A Battle of Blood and Stone

by Sawyer Bennett

Within moments, Maddox is in the living room with a beer in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich, so thickly stacked with meats, lettuce, and tomatoes I’m not sure how he ever got his mouth around it without dislocating his jaw, in his other. He has apparently been successful, though, as he is enthusiastically chewing.

  Carrick sits in one of the chairs opposite me, and Zaid goes to a love seat. Rainey and Myles are on a couch while Maddox chooses to remain standing.

  “I went to see Kymaris tonight,” Carrick said. Out of all the dangerous things I thought he might be out there doing, I never once thought he would do that.

  “You what?” I exclaim, straightening in my chair. “Why?”

  “Because you wanted me to do something about the human sacrifices,” he reminds me.

  Mouth dropping open, I stare at him in a mixture of amazement and guilt. Yes, I’d made him promise he’d do something, but that was in the heat of the moment. I’d been in shock and disgusted by what Boral had said was going on when he called yesterday, and I’d demanded justice, but I hadn’t expected Carrick to move on it so quickly.

  “What did you do?” I ask hesitantly.

  “Well, to stop the human sacrifices, I blew her house up with TNT,” he says, his eyes twinkling just slightly at making such an ostentatious statement.

  “Whoa,” Myles murmurs in appreciation. “Badass.”

  “She was in it, along with a daemon, but no humans. She won’t die, but it will slow her down for a few days as she’ll have to find more accommodations.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper gratefully.

  Carrick’s smile is tender as he regards me from across the table. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

  My heart flip-flops and my skin warms at the overt display of love and affection. It feels good that he doesn’t care who is watching or listening.

  “There’s something else,” he says, his expression hardening a little bit, and the sweet flutters in my heart stop as my stomach clenches. “I had a talk with Kymaris before we blew the house up.”

  “You what?” I exclaim again, shocked he would confront her. “Why?”

  “Mainly, I wanted to get in her house and ensure I couldn’t sense any humans there, but I also wanted to see if she’d open up about anything. I was banking on her over-inflated ego wanting to share her plans with me.”

  “And did she?” Rainey asks.

  Carrick spares her a short glance and nods. “She offered to let me rule by her side, and she very happily told me how she’d take over the world once the veil comes down.”

  “I’m guessing it wasn’t a tempting offer,” I quip with a mirthless laugh.

  Carrick actually cracks a smile. “I have what I want.”

  “What else did you learn then?”

  A glimmer of anger fires in Carrick’s eyes as his smile disappears. “It appears that Kymaris knows we have the Blood Stone.”

  “Shit,” I hiss. I sink back down into the chair, but my eyes dart over to Zaid, who is bent over, elbows to knees and gaze pinned to the floor.

  I don’t need to say it out loud. It had to be Boral.

  “We have to leave,” Carrick announces, and all our heads except Zaid’s snaps his way. Maddox swallows another bite, then ignores the rest of his sandwich. “Now that she knows we have it, nothing will prevent her from conducting an all-out assault on this condo to get it.”

  “But you have protections in place,” Rainey reminds him.

  “Good ones, too,” Carrick agrees, but his tone is grim. “But Kymaris is powerful. If she has her Dark Fae—to whom she’s been funneling power—help her, they could bring the protections down. She could use her army of daemons to storm the place. She wouldn’t care about anyone else in this building being collateral damage. She won’t care about revealing herself to the world. The bottom line is that we are not safe here, but we also need to make sure we don’t give her any reason to go public. It would cause panic and chaos.”

  “Just like in the Avengers when Loki brought the Chitauri into New York,” Myles says in horror.

  “Carrick,” I say softly, prompted by my gut instinct telling me that we shouldn’t leave the safety of the condo. “Surely with you, Maddox, and me, our collective powers would outweigh what she could bring.”

  “But it might not,” he counters. “And a one-percent risk is too great a risk. But regardless, her attempt to break through would cause havoc among humans. They’re ignorant of immortal creatures, magic, and the Underworld. To keep the peace, we need to leave.”

