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

by Stella Snow

  “One of the mercenaries must be a shifter. Shifters can find someone as long as they have something that ties them to that person, like their blood. They stalk you in your dreams, but your magic helps to protect you. It becomes a sort of battle of wills that can manifest in different ways, generally as them chasing you. If they catch you, they will know where you are and be able to find you anytime they want for the rest of your life. Whatever is left of the thing that bound your powers must still be helping to hide you as well or you would have been caught by now. You are too untrained to hold off an experienced tracker.”

  That sent a cold shiver of fear down her spine. She had come so close to being caught in the dream, and she would have had no idea what it meant.

  “How could they have my blood?”

  “I don’t know, maybe from the first time they attacked, or it could be something else. My main concern is that they shouldn’t be able to track you on this side of the Veil because the magic is too weak here. And they couldn't track you from the other side of the Veil. It blocks the magic.” Gavriel clenched his fists as though he wanted to hit something.

  “What now?” She felt off balance.

  “You can’t tell anyone else.”

  She looked up sharply, her shoulders tense. “Why can’t we tell Esther? Or Salathia?”

  “If any finds out about this, I'm sure Esther will feel obligated to tell the whole damned community, and there is no way they'd let you stay. It's a huge risk for them.”

  The secrets were piling up and she hated it.

  Gavriel set his hand gently on her shoulder. “You know you can trust me, right?”

  She jerked her shoulder away from his touch. “You throw the word trust around like it’s a magic word that will make me do whatever you want.”

  The words left her mouth before she could stop them, and he rocked back like she’d struck him, but she didn’t regret it. Everyone was trying to control her. Maybe Salathia was right about him and Arsadia.

  His face fell, and for the first time since he’d burst into her room, he looked hurt. “I’m doing everything I can to protect you.”

  “I'm not willing to keep a secret that will put all of these people at risk. I won't do it.” She squared her shoulders. Maybe he was trying to protect her, but that didn’t make it right. “If the gate doesn't open this evening, I'm telling them.”

  Gavriel huffed in irritation. “Then be prepared for Esther to kick you out.”

  “I will,” she snapped. “How did you know to come in here at all?”

  Gavriel's jaw clenched tighter. “I wanted to talk to you before everyone else woke up.”

  “Why?”

  “Why were you in my room yesterday?”

  She swallowed, her heart leaping into her throat, and looked down at her feet. It was embarrassing to get caught for such a dumb reason, but she hadn't noticed whatever magic he had on his room until she was on her way out.

  “I promised I would never lie to you,” Gavriel crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I thought that I could trust you in the same way.”

  “So did I,” she said, unshed tears making her voice shake. “I was in the study when you and Esther were arguing. When she said she had 'given you the girl'.”

  She forced herself to look him in the eye. She wasn't in the wrong here, and she had every reason to doubt him.

  Gavriel sighed and put his hand over his face for a moment. “I wish you had asked me what that meant, I would have told you.”

  She shrugged. “Just tell me now.”

  “I told Esther I was going to train you. There was no way we'd have gotten away with it without her finding out. She told me where to go and promised to schedule Salathia on opposite patrols. I was simply trying to help you avoid a confrontation with Salathia that you clearly didn't want.”

  Melodie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. She had really screwed up.

  “But, if you heard that, then you were in the study. Why?”

  “I was looking for the rest of the journal. I have the missing page.”

  He froze, his jaw dropping in shock. “You have it? Is it in here?”

  She grabbed it out of her bag and handed it to him. There was no point in keeping it from him now. He read it as he paced the length of her room.

  “Why did you take this?” he asked finally. His lips were pressed tightly together as he waited for her answer.

  “I—Salathia made me promise to not tell anyone. I think it might be what the people trying to kill me are looking for.” Her heart was beating out of her chest. Half of her felt like she was making a mistake telling him this, and the other half was relieved. “I need to see the next page in the journal. I need to know what the warning is.”

  Gavriel sucked in a quick breath and ground his teeth together. “Fine, here it is.”

  He pulled the journal out of his pocket and handed it to her. She grabbed it and opened the small book with shaking hands. The Stone should never…

  —be used. They say the Stone can drive the wielder insane, that it is cursed. However, I have used it at least six times and have not felt any ill-effects yet. How many times does someone have to use it before they start to see the symptoms? Is it the power of the magic used that matters? Or will the person wielding the Stone never know when they start to lose their mind?

  At the moment, the most important thing is simply keeping the relic out of the wrong hands. We must keep it absolutely secret, any hint that it has resurfaced will surely bring all the Sidhe down on our heads.

  The journal went on, but she had read all she needed. She sat down on the bed heavily. It was more conjecture. Even someone who had used it didn't know what the supposed risk of using the Stone might be.

  “Melodie, do you have the Stone?” Gavriel knelt in front of her.

  She couldn't force the words out. He knew. There was no way he didn't at this point, but saying it out loud just cemented her betrayal.

  He grabbed her arm, his hands tight with desperation. “I have to know.”

  She jerked her arm away and rubbed at the place his fingers had gripped her.

