“It would kill you, too,” I exclaim in horror as it becomes clear to me. “Oh, God.”
It’s in this moment that I know I’m going to let Earth go to its doom and give up on my mission to stop this prophecy.
“You have a sacrifice to bear,” Zora reminds me harshly, and I try to jerk away from her.
“No,” I protest, trying desperately to free my hands from hers.
She’s stronger, though, and pulls me back in. “You have a sacrifice to bear,” she repeats, this time softly annunciating the words for effect.
So that I cannot ignore them.
But I do. I look away from her to take in the battle again. Kymaris cuts people down, demons rip and shred their warriors, and Carrick and Maddox’s efforts are futile.
I see Zaid still sitting on the ground, looking lost and full of regret.
My eyes snag on Deandra, battling her heart out, but she’s covered in blood.
Tears well up in my eyes again, and a choking sob tears free as I see Titus huddled over Priya’s lifeless body.
Oh, God. Priya.
All these people fighting for me.
With me.
Against evil.
Slowly, I turn my head to bring my eyes back to my sister.
My twin.
My heart.
“You can’t abandon humanity,” Zora says softly. And with her magic, she conjures a long dagger, holding it out to me. “I haven’t known humanity long, but it deserves the chance to survive.”
“I can’t,” I croak, shaking my head and refusing the dagger.
Zora flashes in toward me, then presses the weapon into my hand. She forces my fingers to close around the hilt.
Her other hand comes around my neck, and she pulls me in closer so she can whisper in my ear. “I would do it myself, Finley, but I’m not brave enough. It’s why you’re the one who has to bear the sacrifice.”
Another choking sob escapes and then I’m in free-fall, burying my face into my sister’s shoulder as I cry. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you,” she murmurs, squeezing her arm around my neck. “Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for showing me real happiness. I want you to know I’ll leave this life with no regrets knowing that, in the end, my life was perfect and had meaning.”
“Zora,” I sob, pulling my head back slightly to look in her eyes. A one-word plea to find some other way.
Not this.
She merely stares at me resolutely before slowly removing her hand from atop mine on the dagger.
I am now holding it of my own free will.
Zora’s eyes—mirror images of mine—are determined and strong. They give me strength.
Without taking my eyes off my twin, I make my sacrifice. Turning my wrist, I slip the blade between her fourth and fifth ribs to the very edge of her heart, where I hesitate.
Zora gasps in pain and I hate I’m prolonging it, but I want just one more moment with her.
“I love you,” I tell her again on a sob as I pull her in for a hard hug that causes the blade to sink right into her heart.
She stiffens, a tiny moan escapes, and she whispers, “Love. You. Too.”
The moment is shattered when I hear a piercing shriek of pain that rings out so loudly over the entire field that the battle stops abruptly, all creatures turning to its source.
I continue to hold tightly onto my sister as her breathing becomes ragged and her blood soaks into my shirt. I look over her shoulder to see that a huge hole has opened in Kymaris’ chest, right over where her heart lays beneath her sternum.
She looks down at it, horrified by what she sees.
Her gaze lifts, moves across the field, and locks with mine.
I don’t move. Merely hold my sister as her pulse slows and Kymaris falls weakly to her knees.
Zora starts to sag, but I don’t let her fall. I release my hold on the dagger and move my arm around her waist to support her.
I hold her close to me, feeling the handle of the blade pressing against my own chest.
And I just stare blankly at Kymaris as her white skin goes even paler.
When Zora takes one last ragged breath, the exhale blowing over the skin on my neck where she sags against me, Kymaris’ body starts to turn black. She screams again, not in pain this time, but rather in disbelief.
Zora’s heart gives its last beat as Kymaris pitches forward, face-first into the dirt. Her body ripples, turns even blacker, and then starts to peel away in chunks of tarry ash.
The rip in the veil pulses for a brief moment before it knits closed.
It’s over.
The prophecy has been thwarted.
CHAPTER 28
Carrick
Carrick swiveled the chair away from his desk and stared out over the cityscape from his office window. It had been two weeks since Finley stopped the ritual and things were getting back to normal.
Sort of.
He was back in his office, running his empire, but it didn’t hold much interest to him. Carrick had more money than he knew what to do with. In all his re-invented lifetimes, he was always successful in managing businesses, people, and lands. He did it not out of any true interest but more as a way to pass the time.
Because—to him—time moves infinitely slower.
He was pondering a change. Not anything soon because he wasn’t about to change his life with Finley. But he’d lose her one day, and that would be when he’d make a change and start over somewhere else. As it stood, Seattle held way too many memories—admittedly both good and bad—to make this a comfortable place to keep roots.
Finley had been struggling after Zora’s death. A mere two weeks ago, she had to kill her sister. The grief and guilt nearly swallowed her up those first days and Carrick was worried that he’d perhaps lost her.
But gradually, she came out of it.
They took long walks. Talked a lot. Sat on the patio and put rationality to the jumble of emotion that was swirling within her.
Logically, Finley did what she knew she had to do.
There was a sense of peace for her to know Zora wanted her to do what she did.