  “Then we bring the fight to her now,” I say adamantly, anger welling within me. This is all moving way too fast. “We find her, and we tear that bitch apart with iron.”

  “You’re not ready,” Carrick says in a low voice.

  “I might not have full control of my abilities, but I know how to use them,” I point out. “Besides… it’s the whole team that will take her down, not just me.”

  Carrick scrubs his hands over his face, clearly frustrated with something. When he looks at me, his jaw is locked tight. “No, it won’t be the entire team. You’re the key to thwarting it, which means you’re the key to thwarting Kymaris.”

  “Well, yeah… that’s right, but y’all will be at my back,” I say hesitantly, confused why this is so bothersome to him right now.

  Carrick growls with impatience. “We might be at your back, but it is you who has to kill Kymaris. You alone, and you are not ready to do that.”

  It goes deadly quiet. Such a heaviness hanging in the air that it’s me—puny human—against the Queen of the Underworld. It’s literally going to be my powers against hers. My strength against hers. My determination against hers. Everyone else will have a front-row seat.

  At least according to the prophecy as relayed by the gods and confirmed by Onyx.

  “You’re just not ready,” Carrick reiterates. “So, we’ll obviously keep training to get you ready. Until then, our best bet is to go into hiding and wait it out until we can get past the new moon.”

  “And then what?” Myles asks, sounding incredibly frustrated. “Surely there will be another new moon she can use. Do we stay in hiding forever?”

  “No,” Carrick replies grimly. “We’ll have to find a way to end it, and Finley will be the one to carry it out.”

  My head is slightly spinning at everything he’s laid down before us. I had assumed we’d take the next few weeks to just chill here in the cocooned safety of the condo. We’d practice my magic, eat good food, and laugh at Kymaris not being able to get the Blood Stone. Now we have to run, and it’s not sitting right with me.

  “Rainey and Myles are going to have to go somewhere safe outside the city,” Carrick says.

  “I know a place,” Maddox says, his sandwich apparently forgotten. “I have a friend upstate, and I have another idea, too.”

  “What’s that?” Carrick asks.

  “We get two daemons or Light Fae to glamour as Myles and Rainey, and we let them go about their regular business on the Fantasia and at work. Maybe it will throw Kymaris off, and we’ll be able to gauge if she goes after them for information.”

  “And you happen to know some daemon or fae who are willing to risk their lives like that?” I ask with distaste.

  “Favors are always owed,” Maddox replies with a wink.

  Carrick nods at his brother, a gleam of pride in his eyes. “That’s a great idea. You handle that and getting them relocated.”

  Surprisingly, Myles and Rainey remain incredibly quiet throughout this announcement, and their lack of objection or fight tells me they’re taking Carrick’s belief in the danger very seriously.

  Swinging his gaze back to me, Carrick says, “I want you and Zaid to go to Faere. You’ll be safest there; the realm will be adequately warded against Dark Fae, and Deandra can watch over you.”

  “Absolutely not,” I say with a shake of my head. “I hate that place, and I don’t feel much different about its inhabitants. And if you make me spend
so much as a second with Nimeyah or Deandra, I’ll never speak to you again in this lifetime.”

  “Finley, we don’t have time to worry about your sensibilities right now. Faere is the best place for you.”

  “Fine,” I say pleasantly. “But I’m not staying at the castle. We can go to Arwen’s. It’s far away from the castle, and the royals don’t go there.”

  “You can’t stay there alone,” Carrick growls in exasperation.

  “And just where are you going?” I ask with a frown.

  “I’m going to try to slow Kymaris down even more,” he says darkly, and the set determination in his jaw tells me that whatever he has planned, I’ll never talk him out of it.

  “How?” I gasp.

  “I’m going after some of the Dark Fae she has collected.”

  “How?” I ask again, dumbfounded. We’d never talked about such a move.

  “Boral provided me with addresses for where some live, including Kaesar. I’m going to start with him. Before I kill him, I’m going to see if we can find out what happened to Boral.”

  “Why bother?” Zaid mutters.