  He placed his hands on either side of her and took a calming breath. “I’m sorry. I was sent here to look for a relic. I’ve been searching for over a year.”

  “Don't do that again,” she said, her magic jumpy.

  “I won't, I promise. There's a chance the Stone could help us get home, and it's something that Arsadia needs. We may be going to war soon, and it's a war I think we will win, but the relic could save lives. I'm sorry I scared you. It's just something I need desperately.”

  He put his hand on her arm gently, brushing where he had grabbed with his thumb in a silent apology.

  “We have it. Not at the house, but sort of nearby.”

  Gavriel paled, and his hand stilled. “All this time it’s been here.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, I just—”

  “No, it’s okay. The important thing is that I know now. We don't have time to go before trying to open the gate this morning, but I can come back for it if I need to.”

  “Salathia won't want you to take it. She says it isn't safe to use.”

  “She's been protecting it all this time, and she's done so well, but she shouldn't have to do it alone. Let us help her.”

  If the Stone was gone Salathia could come to the Sidhe. She was going to be so angry, but maybe, if they were safe, Salathia would forgive her.

  “Okay,” she said quietly. “After the gate is open, I'll tell you where it is.”

  Gavriel leaned in close, his hand sliding into her hair. A shiver slid down her spine. The bright silver flecks in her eyes pulled her in. Trusting him was reckless, but she was tired of playing it safe.

  “Do you want me to stop?” he whispered.

  Melodie shook her head. He closed the distance and pressed his lips into hers, just for a moment. She chased after him when he pulled away, taking another quick kiss. They sat, f
orehead to forehead for a moment, breathing hard.

  Chapter 22

  It was late afternoon when Melodie finished packing. She picked up her backpack that contained her clothes and the few remaining items that were important to her, then slung her violin case over her shoulder. It was odd to hold everything she owned in two hands like this.

  She met Gavriel in the hall. He also had a bag slung over his shoulder and was dressed in somewhat formal clothes again. His pants were a supple dark brown leather. He wore a dark blue tunic that displayed his family crest––two crossed swords with a flower above and three stars below––and a leather strap that held a sword on his back. There were leather bracers strapped onto his wrists and a long knife hanging from his waist.

  “Are you expecting a fight if we go through the gate today, or do you just always dress like that in the Sidhe?” she asked, worry stirring in her gut.

  “There is a chance we will have to fight, and it’s always best to be prepared. Your job will be to run in whatever direction I tell you if it comes to that.” He smirked. “But I do dress like this often. Do you like it?”

  Melodie’s face flushed but she did her best to roll her eyes and look unimpressed. “Where's Salathia?”

  “She’ll meet us there.”

  John appeared at the end of the hall with a small bag. “Are you two ready to go?”

  “Yes,” Gavriel said.

  Melodie spotted Ethan and Joy standing in the kitchen and slipped around John and Gavriel.

  “You excited?” Ethan asked.

  “I am actually. It’s still kind of surreal, but the idea of going to the place I was born and meeting my family is exciting,” she said.

  Joy had her arms crossed and wouldn’t look up until Melodie leaned down and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around Melodie’s neck and squeezed tight. “Maybe I’ll come to the Sidhe one day,” Joy mumbled.

  “Maybe so,” Melodie agreed. Honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if Joy thwarted expectations and did something crazy like that.

  Melodie stood and smiled at Ethan, who pulled her into a hug as well. “All these goodbyes are going to be funny later if you guys can’t get the gate open after all,” he said with a grin.

  “Funny isn’t really the word that comes to mind,” she said with a smile, regardless. It was hard not to cheer up in the face of Ethan’s endless optimism.

  Melodie pulled on her glamour, touching her ears to make sure she had done it right while Gavriel was putting everything in the car.

  "How is it?" she held her arms out and turned in a circle.

  “Good,” he said, nodding as his eyes scanned her.

  She climbed into the backseat, while John and Gavriel sat in the front. They drove away from the town toward the dense, forested mountains. Whereas once the scenery had seemed beautiful, the shadows between the trees now only seemed dangerous. At any moment, she expected to see a flash of red eyes in the darkness.

  She restlessly tapped her hand against her leg and leaned forward from the middle seat. “How far away is the gate?”

  “About ten minutes. The Founders made sure to build their homes close to it,” Gavriel said.

  John made a right onto a long narrow road that led down a long and bumpy driveway. The gravel was overgrown by grass and tall weeds and littered with potholes that had them bouncing down the road. They pulled up to a small, nondescript cabin and parked the car under a weathered carport. Melodie had her door open before John even had a chance to put the car in park.

  “Is it in the cabin?”

  “No, the cabin just hides the entrance to some tunnels the Forgotten use in case of emergency. The gate is behind it.” John pulled out his phone. “I’ll see you over there, I have to call Esther.”

  Gavriel nodded in acknowledgment.

  “You’ll see the wall soon,” Gavriel said, leading her around the side of the cabin. “I’m glad we arrived first. I wanted to show you the gate before anyone else got here.”

  They walked for about a minute on a narrow trail. The familiar push of the keep-away magic slowed her steps. Gavriel put his hand on her elbow to keep her from coming to a stop.

