Faith Revisited by Madelyn Ford Read Free Book Online Page B

centering on the hand that had delivered the wound to Zeke. There was something familiar about that hand, but Levi could not place it. Not with certainty, anyway, and it was bugging the hell out of him.

    * * * *
Remy sat behind the mahogany desk in his study, a large leather book opened before him.
    As he slowly turned the parchment pages, he scanned the headings. So much death lay within its bindings, the life and death of those cursed to walk this earth relegated to one page each. Coming to the first blank page, Remy picked up the quill and, with a heavy sigh, dipped the tip in a bottle of ink.
    Caym, brother of Raym.
    The words flowed easily at first—his rank in the order, his history, for whom he had served from the beginning until now, and how he had met his end. All to memorialize a fellow Watcher within the Book of the Fallen . But Remy faltered as he ran out of factual notes. When it came to a personal notation, Remy was at a loss. Caym had been a member of the order and a fellow brother, but Remy had not known him all that long—only half a century, which in the grand scheme of things was hardly a moment in time.
    He shook his head, deciding to leave it for now. Only Raym could truly honor his brother in a manner befitting one of the Grigori, so Remy lifted one end of the book, allowing the pages to fall. They stopped on the first page, and Remy read the words out loud.
    “Saraknyal, wife and mate of Arakiel.”
    He slammed the book shut and rubbed his hands over his face. His own wife's name did not lie within the pages, because she had been human and not a member of the Grigori as Arak's had been. But as with Arak, Dara had been his heart mate, and to this day, some fifteen thousand 22
    Madelyn Ford

    years later, he still believed he would find her again. For Arak, there was no such hope.
    Saraknyal was lost to them forever.

    The Watchers: Faith Revisited
    23

    Chapter Three

    In the hall outside his room, Bale encountered Arak. Arak's eyes had a sunken appearance, and his skin had paled from its normal golden coloring. He looked wiped out, and Bale reached out to steady him when he swayed suddenly.
    “You okay?”
    Arak nodded, clutching onto Bale's shoulder for a moment. “Yeah. I just wanted to check on Faith before I turned in. I'll probably be out of it for several hours.”
    “How's Zeke?” Bale asked quietly, knowing Arak had drained himself of every bit of available energy in trying to heal their brother.
    “I think he'll make it. Luckily it was a small amount of poison, and I was able to drain most of it from him.” Arak closed his eyes wearily and sighed. “I'll keep him under for a couple days and check his progress. But I think he'll be okay.”
    “Thank the Father,” Bale whispered.
    With the barest of smiles, Arak nodded. “Indeed.” Glancing back at the door to Bale's room, he added, “She's doing well, Bale. If you can get her to feed again, it will help her immensely. She's entering the final stage of Transfiguration, and from what I understand, it can get ugly. I'm sorry I won't be of much help.”
    Clasping Arak's forearm, Bale replied, “You just worry about getting Zeke back to one hundred percent. I'll take care of Faith.” As Arak returned the gesture of brotherhood, hand tightening around Bale's forearm, Bale felt reassured. At least some things were going to be okay. “Go to bed. You look like shit.”
    “Thanks a lot,” Arak mumbled, giving Bale a friendly push away from him.
    “Do you need help?” Bale asked, concerned as he watched Arak attempt to move down the hallway.
    Arak turned to glance at him. “Now you're just insulting me,” he answered with a grin, pretending his hand was not braced against the wall to support him.
    “As if that were possible,” Bale teased. Then he sobered, asking, “Are you sure you don't need help?”
    “I'll make it, Bale. You need to be with Faith now. It could start any moment. And it will be painful. There will be