Stone and Crow (Veiled Kingdoms: The Lost Fae Book 1)

by Stella Snow

  “Now that you have this, it’s time to try using a glamour. Let’s go to the guest house, Salathia is already gone and no one will bother us there.”

  “Alright.” Maybe, just maybe, she’d have a chance to look for the part of the journal that Gavriel still had. She wanted to confront him about what Esther had said as well, but then she'd have to admit she had been in the office. And then she'd have to explain why.

  She followed him into the small bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. The glare of the fluorescent light wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the early morning sunlight. She tucked her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath.

  “Now, you’ll need to start small, with just one feature. Start with your eyes,” Gavriel said before leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest.

  Just like she had when she had finally created the faelight, she tried to find the balance. She could almost see it now, coaxing the magic out like a note on her violin. Her eyes faded, not to hazel, but to a muddy green. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. After the struggle to get the faelight under control, this was surprisingly simple.

  “Now your ears,” Gavriel prompted.

  The magic was easy and responsive, like this was a task it already knew how to complete. Perhaps it had somehow been used when her mother placed that glamour on her as a baby. The weight of the glamour over her ears was familiar.

  Melodie took in her new appearance in the mirror and her newfound control slipped for a brief moment. Her face was back to normal. She had expected it to feel like more of a relief. Instead, she wanted the glamour gone.

  Gavriel stepped up behind her and touched the rounded tip of her ear, startling her.

  “Human ears are strange,” he commented as his finger traced the shell of her ear.

  She swallowed, failing to suppress the shiver his touch sent down her spine. Despite the fact that she couldn’t trust him now, she didn’t want him to stop touching her. Their eyes met in the mirror. Gavriel didn’t break away this time. He held her gaze, his fingers drifting into her hair as his thumb traced down her neck. Was this part of his plan too? Seducing her?

  “Maybe it’s your ears that are strange,” she said reaching back and flicking his ear. Her cheeks were bright red.

  Esther folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “Alright, go ahead and demonstrate,” she said, looking down at her watch briefly.

  For a moment, Melodie thought she wasn’t going to be able to do it after all. That she was going to fail miserably while Esther and Gavriel were watching. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her hands. Just like at a recital, she needed to ignore that she had an audience. She shut her eyes for a moment and imagined the bow sliding across the strings of the violin once again.

  The magic moved easily and swirled into a perfect, golden faelight in the palm of her hand. She sent the faelight to hover directly in front of Esther. Melodie met Gavriel’s eyes for a brief moment, and while he wasn’t smiling, she could feel his approval. She wanted to kick herself for looking to him for approval, but none of this would have been possible without his help.

  “Glamour?” Esther prompted.

  Melodie didn’t hesitate this time, she just let the magic flow over her like an exhale. She tucked her hair behind her ears to show Esther the results and turned each way obligingly.

  “I’ve got it under control now, one hundred percent,” Melodie said in what she hoped was a firm tone of voice. “I want to be there when you try to reopen the gate.”

  “Alright,” Esther said, nodding in approval. “Mark won’t be there, but some people that agree with him will be. Will you be able to maintain control even if one of them does something to provoke you?”

  “Yes,” she said decisively. It might be a struggle, but she could keep herself from actually hurting anyone.

  “Salathia tells me that you intend to leave and visit your family in the Sidhe.”

  “Yeah, Salathia thinks it’s too risky to go, but I want to meet them and see what it’s like there.”

  “When you return, I can get you back in contact with Salathia, but it would be best if you didn’t stay with us.” Esther's mouth turned down into a frown. Her eyes were tired. “I have been able to justify this as fulfilling my father’s promise to Salathia when she fled here, but past that—” Esther sighed and shook her head.

  “I understand. Thank you for everything you have done.” Melodie turned to leave.

  “I have one last question.”

  Melodie stopped and turned back to face her. “What’s that?”

  “Salathia has been protecting you since you were a baby. Why is she unwilling to go back to the Sidhe with you?”

  “She thinks it’s not safe for me there. I think that she’s hoping I’ll just stay if she does, or that I’ll at least come back.”

  Ether looked at Melodie, searching her face.

  The front door slammed open, followed by shouting. “I told you I’m fine!”

  Gavriel and Esther both sprinted out of the room and Melodie ran after them. Salathia stood in the middle of the entryway with a towel wrapped around her arm fending off a very distraught young man who kept reaching for the arm.

  “Jason, leave it. You’re not a doctor,” Esther said, shooing him away. “How bad is it?”

  Melodie rushed forward to Salathia, looking her over for other injuries.

  “I’ll be fine, it’s minor. I just didn’t want to make a mess,” Salathia said.

  “You were bleeding so much!” Jason exclaimed. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide. He kept reaching for Salathia with a shaky hand like he could help if he could just grab her. “And it was my fault. I’m so sor—”

  “Enough with the apologies,” Salathia said firmly. “It's not your fault. It was no one’s fault. We worked as a team, and we all got out of there just fine. The injury was much less severe for me, while that blow would have chopped your arm off.”