  “It’s keep-away magic,” he explained.

  “I’ve actually felt it before,” she said with a tight smile. “Where Salathia left the Stone.”

  “So, it’s on Forgotten land?”

  “Yes.”

  They rounded a bend in the trail, and she caught her first glimpse of the wall around the gate. It looked very old, but it wasn’t very tall––at least not as tall as she had expected. The stone was cracked and weathered with moss growing everywhere it could find a foothold. The feeling of being watched tingled along the back of her neck as they approached it. She glanced behind them but didn’t see anyone.

  There was an opening in the wall that stretched about seven feet high, but there was no door.

  “Why isn’t there some kind of door here to keep people out?”

  “The area around the gate is carefully guarded and protected by old magic from the Founders, no one would ever make it this far if they weren’t supposed to be here.”

  They stepped into the open courtyard and she stopped in awe. The word ‘gate’ had led her to expect a literal door or fence that somehow separated this world from the next. Instead, there was a bright oval about eight feet high and three feet wide that wavered and twisted. If it had been still it might have looked like a waterfall, but it was hard to look at it with the way it kept moving. It emanated pure, unadulterated magic. She was filled with an overwhelming urge to touch it.

  “It’s not supposed to twist like that,” Gavriel said from just behind her. “When it is stable, it’s even larger than this. It’s always hard to see through though, especially from the other side; the surface ripples.”

  “Have you tried sending anything through it?”

  “Ms. Nancy stuck a stick into it, and it burned off the end.”

  “Does it always feel this—full of magic?”

  Gavriel smiled at her. “It feels like home.”

  She walked closer to the gate. Its pull on her increased the closer she got.

  “Is the magic that intense all the time on the other side of the Veil?” she asked, turning back to face Gavriel before she got any closer to the gate.

  “Yes and no,” he said. “It is that pure, but it doesn’t feel quite as strong when it is all around you.”

  “I can’t believe the Forgotten don’t try to go back to the Sidhe.” Breathing in the magic around her really did feel like coming home. It was as though she had been missing something all this time and hadn’t realized it until she felt this…the thing that completed her. “I’m not sure how you stand it over here when you can have that.”

  “It’s not my favorite,” Gavriel confessed, coming to stand right next to her, his shoulder brushing hers. “But duty comes before comfort.”

  “If you could do anything you wanted, what you be doing?”

  As soon as she asked, Gavriel tensed, his shoulders curling in a bit as he shrugged.

  “I don’t really think about it.” He paused and knit his brows together. “What did you want to do before you found out who you were?”

  “I was going to go to college,” she said without hesitation. “I wanted to study music and I was going to work this summer and save up to buy a car.” The familiar regret twisted sharply in the pit of her stomach. It had been what she had wanted for so long, and she still felt off-kilter knowing that it wasn’t going to happen.

  “No matter how much you want that, you can’t go back to how things were. It seems pointless to obsess over what I might want if things were different.”

  “I can’t decide if that’s smart, or just a depressing way to live.” She looked into the gate again and wondered what lay on the other side. It could be better, or worse. Even if there weren’t people trying to kill her, she couldn’t imagine not wanting to at least see what the Sidhe was like.

  “I’v
e learned to adapt. Situations like this are frustrating though,” he said gesturing at the gate. “I don’t want to stay here forever.”

  Gavriel looked at her, and she became very aware of how close they were standing to each other. He brushed his finger gently across the back of her hand. She tangled her fingers with his.

  They heard voices behind them and Gavriel gently disconnected their hands, then stepped away. Ms. Nancy walked in, followed by the rest of the group. Esther, John, Sierra’s mother, a tall red-headed woman with a sour expression, and a man that looked like he must be related to Dale walked in. The man was a head taller than everyone else and built like a linebacker. Gavriel went up to him and he clapped a hand on Gavriel’s back in greeting.

  Salathia followed a few steps behind the group, her arm freshly bandaged.

  She walked over to greet Melodie. “I see you are still determined to go.”

  “Yes.” She stepped forward and hugged Salathia tightly. Her grandmother stiffened in surprise before returning the hug.

  She knew Salathia would probably be furious this time tomorrow, whether the gate opened or not. She didn’t want this to be goodbye, but she had a sick feeling in her stomach that she had ruined everything between them.

  A woman with curly red hair that was held back in a low ponytail and bright red lipstick that clashed with her skin walked up, stopping next to Melodie with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Melodie could see the hint of a scar on the tip of her ear.

  “Are you actually in control of your magic now?” The woman’s lip curled into a sneer as she asked.

  “Yes,” Melodie said. Esther had warned her some people would be less than enthused at her presence. She had just hoped they’d choose the ‘pretend Melodie doesn’t exist’ route.

  “You may have Esther fooled with your innocent, helpless act, but you don’t have everyone fooled. We know that you attacked Mark. Just like an elf, trying to show how much stronger you are like that could intimidate us.”

  “Get over yourself, Catherine,” Salathia said, moving between the woman and Melodie, forcing her back a step.