The Evolution of Fae and Gods (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 3)

In that moment, I didn’t want to be a part of this prophecy. I just wanted him to whisk me away to some small, obscure AltVeritas and let my world burn.

Of course, that desire to just give up lasted only a few seconds, but it served to highlight how unfair it is that I have Carrick and he has me, but it could end at any time.

A figure moves behind me, and I’d been so lost in my thoughts that it causes me to jump. But it’s just Carrick coming into the bathroom to check on me.

I don’t turn away from the mirror, and he comes to stand at my back. He’s a full head taller than me, so he can look over me to our reflections. One hand goes to my hip, his thumb smoothing over the material as he scans me. His gaze lingers overlong at my breasts, causing my nipples to tighten even more. Carrick’s eyes glow as his hand moves from my hip to the back of my dress, where he merely traces a finger along the material that hovers just above my tailbone.

Just these small touches and the way he’s looking at me makes me want to just melt into a puddle of goo. While he’s studying me, I study him. It astounds me that someone as beautiful and powerful as him—a demi-god—could be interested in the hot mess that is Finley Porter. Perhaps I’ll always question it.

Carrick’s eyes come back to meet mine in the reflection. “I knew you’d look fabulous in that dress. That gold champagne color is made for you.”

His hand comes up and around me, cupping my jaw and stroking it with his thumb. “It makes the gold in your eyes stand out.”

“It matches your eyes completely,” I point out.

Carrick chuckles as his hand falls away from my face. “As good as you look in that dress, it’s missing something.”

He lifts that same hand and within his grasp is a necklace that causes me to gasp. The pendant is what I think might be a yellow diamond, but it’s the size of a large walnut. Diamonds surround it and the entire chain is crusted with the same.

“Where did you get that?” I ask in amazement.

“I have an incredible jewelry collection I’ve amassed over the years. You’re welcome to anything in it.”

I shake my head, giving a chastising look at Carrick. “You can’t just go around offering your jewelry like that.”

“Why not?” he asks as he unclasps the necklace.

“Well… just because,” I stammer.

Bringing the necklace over my head, he settles the large stone at the center of my chest. “I’d give you anything you want, Finley.”

I can’t help but smile as he fastens the necklace before bringing his hands to my shoulders. I look at him in the mirror. “Out of curiosity’s sake, how much is this necklace worth?”

Carrick shrugs. “It hasn’t been appraised in a long time. Maybe seven-fifty.”

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars?” I choke out, asking for clarification.

“Give or take twenty-five thousand.”

“You’re nuts,” I mutter, but I bring my hand up to touch the cool stone before I give him my attention again. “But I don’t need your jewelry or your money.”

“What do you need?” he asks, head tilted.

“Just you,” I reply softly, feeling a little embarrassed to admit to such deep feelings. “Oh, and to save the world. And to live, of course. Not a lot, right?”

Smiling, Carrick bends, pulling my hair back. His lips graze along my neck briefly before he says, “You deserve all of that.”

He straightens, and our eyes meet in the mirror again. He looks more familiar to me now than ever. Like I’ve known him forever, and I have to marvel at just how integrated he’s become in my life in three short months.

All that snapping and settling that happens when we’re intimate, whether it be a kiss or our bodies joining, makes us meld more firmly together every single time.

We’ve not talked about it, but it’s something I can viscerally feel. I think he feels it, too, because this shift in our relationship has changed something fundamental within him. He treats me like I’m a treasure.

“We should be going,” Carrick says softly as he takes my hand. He leads me through the bathroom to the bed, where he picks up a soft velvet shawl to ward off the chill of an August evening in Berlin.

We’re now on the clock, and we have work to do.

* * *

Veda was incredibly helpful to Carrick. He told me he sought her out for other information—to find out if the gods would interfere in the prophecy at all—and she assured him that our paths were set once the prophecy started.

But she also saved him the time of hunting down Otto by telling him quite a bit about the elusive evil sorcerer. Otto was indeed the man’s modern name, but he was once a young man by the name of Uthman during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu in Egypt and served as one of his priests. In fact, he was one of the Pharaoh’s trusted who were allowed inside the Giza pyramid, which had been built over the meteor that had come to Earth.