“I think he’s a lot of fun,” Maddox defended.
“Of course, you do,” Zaid sneered. “You both act like overentitled frat boys.”
Carrick couldn’t help it—the accurate portrayal made him laugh. But they needed to return to business.
“I need to fill you in on a few things,” he said, which got Zaid and Maddox’s attention fully focused.
“I already brought Maddox up to speed on what happened with Ozigeor and Finley’s dream of the Underworld,” Zaid imparted.
“Or actual visit to the Underworld, as the case may be,” Maddox pointed out, having concluded the same thing given her accurate description of it.
“Then you know Finley has some connection to Zora,” Carrick said, summing up where they stood.
It felt weird calling her sister Zora, someone he had never met, but a name she was called by the bartender in Finley’s dream. He didn’t even know if it were true or not, so it didn’t sound quite right.
Regardless, he had more proof they had a connection. “When we were in Faere, Deandra challenged Finely to a fight.”
“Holy fuck,” Maddox exclaimed, standing up straight.
“Indeed,” Carrick muttered dryly. “And before I could step in to stop it, something happened to Finley. She drew on some type of power from her feather, and I could actually feel it pulsing inside of her. And it was dark and immense.”
Zaid’s expression immediately became worried. “Was it from Zora?”
Carrick shrugged. “Maybe. She said her feather burned before it filled her up.
“But since it was dark, does that mean Zora’s evil?” Maddox asked, eyebrows drawn inward.
“It’s a good question, and one we just don’t know the answer to. We don’t even know if Zora sent it to her or Finley pulled on it herself, but I don’t think we can deny anymore that she has a solid connection to her identical twin in the Underworld, and that twin has powers of her own.”
“What next?” Maddox asks.
“I’ve asked my dad to keep his ear to the ground.” Zaid’s face twisted into a grimace, finding it distasteful to ask his dad for anything at all. “I didn’t give him any details, just that something big was brewing on the dark side of things and I’d appreciate any information.”
“If he comes up with something, he’s going to use that to get you to come back to him,” Carrick warned.
“Will never happen,” Zaid replied adamantly. “I’d just as soon impale myself on a tree again.”
It was a small reminder of the horrors Zaid had endured, and Maddox reached out and clapped him on the shoulder in a short squeeze of support.
Carrick explained how he’d told Nimeyah everything after she agreed to a binding. “Her best guess is that Kymaris will tear down the entire veil between the Earth realm and the Underworld.”
“Demon-palooza,” Maddox muttered, but they’d all already been thinking the same thing.
“She’s also refused any help to us.”
Zaid gave a sarcastic bark of a laugh. “Not surprising. Unless something is in it for them, the Light Fae would never come to the aid of humankind.”
“If Kymaris is successful in freeing all of the Underworld, there are many fae and daemons already on Earth that will not help the humans either. They’ll flock to her side,” Carrick warned ominously.
“Which is why we need to stop this shit before it happens,” Maddox concluded. “So, first thing’s first… do we bring Pyke fully on board? Because it wasn’t lost on us that you were very stingy on the details with him.”
Carrick shook his head, expression grave. “I want to use him if we can because his contacts are immense. He could even hold some sway with his mother down the road if there’s a big battle and we need aid. But I don’t want anyone outside of our group knowing the full story about Finley. It’s the best way to keep her safe because if Kymaris ever finds out about an identical twin connection, she might turn her efforts to killing Zora to sever it. She’s got plenty back in the Underworld that would carry out her instructions.”
Maddox held his hands up, then counted fingers. “So… me, you, Zaid, Lucien, Finley, Rainey, and Myles. Nimeyah doesn’t count since she’s bound, but that’s our core team, right?”
“And Titus,” Carrick added. “He said he’d come back when we need him, and I trust him with this new information we learned today.”
“Then mount up, team,” Maddox said with a dramatic grin. “We’ve got some evil ass to kick.”
“One more thing,” Carrick said, bracing both hands on the island. “We went to visit Arwen before we left, and we think she’s dead. There was a violent struggle in her hut with a lot of blood left behind.”
Neither Maddox nor Zaid had anything to say about that news, but their expressions of grave concern were identical.
It was Maddox who broke the silence by slapping his hand on the counter. “Okay… let’s divvy up responsibilities. We have to figure out what the actual ritual is, find a stone, and figure out a way to rescue Zora.”