  Salathia turned to Esther. “Dale will be calling you soon. He’ll explain the details.”

  As if on cue, Esther’s phone started ringing in the study. She ran back and slammed the door behind her.

  “What happened?” Melodie asked.

  “We caught up to a group that had come through the Veil. We were distracted trying to capture one of them and a mercenary came up from behind us. I took a hit from his sword, but the wound is minor,” Salathia explained in her usual efficiency.

  “Will you let me help you clean it and bandage it?” Melodie asked.

  “Sure,” Salathia said. “Jason, go home. Everyone is waiting for you in the car.”

  Jason’s face reddened and he ground his teeth together, but Salathia flashed him another glare and he hightailed it out of the house.

  “How many were there?” Gavriel asked.

  “Just four,” Salathia said as she walked toward the bathroom. “We had them outnumbered, it shouldn’t have been a problem but I’m out of practice and these people have no experience with this kind of threat.”

  Esther stuck her head out of the study, phone tilted away from her mouth. “Gavriel, we need to talk about your patrol tonight. Salathia, I’ll need you too as soon as you have that bandaged up.”

  Gavriel went into the study, closing the door behind him, while Melodie followed Salathia to the bathroom.

  They were silent for a full minute while Salathia pulled out the first aid kid and dumped the bloodied towel in the bathtub. She was right about the cut; it wasn’t very bad even though it was long. The bleeding had stopped already.

  Melodie took a piece of gauze and wet it in the sink. Salathia sat down on the toilet and put her arm on the edge of the sink for Melodie to clean. She began carefully wiping the blood away, trying to avoid pulling on the cut and reopening it. She could feel the lingering magic on Salathia’s arm.

  “Melodie,” Salathia began, hesitating while she searched for the right words. “It seemed like perhaps they were also trying to captu
re one of us. Possibly me. The mercenary pulled the blow, it should have been much worse even with the magic I was using.”

  She paused, dropping the gauze in the sink.

  “Capture you? Because of the—?” She stopped herself, not daring to speak of the Stone in the same house as Esther.

  “Yes,” Salathia admitted in a whisper.

  “If they know it’s here, they're never going to stop coming and trying to get it back, are they?” Melodie asked as she grabbed the ointment out of the first aid kit and smeared it on the gauze she was going to lay over the cut.

  “No, they won't stop.”

  “Then, if we get the gate open tomorrow, will you just come with me? I don't want to go to the Sidhe without you.” She didn't know if she could trust Gavriel. The logical part of her said no, but he had gone out of his way to help her and it was hard to reconcile his actions with the idea that he had malicious intent of some kind. She still had time to change her mind, but it would be so much easier if Salathia would come.

  Salathia sighed, still staring straight ahead at the bathroom wall. “No.”

  “Just bring it and hide it somewhere there, or even leave it here. No one knows where it is. Maybe it’ll be safe.”

  “I wish I could take that option, but—,” Salathia shook her head and put her hand over Melodie’s. “I will not stop you from going to the Sidhe, but I can’t promise that I'll be able to join you there. You might be safer away from it, and the burden for protecting it does not fall on you.”

  “Will you ever come back to the Sidhe?” Melodie asked, needing a straight answer.

  “Perhaps in a few weeks when we understand better who sent the mercenaries after us, but I can’t risk taking it into the Sidhe right now. No matter what, I can't go to Arsadia. I don’t trust them.”

  Melodie shoved down the hurt and tried to be logical about it. Salathia wasn’t trying to stop her from going at least. “I’ve gotten control of my magic and Esther is going to let me be there when everyone tries to open the gate tomorrow.”

  “You’ve gotten control of your magic this quickly?” Salathia asked, her brows knit together.

  Melodie lifted her hand and created a faelight, it got easier every time. Salathia looked at the little ball of light out of the corner of her eye, her lips tight with disapproval.

  “Gavriel has been helping me.”

  “You should have told me. He should have told me. You could have gotten hurt,” Salathia said angrily. “I can’t believe you were so reckless.”

  “But I wasn’t hurt. I had to learn, and you refused to help me. Can’t you just be happy that losing control isn’t an issue anymore?” She threw her arms up in exasperation.

  “Part of me is still hoping you might give up on it and stay here. I worry about this hold Gavriel seems to have over you already. You’ve never lied to me before.”

  “Lied? I thought leaving things out didn’t really count as lying,” Melodie said, that old anger welling up in her chest again along with a little guilt. She threw the roll of tape in the sink and walked out of the bathroom. Salathia’s protests stopped as the door shut behind Melodie.

  Melodie had to know. There were already so many unanswered questions, she had to at least find out how dangerous the Stone was. Everyone wanted her to lie for them, or keep a secret, or share a secret. Without knowing what the secrets were worth, how could she know what the right decision was?

  She opened the door to the guest house and slipped inside, heart pounding, and jogged straight to Gavriel’s room. His room was spotless. There was nothing strewn across the floor like in her room. His clothes sat in a neat stack in a chair in the corner, and a leather bag sat on the floor by the bed.

