Page 4 of The Stone Survival
I nodded mutely, still processing. Wait…who they thought might be overseeing it? “The alpha is in charge of the faction, right?” I met his gaze. “That’s what we’re taught. That killing the alpha will bring down all the graynites and…” That didn’t make sense now, now that we knew the faction used artificially created graynites. The alpha was meant to be the first, the linchpin, the…Revelation hit me like a slug to the chest. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the alpha.”
He smiled wryly. “Yes, Cameron. I’m the alpha.”
CHAPTER 2
I’d assumed that the alpha would be with the faction, because in my head, he was the bad guy and so were the faction, which meant that they belonged together, but now that I was thinking clearly, now that I had more information, of course it didn’t make sense for an original graynite, for thealpha, to be with a group that was using artificial means to create his kind.
No, the alpha was here.
Standing in front of me
The alpha was my father…
“It’s a lot to process,” Ivor said gently. “But I promise to explain everything soon. You have nothing to fear from me or my people. I understand the reputation I’ve been given, but I can assure you it’s mostly fabricated.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I’m tough and ruthless, but I amnotevil.”
No…No, he wasn’t. I sensed no insidious intent. No deceit. “I believe you.”
The tightness around his eyes eased, and it hit me how much he wanted me to like him. To accept him.
“Good,” he continued. “Ignus will take you to your elites. I’ll join you in an hour.”
He was giving me space, and after everything I’d just learned, I was grateful for a little time to process. “Thank you.”
He smiled, but his gray eyes were dark with sorrow. “I’m sorry for any pain my truths have caused you today. But I can’t lie about how happy I am to have you here with me, even if it is only for a little time.”
This was my father. A graynite. The fucking alpha.Iwas a graynite and the fucking alpha’s daughter. Wait, what did that mean for me? “Will I change? Will I shift into one of you?”
He shook his head. “Only time will tell. It’s different for each halfblood graynite. And for you, my daughter, I can’t say.”
I was already different, with Derek as my shield and the strange needing that my fae blood evoked. I didn’t want any more surprises.
He must have picked up on my disquiet because he said, “Whatever happens, I will be here to guide you.”
But that wasn’t enough. I needed to understand… “What are you? Really? What is a graynite?”
His smile was thin and mirthless. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know in an hour.”
I blew out an agitated breath and nodded. I’d waited years to discover the truth of my heritage, what was one more hour?
Ignus was surprisinglyquiet as he led me through the network of corridors back to Serath’s room, and I was grateful for his silence. I needed time to fully digest Ivor’s revelations. Over the past few months, everything I’d known about myself had been challenged, turned on its head, then been completely obliterated. Embracing change was never easy, and what Ivorhad told me…Well, it changed everything. My view of myself, my allegiance, my path.
“Here we are.” Ignus’s crisp, cultured accent pulled me from my thoughts outside Serath’s room. “I’ll wait while you let him know where you’re going.”
Going? I wasn’t leaving Serath out of this. “He needs to be with us for this conversation.”
“We should monitor him for another twenty-four hours to ensure that nothing?—”
“This is bullshit. He’s fine. He’s himself. Let him out.” He’d been held captive by the faction, and now he was being held captive here. I was done with this.
“Your mate is no longer an elite. He is no longer a regular gargoyle. He’s a graynite now. The first of his kind to still retain his soul.”
That brought me up short. “Graynites don’t have souls?”
He canted his head and tutted softly. “I see Ivor still has much to explain. Needless to say, we’ve never seen a graynite like Serath before.”
Which was why they’d slapped a cuff on him to stop him shifting. Fear of the unknown could produce toxic reactions. “Just because you’ve never seen a graynite like him doesn’t mean that he’s a threat. Ubron is gone, and I need my mate by my side. Drop the boundary in the room and let him out.”
Ignus looked down his nose at me for several beats, lips pressed together so that the corners of his mouth dimpled. “Very well.” He sounded resigned. “I’ll approve an early release.” He pressed his hand to the wall outside the door, and a hidden panel slid open onto which he keyed in a code. “The boundary is deactivated.”
