Zaid’s history with his father is brutal and so savage, I hate to even think about it. Zaid and his years of murdering and maiming alongside his father, Boral, eventually weighed too heavily upon him. The empathic power inherited from his Light Fae mother caused him to become so despondent over his actions, he left his father and attempted to punish himself by crucifying his body to a tree with iron.
Luckily, Carrick found Zaid and changed his life for the better.
These days, he reluctantly gives his father small bits of his time as long as Boral is on his best behavior. Of course, Zaid and Maddox don’t think Boral is capable of being good, which feeds their inherent mistrust of him.
“I’m thinking pastrami sandwiches when we get back,” Maddox says, glancing past me to Zaid.
“You’ll have to run to the deli,” Zaid returns.
I just smile.
Here we are in a spooky cemetery in Hungary, having just battled a wraith to the death, and in possession of an ancient magical relic, yet these two are talking about pastrami.
It’s things like this that actually help to keep me balanced through the craziness.
CHAPTER 2
Finley
Carrick’s condo is quiet. I’m lying on one of the couches in the living area, head resting on a throw pillow. I’ve got one foot planted on a cushion with my knee raised, the opposite ankle propped on said knee. I’m holding my phone before me, playing Candy Crush.
I’ve been here for almost an hour and a half. Other than to switch legs when one started to fall asleep, I haven’t moved.
Here I am, supposedly the savior of the world who is destined to stop an evil prophecy, and I’m doing nothing but playing a game on my phone.
I could be researching down in the library, except I did that for four hours this morning and my brain hurts.
I could go to the gym and train, except I did that before the research.
I could walk over to One Bean and check on the rebuild, but there’s no need. Rainey is overseeing it like a champ, and I get daily emails detailing the progress. She also sends along pictures and video.
And these are the borders of my existence. Outside of the occasional adventurous jaunt such as the one we made to Hungary three days ago, my life has become positively boring.
Rainey does such a tremendous job with One Bean that I’m wondering if she’ll want to buy the shop from me.
Not that I want to sell it, but more like why even bother having it? If I’m more than likely going to die in this prophecy, what’s the point in even having an interest in it anymore? Of course, what would I do with the money such a sale would generate, assuming Rainey could come up with said money? I don’t want anything, and, even if I did, I wouldn’t have the time to use it.
Rather, I’d best be served to name her as my beneficiary and give it to her in my will.
I pause, my finger hovering over a red candy I was getting ready to switch with a blue. Shit… I need a will. I own property—the house and the coffee shop—and without Fallon to inherit it, I have no clue what would happen if I died without an estate plan.
The sudden thrill I feel at the idea of needing to see an attorney to create a will is sad, but at least it’s something to do that’s important.
“Are you as bored as I am?” Zaid asks as he walks in from the general direction of the kitchen, which is his domain.
I’ve learned more about Zaid over these last few weeks that Carrick has been gone than I have in the almost three months I’ve known him. I used to think he was Carrick’s servant since he was always cooking and doing other odd jobs.
Turns out, he’s not a servant at all. Rather, he’s just a loyal friend who happens to love being in the kitchen.
He’s also smart, crafty, and overly pigheaded about some things.
Most of all, I consider him a friend now, and I think he feels the same about me.
“So bored,” I reply as I exit out of my game. I sit up on the couch, settling against the cushions and crossing my legs Indian-style. Zaid plops in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.
As usual, he’s dressed all in black and looks perpetually pissed off and disdainful. I’ve realized, though, Zaid just has a resting bitch face that doesn’t necessarily match his mood. Although, granted… he is grumpy a lot.
Without Carrick around, he seems as lost as I do, and dare I say we’ve bonded since Rune took Carrick. Since then, we’ve talked about a lot of things. I’ve gingerly poked into his background, particularly where Boral’s concerned. In turn, Zaid tried to get me to open up about Carrick, but that’s been a difficult feat to achieve since I don’t even know how I feel about him.