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

“You should hashtag that,” I mutter even as I wring my hands together with worry over this news. My eyes go to the bed—which is huge—and move around the room. I see Carrick’s backpack in one corner. Had it always been there, and I missed it?

“Don’t worry,” Carrick says, and my gaze whips back to him. “I don’t bite.”

“But… there’s not a couch for you to sleep on,” I say hesitantly, wringing my hands with worry again.

“That bed is huge, Finley.” After he opens the door, he starts to back through it. He gives me a wink. “But if you find it’s a little too chilly, you are more than welcome to move in close and share body heat with me.”

I can’t even come up with a pithy response because Carrick is gone, the door shutting. I glance to the bed, then back to the door.

Once more to the bed.

It is huge.

We could both easily sleep in it semi-sprawled on each side and still not even touch one another.

And while Carrick says I could never trust Pyke not to take advantage of me if the opportunity presented, I know deep in my soul Carrick would never force anything on me. Hell, at this point, I’m back to even doubting that he likes me after the way he kissed me and then acted like it didn’t even happen.

CHAPTER 22

Finley

If I died tomorrow, I will have felt I’ve reached the pinnacle of success, for I am flying on the back of a gryffin over the lands of Faere, and it is incomparable to any other experience in my life. Of course, I’m sure whatever magical Xanax Carrick waved over me to take away my fear of heights has something to do with how magnificent the experience is, but I’m grateful for it.

In my world, gryffins are a fantasy creature, written in the history books as myth, but actually originated in Faere by the imagination of Queen Nimeyah. Carrick hypothesized to me this morning over a quick breakfast in our room that she must have brought them into the Earth realm—implementing herself into various cultures as a deity to worship—and so the legend was born and expanded after time wore on and Nimeyah didn’t return.

Last night was uneventful after Carrick left. I had no worries where Deandra was concerned, and it had nothing to do with the fact he had offered me the orb by which to spy. It was the fact that as I had observed their few interactions together since coming to Faere, it was clear the interest was one-sided on Deandra’s part. Carrick helped me realize that when he declared nothing would ever happen between them again.

On top of that, there was a spark of something between Carrick and me last night when he had me up against the wall and I had the distinct feeling it took all his willpower not to deepen that brush of a kiss. While we all know there are men who will gladly go around and kiss more than one woman on a single day, Carrick’s sense of duty and loyalty runs deep, so he wouldn’t do that to me. If he put his lips on mine, he would not put them on Deandra, and I felt confident in that knowledge.

At any rate, I fell into an exhausted sleep and didn’t even hear Carrick come back to the room or get into bed. I slept straight through the night, and only awoke after he started shaking me to get up.

After our breakfast, we meet Pyke down at the barn. He shoots me a devilish smile and no doubt just to rile Carrick, he says, “I really missed you last night. I wished you would have returned to the party, so I could have another dance.”

Carrick doesn’t reply, but I can tell by his scowl that he doesn’t appreciate the sentiment. I, on the other hand, seem to like that Pyke can provoke Carrick to what might be jealousy.

Pyke is nonplussed as he asks Carrick, “Assume you want to travel by horse?”

I pipe up with a question of my own. “Why don’t you just bend distance and teleport us there or whatever it is?”

Pyke cocks an eyebrow, shooting a chastising look at Carrick. “Someone has been teaching her about the Light Fae.”

Carrick shrugs without apology. “Everyone is the enemy until they prove they’re not, so she has to know what she’s up against.”

Pondering that just a second, Pyke shrugs. “Fair point.”

He then turns to me. “As you’ve clearly been taught, only the royals, nobility, and gentry can bend distance for travel. However, only those same fae can survive such an action. It would kill a human, so today we have to travel by less magical means.”

“Oh,” I reply, glad I now know that, and making a mental note never to be within arm’s length of a fae who could potentially take me somewhere by bending distance just to kill me.