Page 69 of To Crave Darkly
There was a woman stood at the far end pacing in front of the fireplace. I’d recognise that flaming red hair and those long legs anywhere.
“Rae?”
Chapter 26
LORI
I had rubbed my eyes, but the vision of Rae was still there staring at me like I’d grown two heads.
As if I was the odd thing here?
“Lori? Oh my God, Lori!” All of a sudden, I was being wrapped up in her embrace, and she was squeezing the ever-loving shit out of me. As she pulled back, I saw her eyes were brimming with tears and a genuine smile warmed her face.
God, I had missed her.
“You have no idea how good it is to see your face, babe,” Rae said smilingly.
“Ditto. Um… It’s great to see you but…”
“How am I here?” she added laughingly. “It is a long story. Come on, sit down.”
Rae pulled me down onto the sofa with her and I tucked my knees under me. I had no idea how this was even possible. My best friend was sat in front of me, and she was not losing her marbles over the whole being in a hidden city.
“I suppose I had best start off with my real name. I am Raela Tramareon and I am a witch.”
Shut the front fucking door. My best friend is a witch. I stared at her for a long beat and tried to wrap my head around the fact that my best friend wasn’t the person I thought she was.
“You okay there, Lori? Your face has frozen.”
Her words pulled me out of my reverie. “Yeah, I’m fine. This is just very unexpected. Have you always been a witch?”
“Yep. I was born a witch, so I have always had my powers and I grew up with them. I can’t imagine how you feel, being thrust into this world, and just expected to be able to navigate it.” She took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“It has been one hell of a clusterfuck, I can tell you.Nothinghas been easy. But shit, Rae, how did I not know you were a witch? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I took an oath of silence and I couldn’t tell you. I physically could not form the words that would spill the secret.” She sniffed. “I’m so sorry I lied to you all these years.”
She showed me genuine regret and, while I wanted to be mad at her for lying to me, I also couldn’t forget how much she meant to me. She had pulled me through the worst moments in my life. When I had hit rock bottom, she had been there to pick up all the pieces.
“Was italla lie?” I asked quietly, not wanting to think that I had put my faith in someone who didn’t even care about me.
“God no. Babe, I am still your Rae. I’m still the girl who will flirt unceremoniously with any hot guy, who can’t mix a decent bloody Mary for shit, and who will be there for you no matter what you need. I just also happen to be able to do magic as well.”
Yep. She was still my best friend, and I was so fricking glad she was here. I pulled her into a hug, and we both cried a few joyful tears at our reunion.
I did have one question though. “How did you end up working atPoison?”
She cringed. “I was sent there to keep an eye on you.”
Wait a minute. “By who?”
“De Santis. But as soon as we actually became friends, I stopped reporting in and just stayed where I was. I liked my life and I liked what I was doing. I became Rae Smith in earnest, and I cut ties with the Conclave.”
So, de Santis knew more than he claimed if he had been keeping tabs on me. I just had to figure out what.
“Couldn’t you have picked a better name thanSmith?” I laughed. “Not the most imaginative name.”
“Urgh, I know, and I regretted it as soon as I had picked it. But never mind that, tell me everything. I feel like I have missed some pretty important days in your life. You need to start with the eyes though. What is the deal there? I mean, they’re pretty intimidating to look at and scary as fuck.”
