you know it.”

Neither argues with me. Neither wishes me luck, either, and I decide they are definitely pouting.

“Look at all this foot traffic out here,” I point out with a bright smile. “And the gallery front is nothing but floor-to-ceiling windows. I’ll be in plain sight.”

Finally, I get a reluctant smile from Rainey. “Good luck.”

My gaze moves to Myles, and he nods. “You got this.”

“Yeah, I do,” I reply confidently. Because I know I’m going to catch DFF off guard, I only plan to stay long enough to determine if I can reach my sister while perhaps lulling DFF into a false sense of security that I won’t be interfering in her life.

I exit the car, sling my backpack over my shoulder, and shut the door quietly before stepping up onto the sidewalk. I’ve got on my lucky Chucks today, the classic white high tops, although they’ve grayed a little with wear and age. While I had been dressing a little nicer while working at One Bean since taking ownership, I walked out of Carrick’s condo today knowing I was going to see Fallon, so I decided to dress comfortably in case, God forbid—or is it gods forbid?—we tangled. While my whip is coiled and hidden in my bag, I feel a bit safer knowing it’s close by. However, I didn’t want the handle out and attached to the side. I don’t want to call unnecessary attention to myself when coming face to face with DFF.

Reaching the gallery, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You got this, Finley,” I murmur.

Opening the door, I step onto the black lacquered floor, immediately taking in the people inside. There is a couple perusing art, clearly human. That is probably my best safety net. A person I’m guessing is an employee sits behind the counter and I don’t need to open my senses to know it’s a dark creature. A quick peek beneath the veil reveals a dark daemon. He looks up at me, doesn’t appear to recognize or know who I am, and goes back to flipping through a magazine on the counter.

And there is Fallon.

Or the creature formerly known as Fallon.

DFF.

She’s on the opposite side of the room, talking to someone on her cell phone. She doesn’t notice me as she’s angled slightly toward the wall, so I take the time to observe her even as I ignore the heavily nauseated feeling her vibe is causing me.

She looks like my sister.

Somewhat.

She’s definitely not wearing Fallon’s clothing, as the deep red wrap-around dress is cut incredibly low to show way too much cleavage for a business owner, and her makeup is overdone and gaudy. She’s either gotten a perm or taken to meticulously curling her hair with a small wand as her bob is shortened greatly by the tight curls she now bears. When I look under the glamour, however, she’s still as terrifying as I remember, and I quickly switch back to human mode.

While I’d become incredibly adept at leaving fae and daemon’s true forms in place after I looked, I just can’t face this creature in her true form. There’s some measure of comfort in staring at my sister’s face, even though her hair and makeup are off.

DFF ends the call and starts for her office, which has her angling across the gallery floor and heading my way.

When her gaze comes to mine, she blinks in absolute surprise to see me there. Despite my gut clenching from the darkness she exudes, I smile, holding a hand up. “Hey, sis.”

Lips pressed into a flat line, she attempts to sound friendly as her heels click over the hard floor toward me. “Finley. What a… surprise?”

“I was actually in the area, so I thought I’d just pop in and say hello,” I reply, thankful my voice sounds strong, my tone lighthearted.

“It’s really not a good time—”

DFF stops in mid-sentence when the door to the gallery opens behind me. I glance back over my shoulder to see Rainey and Myles walking in, hand in hand.

Myles thumbs over his shoulder. “We got a parking spot on this block,” he says loudly, then turns to DFF. “Hey, Fallon.”

“We’re so sorry to hear about Blaine,” Rainey drawls sympathetically. “If there’s anything we can do, you need to let us know.”

I can feel my face turn red with anger that they would deliberately come in here when I told them not to, but part of me is impressed with their gumption.

“Yes, well,” DFF says flatly, absolutely unmoved by Rainey’s concern. “The Bern police are doing everything they can.”

And this is it. My moment to see if I can reach Fallon. “Um… remember your gallery show last month?”