  My heart aches a little for Zaid, but neither his expression nor tone give away what he’s feeling. Carrick doesn’t bother addressing his question because the answer is obvious. It would be helpful to know what else—besides us having the Blood Stone—Boral revealed.

  “I can help,” Maddox declares to his brother. “After I get Rainey and Myles settled, I’ll meet you. The more we can take out, the harder it will be for Kymaris to do the ritual.”

  “That was my plan,” Carrick mutters, casting a hard glance my way. “To have you help me with that, but if Finley insists on staying at Arwen’s instead of the castle, I’d rather you go there when you finish settling Rainey and Myles in.”

  “I can do that,” Maddox says with a nod.

  “But why bother taking out some of her original fallen?” I ask, wondering if this is time wasted and unnecessary danger. “She’ll bring more up from the Underworld.”

  “True,” Carrick agrees. “But it will split her focus, which can only help us.”

  “How many will you take out?” I ask him.

  “I know the locations of three.”

  I ponder this a moment. “Maybe you should take Maddox with you. I’m sure Zaid and I will be perfectly fine at Arwen’s. You can both join us there.”

  Carrick’s expression doesn’t get any more transparent. He’s worried about me being in Faere without him. “You can either stay at the castle with Nimeyah, which is my preference, or you can have Maddox join you as soon as he gets Rainey and Myles taken care of. Those are your two choices.”

  “I choose Maddox,” I mutter because I am not going to the castle. “What will we do when you come to Faere?”

  “Maybe we’ll go to Nimeyah or maybe we’ll find a different realm,” he suggests, and I grimace. I might very well end up at the castle anyway, except it will be more bearable with Carrick there. “Maybe we’ll hop realms. We only have to keep it away from her until the new moon, which is twenty days away.”

  Carrick has a good plan. I can tell by his demeanor that he’s confident it’s what’s best.

  I trust him.

  I really do.

  But none of this is sitting right with me. Our regular plans have been completely derailed, and this new strategy takes us from the safety of a well-fortified place. On top of that, I don’t want Rainey and Myles to go somewhere else. While I trust Maddox to do right by them and put them someplace Kymaris won’t find them—and admit his idea of planting decoys is brilliant—it leaves them alone and unprotected.

  Mostly, it puts Carrick out hunting for Dark Fae without me by his side. I’m not worried about our safety in Faere. We’ll be fine at Arwen’s. If trouble brewed, I could open the veil and go anywhere in the United States I could realistically envision.

  My worry is not being with Carrick. Deep in my heart, I know it’s because I’m still rattled about Lucien. It’s been almost a week since he succumbed to the Crimson River, and he hasn’t returned. I’m starting to believe there is no coming back from that.

  Which means… Carrick isn’t impervious to his life being permanently ended by some means other than Ascension.

  I don’t want any of this.

  I want to lock us away in safety to ride out the storm, and I want Carrick by my side.

  “I think it’s a bad idea,” I finally say.

  “Which part?” Carrick asks mildly.

  “All of it. Having Rainey and Myles leave,” I offer.

  “They’ll be safer away from all this,” Carrick replies firmly.

  “Faere isn’t the best option for Zaid and me. We should figure someplace else—”

  “It’s the safest, Finley,” Carrick says softly.

  “And you.” I throw an accusing finger at him. “You’re going to go battle Dark Fae, and something bad could happen to you, which—”

  “Nothing bad will happen,” he assures me, but I can tell by his tone he’s starting to get a little irritated with me.

  I glance around. Rainey and Myles are watching me with curiosity, Zaid with sympathy, and Maddox with enjoyment.

  Carrick, though, is dead serious.

  “But,” I throw out desperately. “What about Rainey and Myles’ wedding? That’s going to be ruined.”

  Bursting out of his seat, Carrick glares at me. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Finley. The wedding isn’t important. Keeping you alive and the Blood Stone from Kymaris is all that matters right now.”

  I feel like I’ve been slapped in the face by the man I love. He’s never spoken to me like that. In all the days he has known me and had cause to be frustrated by me, he’s never lost patience with me. I had always considered him to be the rock in the storm, taking a lashing and able to remain strong and steady. To have him lose it, and on me of all people, is frankly… crushing.