There was also relief in knowing that the world was safe from the likes of Kymaris.
Over and over again, Carrick reminded her of those things until she gradually stopped crying and sometimes graced him with her smiles.
On a good day, there was laughter, and she was getting back to her normal life too. They held the re-opening of One Bean yesterday, but, truth be told, that had become Rainey’s show. It had also become her passion. Finley wasn’t so keen on the day-to-day running anymore. At the opening, she did what she did best—showed her love of people—by circulating among the patrons and having genuine conversations. That right there helped bring more smiles to her face that had been desperately needed.
No doubt, owning and running One Bean was a fine career for a young barista moving up in the world. Back when Finley was naïve to the horrors that awaited her. But after everything she’d been through, Carrick wasn’t surprised she’d lost her zeal for running a coffee shop. He suspected it would become Rainey’s completely soon, but, for now, they were partners.
Finley wasn’t the only one suffering from loss. Hell, Carrick hated to admit it, but even he felt a bit sad over Boral’s death. More than that, his heart ached for Zaid, who was having a hard time reconciling the fact that he’d never actually given his dad a chance in the end. He was suffering guilt, the same as Finley.
Titus had lost Priya, which was a terrible blow to his friend. She had been taken down by two Dark Fae, who were now no more since Titus had gotten his vengeance on them in the thick of battle. He was grieving, though, while holed up in his house on Semper Terra. Caiden had recently told Carrick that Titus wasn’t seeing anyone. Carrick wouldn’t be able to let that go on for much longer—he’d have to intervene for his friend—but he had to make sure Finley was okay first.
Deandra was not suffering the way Titus was. She’d
watched her mother die, and she’d killed her brother. But the Light Fae didn’t love the way humans do, nor the way a demi-god does. Deandra bore that weight as no more than her duty to her people as a whole. After Kymaris died, Deandra helped dispatch the rest of the dead queen’s minions. When the dust had cleared, she was ready to move on.
She’d returned to Faere to report on what happened. Not long after, Carrick received word that she had assumed the throne as the sole ruler of Faere. Her father had “retired” to the countryside to live out his days in leisure.
Not that it’s not how he had lived his days before Nimeyah’s death, but Deandra apparently had no use for a man such as Callidan—one who couldn’t be moved to help save their people.
So much loss when they’d stopped Kymaris’ rise to power on that day two weeks ago, but, in the end, they had indeed stopped her. Finley bore her sacrifice. She met her destiny and won.
As he stared out the window of his office, gaze focusing on Bainbridge Island across the Sound, Carrick thought back to the battle and the moment Finley’s sacrifice had played out.
He knew they were losing.
He knew Earth was going to perish.
And he couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted Zora handing Finley a dagger across the battlefield before watching his love plunge it into her twin’s heart.
But when Kymaris bore a wound in her chest, he knew as clear as day that Zora had been the connection all along. She was the sacrifice meant to save the day, and Finley was the one who had to take her life.
The gods were indeed cruel.
The gods were also silent. Carrick had no clue where they had gone or what had happened to Rune. But, in all actuality, he didn’t care. He figured they’d reveal something to him eventually, but they were non-entities in his life for now.
Carrick might have been grateful for a bit of guidance from Veda right after the battle since they had one big dilemma on their hands after it was over…
What to do with the Blood Stone.
It had too much power to be let loose in the world.
In the wrong hands, it could destroy entire realms. They had brought it back to the condo, locked it in Carrick’s vault, and sealed it with powerful magic. Then Carrick, Maddox, Zaid, and Finley discussed what should be done.
There was no real consensus. Talk had centered around taking it back to Micah’s realm, but, in the end, it stayed locked in the vault. If anyone asked Carrick, though, he’d have to be truthful and admit he had been thinking nonstop about how to use it to grant Finley immortality.
It’s what he was pondering now as he looked out the window. He thought about it so much that he was becoming a bit obsessed.
The phone on his desk chimed once, breaking him out of his thoughts, and a woman’s voice came over the intercom, “Mr. Byrne… Miss Porter is here to see you.”
Smiling, Carrick turned his chair back to his desk. He pushed the button to respond. “Send her back. Also, will you please tell Miss Porter she doesn’t need permission to come to my office?”
The receptionist laughed. “I’ve tried time and time again, but she’s stubborn that one. Insists on ringing you each time.”
In the background, he heard Finley join the conversation. “That’s because Miss Porter is, above all else, polite.”
Carrick laughed and disconnected the call, rising from his desk chair and moving to his office door. When Finley turned the knob and pushed it open, he snatched her arm and pulled her in fast. She yipped and then went silent as he kissed her hard.
Letting her up for air, she looked a bit dazed when she asked, “Now that’s a greeting.”
And to his relief, she moved into him and kissed him back.
For several days after Zora’s death, Finley had been lost to him. She hadn’t completely curled into herself, but she was pretty mired in her grief.
But his woman is strong.
Slowly, she started to rise from those depressive depths.
And as Carrick talked to her over and over about what happened, she even came to have such respect and admiration for her twin that she was able to focus on what a hero Zora had been to the world. That was the first time Finley had smiled after Zora died.
