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

Kymaris was forgotten, and Carrick left it to Maddox to take her on.

Finley was in trouble, and she was all that mattered.

CHAPTER 27

Finley

No matter how much I’ve thought of this moment over the months or how much I knew this was coming, it was something I never fully comprehended. War is not for the faint of heart. The clashing of weapons, the screams of death, and the smell of black fae and daemon blood—which is coppery like human blood—causes my stomach to roll.

I can’t do this, is all that keeps playing through my head.

I shouldn’t have moved so close to the ritual clearing, but I couldn’t help but follow Carrick and the others as they issued their war cries and rushed forward. It was my calling, yet they were leading the way and duty demanded I follow.

But I stopped at the edge, completely struck cold and frozen with fear as I took it all in. Part of me wanted to run back into the cloaked darkness and huddle with Zora and Myles, but the bigger part simply couldn’t move.

Closest to me was Amell, who was battling Boral and Zaid at the same time. Amell had magic whereas Boral and Zaid did not. But the father-son duo of Ravager fame so relentlessly struck at Amell with their swords that he was completely on the defensive just trying to protect his vitals from the life-ending iron.

My gaze swings to the inner circle, and I’m mesmerized by Nimeyah who glows brightly with a blue aura around her. If she has any magic of her own left, she doesn’t use it. She seems frozen in place, nothing more than a vessel for Kymaris.

It’s the battle between brother and sister raging right by their mother that grabs my real attention. Deandra and Pyke swing swords while throwing punches and kicks. The two Light Fae royals—prince and princess… siblings—have expressions filled with hate and fury.

Deandra has the edge, though, because Pyke is fighting only for love of Kymaris, which everyone knows simply isn’t real. Deandra is fighting for both love and hate.

Love of her mother, her realm of Faere, and for light. She also has the added benefit of hating her brother for all he has wrought upon her race. When it’s all said and done, I know she’ll kill him.

I let my gaze sweep the field, looking desperately for my other friends—Titus, Caiden, Priya, and Rebsha.

I can’t find them, but then a massive boom shakes the ground. Somehow, I see that Kymaris and her tall pedestal of rock have disappeared into a balloon of dust. Standing at the edge is Maddox, looking greatly satisfied.

Carrick.

Where is he?

My heart seems to know because my gaze involuntarily swings to the left, and there he is. Not engaged in battle. Not moving to help Maddox contain Kymaris.

He’s watching me, irritation in his eyes that I came this close to the battle before it was time. Also some amusement because I didn’t listen to him.

And as always… unconditional love.

Something catches his attention off to the side, but I don’t let myself get distracted. I take just one more moment to gaze upon my soul mate, knowing that no matter what happens, the one thing that he and I have is eternity. In that way, we are more fortunate than all the others.

Movement to my right catches my eye, and I become alarmed as I realize the expression on Carrick’s face has turned fearful.

I twist to see what’s coming at me, but before I can even understand what it is, a burst of magic hits me square in the chest and I’m catapulted backward. I’m blasted back a good twenty feet and while I call on my magic to soften the blow to the ground, the wind is still knocked clean out of me when I hit.

Wheezing, I push up to my elbows. Against the backdrop of the battle on the ritual field, I see a Dark Fae advancing on me with hate-filled eyes. His hair is dark, his eyes black and fangs peek out at the corners of his mouth. I can feel the power rolling off him as he gets nearer.

It surrounds me, suffocates me until I can’t breathe.

Pressure squeezes my head until tears leak from my eyes and something runs out of my nose. I rub at it with the back of my hand, pull my sticky fingers away, and peer down to realize its blood.

Whatever this Dark Fae is, his magic is powerful enough to kill me quickly. I manage to find the strength to crab walk backward, but it’s in no way fast enough to get away.

I throw out a hand in an attempt to shoot a blast of magic at him, but nothing comes out. The pressure surrounding my body has trapped my magic inside me. I can feel it bubbling, but I can’t release it.