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

Settling back in my chair, I close my eyes and concentrate. I envision the queen sitting on her throne and perhaps Carrick has been given permission to sit in the king’s chair to her left. I try to picture Deandra, and an awful image pervades my brain of her draping herself upon his lap, fingers in his hair as she whispers dirty things in his ear.

Fury flushes through me, and I feel my feather tattoo start to tingle.

Then my ears pop, causing my eyes to fly open in shock as I can now clearly hear the occupants of the room as they’re talking. I can hear them as if I were standing right in their midst.

First, I hear Carrick’s laugh, causing me to sigh. I rarely hear such a sound, but God, he’s got a great one.

Then I hear Deandra’s giggle, and I grimace.

“Okay,” Queen Nimeyah says snappishly, making me think she just interrupted a good dose of flirting going on between Carrick and her daughter. It feels like lava is in my veins. “Let’s talk business. Why are you here, Carrick?”

“There’s a prophecy,” he explains. “Typical end-of-days stuff, and apparently that human out there is the key to it.”

I ignore the fact he references me as if “human” is a dirty word as I’m smart enough to know he’s playing their game.

“What’s the prophecy?” Deandra asks.

“We’re not quite sure,” Carrick replies. “I’m hoping The Scryer can give us some guidance. I’ve exhausted my resources in the Earth realm.”

There’s a drawn-out sliver of a moment where I think my super hearing is on the fritz. I slap my hand against my ear a few times, but then the queen speaks again.

“Prophecies are a dime a dozen. Humans are often called to succeed or fail at them. It’s the earthly realm, and it’s of no consequence to us, so I’m not inclined to help. Besides, anything that decimates the human population would make me rather happy, I’d say.”

“Why?” Carrick challenges and I’m immediately uneasy he could be drawing the queen’s ire. “Why would you care about such a thing? It’s not like the Light Fae will be traveling back to the Earth realm to live. You love this land you’ve created. You love it far better than earth, so why would such a thing make you happy?”

The queen doesn’t answer, but apparently, Carrick sees something in her expression he understands, because he murmurs, “Aahh… I see now.”

What? What do you see Carrick?

His voice is surprisingly gentle when he says, “You wouldn’t mind Earth perishing as a way to punish God for casting you out in the first place.”

“I don’t owe you any explanation for my actions,” Nimeyah replies imperiously, and it’s in such a tone that I’m afraid she might strike him dead. Which means I’d soon be dead. “I do what I want because I am queen, and there is no one above me to say different.”

I wonder if the gods are above her. They don’t interfere, but their powers are not from the stone and they are more ancient than the Light Fae.

“I’m asking as a personal favor,” Carrick rumbles. “And you know I don’t ask for those lightly.”

Another pause, but this one short before the queen laughs in a husky voice. “A favor? You’re asking me for a favor when you know the price I’ll want in return won’t be small? I want the real truth, Carrick. Why is a demi-god helping a lowly human with a prophecy? It’s completely beneath you.”

The entire room starts to spin as the space around me starts to dim. Nausea rises within me, and I grab hold of the armrests of the chair to stabilize myself, so I don’t pass out.

A demi-god?

Carrick is a demi-god?

I don’t even know what the hell that is, but it implies he’s part god. Of all the times I asked him what he was, I never in a million years thought something in the god category was even possible. Admittedly, I don’t know much about all this supernatural stuff, but I truly had not expected this. At the most, I thought Carrick was likely just a human granted with certain magics by the gods so he can serve them on modern-day Earth. I had even assumed there were many like Carrick like that, including his brothers, Lucien and Maddox.

Taking in a deep breath, I try to force myself past the shock of that revelation when I realize my senses have been disrupted and I can’t hear them anymore.

I close my eyes again, try to picture them within the room, but my entire body is still vibrating with that burst of adrenaline that revelation caused. I can’t pick up on them at all, and it must be because I’m completely discombobulated to learn Carrick is part god.

Which explains his superhuman good looks and magnetism.