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

Because we are clearly not getting to the sex part any time soon, Carrick rolls more to his side so he’s facing me, not hovering over my body. “I don’t know if there’s a right answer. But we do have to go with what we think might be the best choice. And I think the Blood Stone is the better bet.”

I frown. “You didn’t quite answer my question. Why is getting the Blood Stone a better option than just killing Kymaris now?”

And that’s when I see it. A tiny flash of guilt in his eyes, and it means he’s hiding something from me.

“Carrick.” I go up on one elbow to get face to face with him. “Why is the Blood Stone so important to you?”

A demi-god is never one to look away, and he stares boldly at me. “Because the Blood Stone is incredibly powerful.”

“Yes, I know. It’s limitless, and it has the ability to let Kymaris tear down the…”

My words trail off as I don’t focus on his words, but the tone in which he said them.

There was a hard, protective edge to his voice.

Then it hits me like a tsunami as I understand exactly why he’s so intent on making this our play—marching on Micah’s realm for the Blood Stone, which also includes a nab at the chalice.

Limitless power.

What is the one power Carrick has been seeking outside the bounty offered him by the gods when he was created?

My eyes flare wide with astonishment and my tone is slightly accusatory, but tinged with awe. “You think it can make me immortal?”

Carrick’s gaze doesn’t waver. He holds my eyes with his own, and it’s all the confirmation I need that he’s made this personal to him. It’s not about the prophecy when it comes to the Blood Stone.

“Whoa,” I murmur, settling back down on the pillow. I stare at his chest blankly as I ponder the implications.

“I don’t know that it would work,” Carrick says, but I keep my eyes fully on his chest. It’s a beautiful one, and I’d rather look at it right now than have to face the emotions swirling within me.

An immortal life with Carrick?

I didn’t think it was possible once the elixir was destroyed, so I didn’t give it much thought.

But now that I do think about it, I lift my eyes to his. “Why did Rune need the elixir? He’s a god, and he’s certainly more powerful than the Blood Stone. Why couldn’t he just make his human love immortal with his own power?”

“Majority rules for most decisions with the gods. But, sometimes, it takes a unanimous ruling. Making a human immortal is one such example. He asked, but they denied him.”

“But you could use the elixir—hypothetically—without asking permission?” I press.

“Demi-gods don’t have the same demands or responsibilities as the gods.”

“I guess I still don’t understand why they’d deny him,” I murmur pensively.

“None have ever taken a long-term partner. Not even with each other. Love can get in the way and interfere with the hard choices they have to make as gods. One having a relationship would make The Council weak.”

“So, if he had used the elixir, wouldn’t that still be going against them? Wouldn’t that anger the gods?”

“Most definitely,” Carrick replies. “And Rune would most likely have suffered some repercussions, but the gods would not have taken it out on the innocent human turned immortal. Once he turned her, she’d be his forever.”

“But you don’t face those same rules?” I ask him to reiterate, just because I need to be sure. If he were to face something heinous for making me immortal, I wouldn’t agree to it.

Still not sure I would.

It’s a big decision.

“It’s not something I had intended to talk to you about until we had the stone in hand.” Carrick moves his body over mine, elbows pressing down into the mattress near my ribs. “But since we are… would you want to be immortal?”

It’s not an exact answer to his question, but it’s the surest one I can give. “I know I never want to be apart from you.”

His smile is tender as he nods in understanding, but then his expression sobers a bit. “Listen… tomorrow when Titus gets here, we’ll be going over plans to get the Blood Stone, but there’s something I need to discuss just with you.”

I don’t like the sounds of that, and I’m most definitely not thinking of sex now despite the magnificence of a golden demi-god laying naked beside me. “What?” I ask, going up on an elbow.

Carrick’s fingers nab onto a curly lock of my hair and he gives it a small tug. He watches the hair stretch, then bounce back when he lets it go. He takes this time to gather his thoughts, and the fact he needs to do that causes my anxiety to rise.