Now her smiles were easier, her kisses more frequent, and she was getting out of the condo and moving on with life. Her scars were still there but they were healing, and he’d be there every step of the way to help make them disappear.
“You ready to go?” Finley asked.
“Ready and willing,” Carrick replied, moving from her to grab his suit jacket. She was out shopping with Rainey today and had been dropped off to ride home with him. “Want to go grab an early dinner somewhere?”
“It’s five o’clock, grandpa,” she teased, and it made Carrick’s heart happier.
That she was teasing.
“But no,” she continued. “Zaid is making some famous feta and tomato pasta that he got off a viral video that was going around.”
“He is a master in the kitchen, so let’s go see how it tastes.”
Carrick then took Finley’s hand and led her out of the office.
* * *
Zaid had outdone himself with dinner, but that was no surprise. Carrick would always want Zaid to be a part of his life, his cooking not being the most important thing about him.
But it was important.
As usual, the kitchen nook table was ignored, and the formal dining table was eschewed in favor of their favorite spot.
The kitchen island.
It was feeling bigger these days with fewer people sitting around it. Maddox was off doing god knows what and to god knows whom. Carrick had tried to talk to him about Zora, but Maddox blew it off. He appeared more concerned about Finley’s grief and held himself out like he was fine.
But Carrick knew his brother better than that.
Boral was a sad spot left open, and Rainey and Myles were off doing their husband-and-wife thing.
It was just the core family now—Carrick, Zaid, and Finley.
When the last bite was finished, Zaid popped up to clear the dishes, but Finley shooed him back down. “Let me,” she said, grabbing the plate from in front of him. “You sit and relax.”
“I don’t know how to relax,” Zaid grumbled, but a look from Carrick quelled him. He needed to let Finley do normal things and not be waited on. She needed to be productive.
Zaid pivoted with a tip of his head. “By all means, you can clean the kitchen. But I’d like to talk to you about something first.”
Finley’s expression slackened in concern, and she set his plate back down before taking her stool again.
Zaid had the oddest expression on his face, almost a shyness if Carrick were to put an emotion to it. His gaze dipped for a moment before meeting hers. “I decided to take your advice.”
“And what advice is that?” Finley asked, but Carrick could tell by her voice she knew exactly what Zaid was talking about.
Carrick had no clue as Finley didn’t tell him all her secrets.
“I’m going to find my mother in Faere,” he explained, then looked to Carrick sheepishly. “That is if Carrick will take me there.”
“I’d be glad to,” Carrick replied without hesitation.
Zaid turned his gaze back to Finley. With uncharacteristic tenderness from the daemon—whose aura had lightened considerably after the battle, all the way to off white—he reached over and took her hand in his. He covered it with his other and held it between them. “Will you come with me? I admit to being nervous.”
Carrick had to force his jaw not to sag in surprise. Clearly, this was a conversation they’d had before, and he assumed Finley was behind this sudden desire.
“Of course I will,” she reassured, beaming a smile. It was like music to his eyes. Every day, there were more laughs and smiles, and he knew Finley would be all right.
“Thank you,” Zaid told her earnestly.
“Anything for you, my friend.”
Za
id pulled his hand from hers, but held her eyes. “And again… I’m really sorry about Zora.”
Carrick watched Finley carefully. Her face didn’t cloud over the way it would have just a week ago at the mention of her sister’s name. Instead, it softened, and her eyes became a little shiny.
“She was a hero the likes this world will never see again.” Zaid looked from Finley to Carrick, almost for reassurance that this topic was okay. When Carrick didn’t say anything, Zaid turned his gaze back. “But you’re an even bigger hero. Not to downplay anything Zora did, but I just don’t want it ever to get lost that your sacrifice was terrible to bear, yet you showed more courage and strength than anyone I’ve ever met. You are simply the most amazing person I know, Finley, and it’s an honor to call you my friend.”
That made Finley cry, but in a good way. She ended up hugging Zaid long and hard, and Carrick marveled at how far they’d come in their friendship.
* * *
The condo was quiet, Zaid had long gone home, and Carrick and Finley were lying in bed. He had just finished making love to her, and both were sated but not sleepy.
He lay behind her, spooning her body with his arm tight around her waist. He could tell by the pace of her breaths that she wasn’t even drowsy.
But she was pondering something.
“We should go on a vacation,” she finally said.
Carrick squeezed her. “I could get on board with that.”
“I’m thinking Fiji,” she murmured, probably because Rainey and Myles still gushed over how beautiful it was.
“We could make it a destination wedding,” Carrick suggested slyly.
That caused Finley to jerk slightly, and she twisted to look over her shoulder. “Seriously?”
“I’d never joke about marrying you,” he replied somberly. Then he grinned. “But if you want a big church wedding, we’ll do that. If you want to elope, we’ll do that. Or anything in between.”
“So we just go for it?” she asked with a grin. “Like tomorrow if we wanted?”
“If you want,” Carrick replied in a low voice. “Although, I’d probably like to get you a ring first.”
The Rise of Fortune and Fury Page 30