  She went straight for the bag and lifted the top flap hesitantly. There were several scrolls set on top. She grabbed them and opened the one with the oldest looking paper first. It didn’t say anything about the Stone, though it did speak about relics in general.

  She looked through each of them, one by one. They all referenced relics, some even sounded vaguely like they might be talking about the Stone, but it was all rumor and hearsay. None of them were the journal.

  Melodie took everything else out of his bag. She searched every pocket and every nook and cranny of the bag itself. There was nothing else. With a sigh, she began putting everything back exactly as she had found it. She tried his bed next, looking under the pillows, the sheets, and the mattress. There were just so few places to hide something, she couldn’t even find the catalog that Esther had given him last night.

  Finally, she stood in the center of the room, shoulders slumped. She had looked absolutely everywhere. He must have it on him. She shook her head and decided to leave before one of them showed up.

  As she stepped across the threshold of his room, a shiver of magic moved across her skin. She paused and looked back at the door. She knew that magic, it was Gavriel’s.

  Chapter 20

  Nineteen years ago

  Alleassa knew they were coming for her even before the rumble of horses sounded in the distance. It had been inevitable that he would find her. There was some peace in the wait being over, and in knowing that her grief would not be extended any longer. She thought of bright blue eyes full of passion and love, and the breathtaking sound of that newborn cry, and she let the peace give her strength. She had made the right choices in the end no matter what her mistakes had cost her. The fear faded away as she squared her shoulders and made the last hard decision.

  She ran as fast as she could, practically flying under the trees. Unfortunately, the horses were faster, and it wasn’t long until she was cornered at the edge of the cliffs that bordered the sea. She turned to face her pursuers without a trace of fear on her face.

  “You have nowhere to go now, Alleassa,” Pareth taunted from his horse as he stepped out of the line of men that surrounded her.

  “I think you’re the one with your back against a wall,” she replied.

  “If you think I won’t hunt down that bastard child of yours along with what you stole from me, you are just as stupid as I always thought.” Pareth climbed down from his horse and drew his sword.

  “That was your first mistake, underestimating me. I’ve seen more than you know. You never understood that I could always figure out your little secrets, while you couldn’t see what was happening right under your nose.”

  “You have no idea what you have done!” Pareth shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

  “No, it’s you that didn’t understand. You dabbled in things you couldn’t control, and one day, you will see how completely that has damned you.”

  Pareth lunged at her, but she stepped out of his reach and fell. There was no scream, not even a gasp, just the steady roar of the ocean.

  Chapter 21

  Present Day

  Melodie was running.

  Her feet kept slipping in the sand. The forest edge was just ahead, and she struggled toward it. It seemed so much farther away than it should be. She slowed to a stop and looked around in confusion. She couldn’t remember why she was running, and though she recognized the beach, she had no idea how she got there.

  A crow landed on the large boulder sticking out of the sand and looked at her with a cocked head. She stared back. The crow radiated magic even from this far away.

  “Hello?” she whispered. The crow tilted its head the other direction and continued to stare. She took a cautious step forward, and when it didn’t move, another.

  When she was just inches away, the crow screamed. The sound reverberated in her bones as the bird took flight in a flurry of enormous black wings. She turned around, startled by the crow's sudden flight, to see the crow circling a wolf. It was running toward her, mouth curled into a snarl. Adrenaline surged through her body, and she leaped into a sprint.

  The beach ended and she plunged into the trees. A dense layer of fog covered the forest floor. It was cold in here. Her breath puffed out in a cloud in front of her. The wolf
crashed through the trees behind her, the sound getting closer and closer.

  Her foot caught on a root. She threw her hands out to catch herself, scraping on the trunk of a tree just to her left. She scrambled to regain her footing and tried to push herself to run faster. The wolf was just behind her. She could feel its hot breath on her heels. She glanced behind herself to see how close it was and found herself enveloped in darkness as pain lanced through her.

  “Melodie!” Gavriel shouted.

  She stopped struggling. It was Gavriel. He could kill the wolf, he could— She stopped herself. It was just another dream.

  Gavriel shook her again and her eyes popped open. His face swam into view and she blinked as she gasped for breath.

  “Did he catch you?” Gavriel asked urgently.

  “What?” she asked, still trying to catch her breath. Her magic was practically jumping off her skin.

  “Did he catch you? You were being chased in your dream. I need to know if he caught you.”

  “I don’t know,” she stuttered out. “I don’t think so.”

  Gavriel slumped in obvious relief.

  “I was running, I just kept running.” His hands felt like fire on her icy skin. She leaned into the warmth. “What's happening to me?”

  “You're being tracked. I could feel the magic as soon as I walked in.” Gavriel stood and paced the room. “How long have you been having these dreams?”

  “Since we were attacked and had to come here. I thought I was just having nightmares.” She climbed out of bed. Gavriel’s nervousness was scaring her. “What does it mean, exactly, that I’m being tracked?”