The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 5)

My mouth hangs open, and I couldn’t retort to say anything if I wanted to. My brain has completely shut down.

Maddox’s hand catches me under the chin, and he gently pushes my mouth closed before walking away.

As an afterthought, I call out, “Everyone’s going down to the library. Boral has some information.”

He throws a hand over his head in acknowledgment and when he disappears, I turn toward Zora’s bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, I prepare to knock but the door is swung open.

I take Zora in. Her clothes are all perfectly in place, platinum hair no more of a wild mane than it normally is and her expression bland.

Did I mistake what was going on when Maddox walked out, tucking his shirt in? Perhaps he was changing a light bulb up high and his shirt came out?

I shake my head.

Ridiculous.

Wagging my finger in her face, I accuse with a half-smile, “You just had sex with Maddox.”

Zora doesn’t even blink. “Yeah. So what?”

Putting a hand to her chest, I push her back into her bedroom and close the door behind us. “You. Had. Sex. With. Maddox,” I repeat, enunciating each word to underscore how monumental this is in all ways.

Zora purses her lips, shaking her head as if admonishing me. “It’s just sex, Finley. He finally made his move, and I accepted.”

“But—”

“No buts,” she cuts me off. “It’s not love. Hell, I don’t even like the guy to be honest. But the sex was great, and that’s all it is.”

I snap my mouth shut, giving it a moment. I need to make sure she’s okay, but damn if she doesn’t seem to be. Zora isn’t prone to soft feelings that can surface, even with no-strings sex.

Deciding to play this low key with her, since that’s what she seems to want to do, I give her a smile. “As long as it was good, I’m cool. I’d have to have words with him if it wasn’t.”

I don’t see it often, but Zora actually grins. “Oh yeah… it was good.”

The emphasis on good says it was great.

Actually, her tone says it was really great. Which means this probably wasn’t a one-time-only thing.

Ugh.

Not my business.

“Boral’s here and he has some information. We’re meeting down in the library.”

I start to turn for her door, but she stops me with a hand at my elbow. I lift my eyebrows in question.

“You’re okay with this, right?”

“You and Maddox?” I ask for clarity.

She nods, her expression earnestly hopeful I won’t make this weird.

Zora’s not a hugger, but I am, so I go ahead and take the opportunity to give her one. She’s stiff and unyielding as I whisper in her ear. “I’m okay with anything that brings you joy or happiness or… good orgasms. I want you to experience everything there is in this world, even if that includes a demi-god.”

To my surprise, Zora’s arms come up and lightly squeeze me before releasing.

* * *

We’re the last to arrive in the library, and everyone is situated around the conference table with Carrick taking his usual spot at the head. As I take the last step off the stairs, my eyes go to Maddox.

His gaze is pinned on Zora intensely, but she merely ignores him as she moves around the table and sits next to Boral. I decide to sit next to her, so I can keep an eye on Maddox to see if I can glean anything from his actions. What I can pick up now, as he continues to stare at her, is that encounter they just had meant something to him. If it hadn’t, he’d do what any male would do in this situation and pretend she didn’t exist. But it’s almost as if he’s willing her to look at him, which she doesn’t.

I glance down at Carrick, who is also watching Maddox watch Zora, a frown on his face as he contemplates what’s going on. His eyes come to me and I give the smallest shake of my head, indicating that he shouldn’t bring it up just now.

So to break the awkward staring thing going on, I clear my throat and lean past Zora to look at Boral. “You have something for us?”

“I know where Kymaris is,” he says without preamble, and the shock all of us feel is palpable. I think we’d all given up hope that she’d be found before the ritual, especially since Kaesar had gone into hiding and was not answering Boral’s attempts to contact him.

“How?” Zaid asks his father, the suspicion in his voice not quite as heavy as the early days of him joining us. Boral has proven his loyalty, but Zaid is still having boundary issues with his dad.

“I ran into a daemon who is the offspring of one of the ritual Dark Fae. Had met her at a few of Kymaris’ parties in the past.”