A Battle of Blood and Stone (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 4)

Golden eyes stare down at me, his lips curled slightly upward. “Thank you for trusting me on this.”

“Yeah, well, that remains to be seen depending on what she does tonight,” I point out.

And with that, the elevator doors slide open—Carrick previously having left permission for her to be let up—and Deandra steps out looking like she just got back from a long jaunt on Rodeo Drive. She’s wearing a sophisticated cap-sleeved dress in a navy blue with a white belt cinched at the waist. On her feet are four-inch heels in matching navy, and she’s sporting a pair of large and expensive-looking sunglasses despite the fact it’s just after midnight.

The doors close behind her, and she does a little twirl as she removes her sunglasses. “How do I look? The clothing here is amazing.”

It definitely covers more than what she would normally wear in Faere, but I play nice. “You look beautiful.”

Which is the truth, so it didn’t taste that bitter.

Carrick merely grunted, choosing to chastise her instead. “I expect you to be on time from here on out if you want the remaining amount of your money.”

My head whips his way. Interesting. He had not told me that he only gave her part of the money, but I guess he’s only paying for results. That’s why he’s the smart multi-billionaire businessman, and I own a coffee shop.

Deandra glares at him, I think more offended he didn’t compliment her outfit. I decide to break the tension by asking, “Where are we off to?”

Deandra walks up to us, takes each of our hands, and says, “Faere.”

And with that, a rip in the veil opens up behind us where the elevators are, and I can see it’s nighttime in Faere. The sky is incredibly dark with no sign of a moon or stars. Deandra summons an orb of light to hang over her head, providing enough illumination as we step through that I can see the unnaturally green grass that’s pervasive in this realm.

We appear to be on some type of elevated plateau because, far in the distance, I can see the gaudy crystal castle of Nimeyah, which is lit like a beacon in the dark night. I wonder why she didn’t get us closer, as I assume that’s where we were going.

“What are we doing here?” I ask curiously.

Deandra puts her hands on my shoulders, then turns me one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. My jaw drops as we stand before what looks like an ancient Roman coliseum, the exterior completely lit by orbs of light on the ground angled upward. Except the structure isn’t actually ancient. The marble is pristine, the columns supporting the archways are in perfect condition, and it actually shimmers with the tell-tale signs of something that’s been magically built.

I’m truly awed. “What is that?”

“Once every hundred years, the Light Fae celebrate the creation of Faere with an event called the Festival of Creation. That includes games and actual battles of skill over several days. This is where it all takes place, and we just had ours a few months ago. My mother hides it with magic afterward as she thinks it’s an eyesore, but I’ve temporarily uncovered it as we’ll be practicing inside tonight.”

I glance at Carrick, not liking the sound of battles in a Romanesque coliseum that was known in our history to have some of the bloodiest and most violent engagements known to man. Carrick merely shrugs, clearly willing to see where Deandra is going with his.

She leads us inside the largest archway and up a flight of stairs, which comes out on the lower level of the interior. It’s incredibly dark, and we can only see a few feet ahead of us by the orb of light still hanging over Deandra’s head. We walk down to the first row of seating, which are long rows of marble benches that disappear into the darkness, but I imagine they run the perimeter of the coliseum. Given my observation of the outside, I’m assuming these stands rise upward a few levels as well.

I strain my eyes to see down into the pit below, but I can’t make out anything. I know just from watching the movie Gladiator, it’s probably hard-packed dirt and sits fairly low beneath these seats to prevent people from escaping.

“See,” Deandra says brightly. “We’ll have plenty of room here, no one to watch, and you can light up the sky if you want with that magic of yours, which we’re going to tap.”

“Well, I actually can’t see much at all,” I reply, but she ignores me.

“Ready to get started?” she asks instead.

My senses are telling me that whatever is going to happen is definitely going to be different than anything I’ve tried before when it comes to tapping my powers, and because I don’t have a clue of what’s going on, I’m admittedly a little bit scared. Still, I try to sound nonchalant. “Yeah… sure.”