The Revelation of Light and Dark (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 1)

Carrick growls, pulling me over toward the wall to move us out of the crowd. He gets in my face, his back to the others, and regards me with an unsympathetic expression. “Your fucking sister is Dark Fae, that’s what’s going on.”

I shake my head in denial. “We don’t know that. We haven’t proved the vibe I feel equates to darkness or light yet.”

“I saw your reaction, Finley. It was something different than you’ve ever felt before, right?”

Bile rises in my throat as I admit, “It was awful.” I can feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I hate my weakness. “It felt… so very evil.”

Maybe it’s because I’m on the verge of losing my shit, but Carrick doesn’t debate whether Fallon is dark or light anymore. Instead, he merely reiterates, “We really need to get out of here right now and put some safe distance between you and her until we can figure out what the hell is going on.”

While my instincts are to go to Fallon’s room to check on her, I know I can’t do that. Just as I am already grieving within my heart because that thing in there is not my sister anymore. I merely nod to Carrick and let him pull me from the wall, his arm once again going around my waist for support, although my legs feel stronger now.

“Where are you two going?” Rainey asks as she appears out of nowhere, stepping in front of us. Her eyes take me in critically, and she frowns over what she sees on my face.

“I’m not feeling well,” I say.

“Then let me get Myles and Adira, and we’ll take you home,” she suggests, gaze cutting to where Carrick’s arm is around my waist.

“I have her,” Carrick practically growls, and Rainey’s eyebrow shoots up on one side. Not in surprise, but now in curiosity because his tone is possessive and angry at the same time.

“Okay then,” Rainey says, her tone bowing in deference. I smile reassuringly, and she returns one that makes my face flush. She thinks I’m leaving with Carrick because something is going on between us that has nothing to do with the fact my sister is apparently a Dark Fae.

I want to disabuse her of that notion, but now is not the time.

Carrick doesn’t say a word as he escorts me out of the door and over to the elevator, his arm staying around me when we enter. It tightens incrementally as we start to drop, the glass elevator revealing the torturous descent to someone who is afraid of heights, and yet… I’m so internally numb to what just happened, it has no effect on me.

My sister is fae.

An evil Dark Fae.

The ramifications are stupefying, causing my head to ache. Does that mean I’m fae? Will I change like her?

I don’t know if I’ll get those answers anytime soon, but it doesn’t matter right now.

The only thing I really know for sure—and I can’t quite let go of it—is that when the vibe hit me just a bit ago in Blain and Fallon’s condo, dark as pitch and filled with such malicious intent, a realization came over me with such clarity I cannot question the truth of it. It’s something I know deep in my bones, and I don’t need affirmation.

I just know it.

Fallon is now a danger to the world, and it’s going to be my responsibility to stop her.