  Without a word, I rise from my chair and move out of the grouping, skirting around it. I head past the free-standing fireplace, which still bears the damage of Carrick throwing Boral against it, and straight for the sliding doors that lead outside. It’s utter silence behind me as I leave the group for the solace of the patio.

  CHAPTER 24

  Finley

  Carrick doesn’t follow me out immediately, although I know he’ll come. He’ll think he’s hurt me, and he’ll want to make it right.

  I go to a wooden chest that holds warm fleece blankets, then grab one. It’s still misting out, but some of the patio furniture is protected by an overhang. It’s cold enough that my breath is frosty, and I consider turning on one of the outdoor heaters.

  I don’t, though, figuring I deserve to be cold and miserable given the way I just acted in there. It was not with the cool bravery and determination to do what was best for the cause that I’ve been exhibiting since becoming this sort of savior.

  Choosing a couch, I settle one of the pillows behind my back and lean against the armrest, my legs stretched out before me. I settle the blanket over me and pull it up to my chin, staring at the southern part of the city that borders the water.

  The sliding door opens with a soft whoosh, and I’m surprised he came out as fast as he did. I figured he was still continuing to make plans and ignoring my bratty exit because it didn’t deserve attention.

  Sheepishly, I glance up. “What are you doing out here?”

  The chastising look he gives me causes me to duck my face under the blanket. He moves gracefully across the patio to the couch I’m on. Picking up my legs, he takes the center cushion and drapes them back over his lap, his palms settling heavy and comforting on my thighs.

  “I’m having a moment,” I say sullenly.

  “You’re allowed,” he says simply as he looks straight ahead over the water. It puts his face in profile to me, which is as stunning from this angle as any other. Sometimes, there are brief moments I have doubts that someone as beautiful as him could love someone like me.

  I
even told him that once while we were lying in bed, and he stared at me as if I were crazy. He had told me I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his almost five thousand years of living.

  I chose to believe him but, sometimes… I have doubts that surface.

  I push those away though, because I have enough worries on my plate right now.

  “What’s going on with you?” Carrick asks, twisting so he can look me in the eye.

  I shrug, pushing the blanket down a little and playing with the fringe.

  “Finley,” Carrick warns, his tone implying he wants to talk and he’s not going to accept shrugs, silence, or being vague.

  The sigh that comes out of me is long, and I hadn’t realized how much I had pent up. “I feel like I’m drowning,” I admit.

  Carrick tips his head as one hand squeezes my thigh in reassurance. “How so?”

  “Well,” I say sarcastically, but also with a hint of teasing, “it’s a little pressurizing to be the savior of the world, you know. And, apparently, I’m solely the one who has to take down Kymaris.”

  Carrick’s eyes go soft with sympathy, and he nods in understanding. I get why he didn’t want to add that last burden to my plate, but I’m glad I know.

  I pick at the fringe some more. “It’s just… my life has changed so drastically in such a short period of time.”

  “From barista, to business owner, to savior of the world,” he murmurs.

  “To finding out I’m under a curse to be reincarnated over and over again,” I point out. “Let’s not forget that.”

  Carrick chuckles, draping his arm over the couch and leaning in slightly toward me. “You have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  “Right,” I say in agreement. “But… I felt like I was handling it, you know? I was focused and driven, and we had a solid game plan. And now it’s all messed up, and we have to run. I don’t like it.”

  Carrick studies me for a moment, his eyes roaming my face and ending on my eyes where he stares the longest.

  Always my eyes.

  “You’ve been so strong, Finley. Hell, just in the last few weeks, you fought a wraith, learned how to use your powers from Deandra, and went to Micah’s realm to steal the chalice and Blood Stone. You’ve had a less-than-satisfying conversation with your twin, who doesn’t seem interested in being rescued from the Underworld, you’re going to have to battle Kymaris, and you might have to sacrifice yourself in this prophecy. Even if you do make it, you’re destined to die by Rune’s curse at some point.”