Once again, he turns my way, and his golden eyes light up from the headlights of an oncoming car. “You’re in a lot of danger, Finley. And I know you don’t want any part of this prophecy, but—”

“I’m in,” I blurt out, interrupting his lecture.

Carrick’s eyes flare. While I dare not take my attention away from him, I can even feel Zaid’s surprise from the front seat.

One dark eyebrow raises as Carrick asks skeptically, “Just like that? You’re all in?”

“Not just like that,” I say softly. “But Adira changed things. She’s dead, something worse is coming, and I can’t stand by anymore. I don’t want the same to happen to Rainey and Myles. Or anyone else for that matter.”

Carrick’s expression is stoic. “I hate this happened to your friend, but I’m glad you’ve decided to step into your part.”

“I’m sure.” My voice is a little thin when I remember he has his own reason to be glad, which is the reward that’s been promised him.

Carrick frowns, but doesn’t respond to my jab, once again turning to look out the window and be left alone with his thoughts.

“There’s another possibility as to why the protection spell was broken,” Zaid pipes up from the front seat. Mine and Carrick’s eyes go to him. “It might not be that someone wants you dead or hurt, but rather someone wants to hurt Carrick. Someone who might not want him to succeed.”

“Rune,” Carrick growls, settling back into his seat. “That makes the most sense.”

“Rune?” I ask quizzically. “He’s one of the gods you told me about, but I don’t remember which one.”

“Of life,” Carrick replies bitterly. “And conversely death. He, in particular, doesn’t like me succeeding at anything.”

“But they’re not supposed to interfere,” I say indignantly.

“Like the way Veda didn’t interfere with you,” Carrick replies blandly, then gives a mirthless laugh. “The gods have no rules. They can speak out of one side of their mouths, then completely do the opposite. No one can hold them accountable.”

“That’s not fair.” I hate how petulant I sound.

“Nothing about the gods is fair.” The loathing in Carrick’s voice strikes me hard. I had assumed he was in tight with them and there might be shared respect, but I think that’s not the case. “But it’s unlikely it was Rune. It was a risk to make you vulnerable, and you could have easily died. I believe all the gods as a whole want you involved.”

It’s all too much to process… the how’s and why’s of tonight. I change the subject.

“What do I tell Myles and Rainey?” I ask.

“That Adira had a heart attack,” Zaid says, maintaining his footing in the conversation. “What else would you tell them? That an incubus sucked the life out of her with a kiss?”

I wince at the painful reminder. “I could tell them the truth.”

“You think that’s fair?” Zaid sneers, and I bristle at the insinuation I’m a bad friend. “Bring them into this horror just so you can have your friends close by your side in support?”

“Actually, not to keep them close by, but so I can convince them to leave and stay safe,” I retort angrily. “If I ask them to leave, I can’t give them a plausible reason. Only the truth would do it.”

“They might still refuse to leave,” Carrick says, and he’s probably right about that. They would both insist on sticking close to me. “So going back to Zaid’s point… you would be willing to change your friends’ lives—because there’s no going back from this knowledge?”

I deflate, feeling clueless as to what to do. I shake my head. “I just don’t know.”

CHAPTER 10

Finley

It’s almost two AM by the time we make it over to the Fantasia. I hate waking Rainey and Myles up, knowing they are probably cuddled in bed together and fast asleep.

I can’t remember the last time I’d had an intimate enough relationship with a man where sleeping together, wound up tight in each other’s arms, was something to cherish. I sometimes wonder if Michael would have been that type of man—one I could get close to—but I’ll never know since Carrick ruined it.

Zaid is waiting in the car parked half a block over from the marina, and Carrick stands beside me as he checks his original protection spell. “It’s still in place,” he says.

This tells us something important.

Whoever took the one down on my house had no clue I had moved out for a time, which means I wasn’t closely watched. I’m not sure if that makes me feel better, but it’s probably irrelevant as Adira is still dead.

That heavy, aching sensation presses on my chest like it has been doing all night every time I envision Adira’s lifeless body dropping to the floor. It’s a bit more painful right now because I’m getting ready to lay this on Rainey’s and Myles’ hearts.

Tags: Sawyer Bennett Chronicles of the Stone Veil Fantasy
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