Page 2 of The Stone Survival
Ivor had briefly met Derek at Calista’s, but I hadn’t introduced them, so… “How do you know about Derek?”
He looked sheepish. “I’ve been searching for you for a long time, and when I found you, I made it a point of learning as much about you as I could.”
“How did you find me?”
“Through Romi.”
“My brother?” I gave him a hard stare, daring him to take that away from me.
He sighed. “No, Cameron. Romi isn’t your brother. Lionel is.”
I glugged more water.“This is insane. It can’t be true.”
“I understand it’s a lot to take in. When I discovered I had a child I, too, was stunned. All those years I spent searchingfor you…But then I found Romi. My grandson. Tracking him, watching him, led me to you. But before I could contact you, you were gone. Then the news of Romi’s death reached me, and for a moment I feared that I’d lost you too. But then I saw you at the academy.”
“What? What do you mean yousawme?”
He sat back looking a little uncomfortable. “I saw you through Varsa’s eyes.”
“You saw me…What the fuck?” This was too much. It made no sense.
“Varsa was caught in the crossfire of a false graynite attack several years ago. He was badly injured. I was able to heal his body but not his mind. Healing him formed an unwitting connection between us, allowing me to look through his eyes.” He smiled softly. “To see you. To spend time with you in Willowman’s garden…”
Oh god… “That was you?”
“Yes.”
It hadn’t been Varsa I’d shared a connection with; it had beenhim. He’d been there all the time. We’d talked for hours. We’d been…friends.
His eyes lit up as he watched the revelation unfold on my face, but I dropped my gaze, not wanting to give him that connection. Not yet. Not until I understood it all. He’d been there when Varsa died. Varsa’s final words came back to me.“I’ll see you soon…”They’d been Ivor’s words, not Varsa’s. The poor goyle had been nothing but a spying vessel and…wait a second… “The orb…Willowman’s transport orb. Did you switch it out?”
“I did. I needed to get you out of the academy and here, safe with me. I knew you were in danger there. That there were forces who wanted you dead. I admit, it did not go to plan. Ignus was…He was a little overzealous in his approach.”
Overzealous was an understatement. He’d scared the shit out of me. “He made me believe he could take me to Romi.”
“We did have Romi’s location for a short time. But he was moved to their main base, and we don’t have that location.”
“The faction…”
“Yes.”
Silence fell between us, deep and introspective.
Could it be true? Could he be my father? But if he was, then that would make me… “I’m not a graynite. My mother was human, and graynites can’t procreate with humans.” But even as I said it, I knew it to be false. I had fae blood, which meant my mother hadn’t been fully human, but… “She loved Lionel. She had a contract with him and?—”
“The woman who raised you wasnotyour mother.”
“What?” I sat up straighter. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not. When I found you, I had my people look for your mother, for the woman I loved, but there were no official registers of your birth, and on further investigation, I found that the woman who everyonebelievedwas your mother wasnotmy Melanie.”
My pulse thundered in my veins so that when I spoke, my voice sounded small and distant. “Melanie?”
“Yes. Your real mother’s name is Melanie. I’ve searched for her for years to no avail.” He continued to speak, but his words were drowned out by the buzzing in my ears and the rush of blood in my head. “And now I have no idea what became of her. What Lionel did to her and?—”
“She’s dead.”
His eyes flew wide. “What?”
