Dark Faïz ( Book 1 ) [ COMPLETED]

Chapters 13-4

Downstairs, the last guests were saying goodbye to the Mattew family. Lily seemed relieved to see us reappear.

— "I was wondering where you had all gone!" she exclaimed as she came to meet us.

— "There were some minor complications."

William nodded at my three friends. Lily's expression immediately changed. The Sylph's words worried her.

— "We had to tell them everything," William informed her.

She took a few steps back as she watched us one after the other. Faïz and Victoria were at the other end of the room. Apparently, he was also telling her the same news.

— "We had a great time tonight, my darling," Lily's mother interrupted before she left, too.

— "Faïz will take you back, mom. I'll come and see you and dad later this week."

Lily then hugged her father, and it was my turn to say goodbye.

— "Take care of yourself, Zoe," said Mr. Austin, hugging me.

The only ones left were us and the waiters, who were busy putting everything away as quickly as possible. Lily took me aside.

— "I trust your friends, Zoe, but I don't want them to put themselves in danger because of us."

— "I promise you I'll spare them as much as possible."

— "Zoe, Mrs. Mattew!" called Lexy. "We're going to go. It's getting late."

— "I am coming with you," I told her. "Lily, we'll see you in Elora."

— "Yes. Tomorrow, after church, we'll take the time to talk about this again."

I went to kiss Victoria by holding her tightly against me, then my friends and I headed for the exit. William took the trouble to escort us to the gate. When he opened the front door, Asarys started to growl.

— "Damn stairs! I really don't have the courage to walk through this right now."

— "Move it, Asarys, don't count on me to carry you!" Lexy grumbled.

I said goodbye to William and wished him a pleasant stay in Detroit. He seemed to let me go reluctantly.

**

The heat in the air surprised me. I had almost forgotten it, despite a lower temperature than when we had arrived. We made it, silent, in front of our two cars parked one behind the other. Faïz had already left the premises to drop off his grandparents. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him again since we'd come down from William's room.

— "Let's just enjoy being the four of us. If you have any questions before we separate, let me know," I said.

— "For my part, Faïz and William explained everything perfectly," Asarys replied.

— "I agree with you," Lexy said. "We'll probably have some questions in the next few days. Give us time to assimilate what we just learned."

Then I turned to David, who suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

— "I was just wondering...if...if men with superhuman strength are real, as well as elves, demons, and so on...in short, does Edward Cullen exist, too?"

Lexy began to rant,

— "Vampires? Are you kidding, David? Fuck off, we're in the real world! Leave your vampire and werewolf stories in your head."

David looked dismayed, not knowing what to think about all this. I refrained from laughing. The situation was ludicrous. Asarys added,

— "Take care of translating the manuscript, David, while keeping your feet firmly on the ground. We're not in a fiction here. It's unbelievable to say such crap!"

He raised his arms to the heavens before adding,

— "No, but I'm dreaming."

The girls went to get in the Bentley and left him like that. I approached him to give him a on the cheek.

— "Your question is a legitimate one. I'm sorry to break your heart, but Edward Cullen doesn't exist. Good night."

— "All I have to do now is go home and mope around in my bed," he told me in a tired tone. "Get home safe, Zoe. Good luck with your job on Monday."

The evening ended in a way I'd never imagined. My friends were aware of everything. Well, there was just a thing or two I had preferred to keep to myself. Indeed, I considered it was not necessary to tell them about the existence of the Banshees, nor even that one of them had predicted my death, or that of someone else around me. I intended to reverse the curse. I had not told them about Gurt and Meriden either, the two dogs whose mission was to close the doors of evil. Lily had made me understand that not everything was to be taken literally. We left in the middle of that hot night, the excitement of the last few hours subsiding. Deep down, I was angry at myself for being responsible for the loss of my friends' carelessness. Now, nothing would be the same as before.