The Evolution of Fae and Gods (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 3)

Prince Pykalias—or Pyke to those closest to him—is a longtime friend of Carrick’s, and when we were here last time, he told Pyke about the basics of the prophecy.

“My son relayed there is some doomful prophecy on Earth,” Nimeyah admits dismissively. “Not of interest to me, as you might understand.”

“It should be,” Carrick says ominously. “Your sister is at the center of it.”

At that, Nimeyah bolts upright, her face a mask of fury as she leans toward Carrick. “Kymaris? How?”

“She’s in the Earth realm now,” he explains. “She used a changeling ritual that not only bestowed incredibly strong powers to her—such that probably rival your own—but it also pulled her through the veil. She’s escaped the Underworld.”

Nimeyah rises from her chaise to start pacing as she ponders this information. She whirls back on Carrick. “And her powers are as strong as mine?”

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Nimeyah worried. I’d even say she looks weak at this moment, and I know why.

After we had returned from Berlin, Carrick had explained Nimeyah and Kymaris’ history and how they were angelic siblings in Heaven. In the angelic world, being siblings didn’t mean a blood relation as progeny weren’t made through the act of sex and the mixing of genes. It merely meant they were created at the same time and for the same purpose.

Kymaris was the leader of the rebellion against God, and she tried to recruit her sister to her side. Nimeyah, who wanted to be loyal to her sister, halfheartedly agreed to it, although she never actively participated in the ultimate attempt to take over, most likely having second thoughts about going against God.

It’s mostly a rumor passed down across eons, but Carrick had been around for eons and had heard the stories over and over. He said Kymaris hates Nimeyah for not being at her side when the time came, and Nimeyah hates Kymaris for her stupid plot that got them all expelled from Heaven.

Kymaris, however, holds the bigger grudge, and now that she’s free, Nimeyah isn’t stupid enough to dismiss the idea that Kymaris might come after her.

Nimeyah returns to the chaise, perches on the edge, and leans toward Carrick. “Explain everything.”

So he does, and because she is somehow bound to keep the secret, he leaves out nothing. My role in the prophecy—which causes Nimeyah to actually glance my way in surprise and without her normal disdain—as well as my identical twin being switched with the changeling, my Custodia angel placing power within me, and the odd feather that appeared on my leg and has been hypothesized to hold a link between my sister and me. Moreover, that my sister is still in the Underworld and we would very much like to rescue her.

“Kymaris is collecting original fallen Dark Fae.” Carrick goes on to explain the ritual I’d witnessed at her house, and my respect increases just a tad when Nimeyah grimaces over the details. “The main reason I’m here is to see if you can fathom a guess as to why she wants to be in the Earth realm and what she might want to do.”

Nimeyah lets out a scoffing laugh. “Well, I always imagined Kymaris’ top agenda should she ever escape the Underworld would be to storm Heaven and destroy God. But that’s impossible.”

“Agreed,” Carrick replies. “So, what would be the next best thing she could want?”

“Well, she can’t rule the Earth world,” Nimeyah ponders aloud. “She can’t even take over a city because she doesn’t have enough forces. Even if she gathered every Dark Fae in the Earth realm, it wouldn’t be enough for her to conquer anything.”

“What would be enough?” I ask, speaking for the first time since we arrived in Nimeyah’s presence.

She doesn’t dismiss me—doesn’t even glare. She’s too worried to be offended at finally having to talk to me. “She’d need every one of her Dark Fae from the Underworld. She’d need every dark daemon in the Earth realm. And she’d probably need her demon abominations, too.”

“Her what?” I ask, looking between Carrick and Nimeyah.

It’s Carrick who answers. “Dark or sinful souls are sent to the Underworld when a person dies. Kymaris throws many into The Pit to suffer torture for eternity, but she keeps the darkest and most twisted to form them into demons. They’re like her own personal army. Not free thinkers, completely feral and violent, but they do follow her will.”

“But how does she do that without powers down there?” I ask.

“No one has ever said she was powerless,” Carrick reminds me. Zaid did my original teachings so long ago, but he had said the same thing. “Some magic made its way there. The Dark Fae evolved, and some developed in interesting ways.”

“Give me an example,” I ask, knowing we are getting off subject, but I think this is important information for me to be straight on.