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

Okay, he could be playing me so I don’t worry, but I’m going to choose to latch on to that positivity. My hand comes to his wrist, and I pull his hand from my mouth. But before I do, I press a soft kiss there. “Lucien will absolutely be back.”

Carrick’s eyes fire up with a tender warmth that always makes my heart catch when it happens because it happens when I say or do something that affects him on an emotional level. Therefore, it is no surprise what follows is a dip of his head to put his mouth on mine and then a kiss that if it were allowed to go on might eventually lead to us getting naked, but as it stands… we’re not alone.

A slight cough to get our attention has me jumping back from Carrick, and I wheel around to see Maddox and Cato standing in the gym.

Not near the door where someone would normally enter, but in the opposite corner, meaning they bent distance to get in here and who knows how long they’ve been there.

Maddox stands casually, thumbs tucked into the front belt loops of his jeans. He shoots me a wink, and I smile back.

Cato takes a step forward, and my attention goes to him. He inclines his head toward Carrick. “Apologies for needing your brother, but he is back now and at your disposal.”

I think it’s very odd he would apologize, but I don’t know Cato. I don’t know much about any of the gods really since we’ve never talked about them all that much. Carrick says they’re all fairly egocentric and standoffish and that while Veda is his favorite, she stays at arm’s length too.

“What about Lucien?” Carrick demands angrily, and no doubt he’s perturbed they haven’t been responding to his requests.

Maddox jerks in surprise and my heart squeezes to realize… wherever he’s been, Cato didn’t tell him about Lucien.

“I cannot say,” Cato replies in a deep but totally smooth voice that sounds like it should be recording Barry White cover songs.

“Can’t or won’t?” Carrick growls, which is impertinent but Cato seems unfazed.

“Is there a difference?” Cato counters, absolutely no irritation in his tone about being questioned. “The result is the same for you.”

I wince because that was harsh. Cato is essentially saying it’s none of Carrick’s business regarding his brother, and it’s a potent reminder of how little control these demi-gods have over their lives.

Cato turns to me and I straighten a bit, totally disconcerted to have the huge god who can command lightning, among other things, focused on me. He tips his head, “Good luck to you, Finley, in the upcoming prophecy. I’m pulling for you.”

I blink in surprise, any feelings of intimidation evaporating. I even take a step closer to him, head tilted. “You are?”

Cato smiles, and wow… it is the most gorgeous smile ever. His teeth may be the most perfect I’ve ever seen, and they gleam against his mocha-colored skin. But it’s not just that… his smile actually reaches his eyes. It makes him seem almost human.

Certainly approachable.

“Absolutely,” he replies. “All of us are.”

“Even Rune?” I can’t help but ask.

“Even Rune,” Cato says with a nod. “Or so he says.”

“If he’s rooting for Finley, it’s merely so he can kill her after she thwarts the prophecy,” Carrick says in a low growl. “Most likely, he’s lying.”

Cato’s gaze shifts to Carrick, and he nods. “You’re probably right about that.”

And with that… Cato disappears.

It shocks me to know that one god acknowledges another may be untruthful. But truly, it’s not like these beings are actually ethical. Look at what they’re making me do.

Look at the way they use the demi-gods.

“Someone want to tell me what’s going on with Lucien?” Maddox says, and Carrick and I turn his way.

I move into Carrick, slipping my hand in his. He squeezes it. Carrick tells his brother in a grim voice, “Things got bad when we went to Micah’s realm to get the Blood Stone.”

“Bad how?” Maddox asks, and it’s a tone I’ve never heard before from the big lug. He’s always so genial and easygoing. Now he’s tense with an underlying hint of violence in his voice. It’s the first time I actually see him as a demi-god who would fight in brutal wars and carry out acts of brutality if the gods so demanded.

I rush in to diffuse the situation, hoping my gentler tone would help. “We got the Blood Stone, but Micah killed Charmeine. He and Lucien battled, and he threw Lucien into the Crimson River.”

Maddox’s gaze snaps to Carrick. “What does that mean? What happened to him in the river?”

Carrick shakes his head with a grim tightening of his jaw. “I don’t know. He didn’t seem to burn, but merely sink below the surface. I’ve appealed to the gods to find out, but as you could see from Cato just now… they’re not sharing.”