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

And there was no doubt it was intense power reverberating through the fae and into Nimeyah as Carrick could feel it vibrating over his skin.

Amell’s chant grew louder until he finally was yelling out the last words of whatever he was reading from the scroll. When he finished, his eyes looked up to Kymaris and she raised her arms above her head.

The blue light coursing through the fae brightened, and, one by one—starting with the first fae—they burst into a cloud of ash. Around the circle, they disintegrated into nothing, the blue light fading as each one died. Until finally, the last one disappeared—the blue light surging strongly into Nimeyah, who started to glow blue herself.

She made no sound.

Didn’t move a muscle.

Just took the power into her.

Carrick couldn’t wait anymore. Into his comms, he issued the command to Maddox and Titus.

One word. “Now.”

In a burst of determination and pent-up energy, bolstered by fear and the absolute need to defeat evil, all of those who came to stand with Carrick and Finley rushed through the darkness of their cloaking spell to the edge of the tree line and poured onto the ritual clearing.

Everyone moved into battle except for Myles and Zora, who stayed in the safety of the darkness, along with Finley. She didn’t move to follow as her orders were clear. She was to stay there until Carrick and Maddox could get to Kymaris and distract her.

For a moment, the daemons and fae guarding were startled as they had been transfixed by the ritual, but after several fell from blasts of magic and mighty iron swords as the Brevalians, Light Fae, and annihilators surged onto the ritual field, they remembered their duty to protect Kymaris and the ritual and started fighting back.

Boral and Zaid were engaged two on one, battling Amell, who had immense strength and magic, but Boral and Zaid together were a psychotic Ravager team that managed to keep Amell on the defensive with their swords.

The air was filled with clanging metal, screams of pain, and sizzling pops of magic that left a sulfuric smell in the air.

Carrick skidded to a stop as soon as he entered the field, surveying the entire scene with keen warrior eyes. He caught Titus, Caiden, and Priya on the east side, cutting through the daemons and engaging with the more powerful fae.

Brevalians flew in from the treetops, dropping onto unsuspecting Dark Fae, where they brandished battle axes and long swords to cut into their enemy. He watched Deandra rush toward the center, iron sword drawn as she made a beeline toward her brother, who was staring raptly at Kymaris on her pedestal. Deandra’s cry of vengeance startled him, and he turned just in time to conjure a sword of his own and block her downward hacking swing.

Their fight began in earnest, and Carrick’s attention was drawn to the west side by Maddox. He was on the field, gauging the best way to attack Kymaris, who was still twenty feet up in the air.

He didn’t hesitate, being closer to Kymaris than Carrick was, and leveled a blast of magic straight to the middle of the dirt and stone pedestal Kymaris stood upon. It obliterated the earthen column and Kymaris went tumbling to the ground, momentarily hidden by the mushroom of dust and debris that billowed into the air.

It was the perfect time to attack her.

Carrick prepared to bend distance right to that spot where Kymaris had gone down, but something prickled at the back of his neck, causing him to turn toward the edge of the tree line from where he’d just been with Finley, Zora, and Myles.

Finley watched the battle, completely contrary to his orders to stay hidden in the cloaked darkness. Her eyes met his defiantly and she lifted her chin, a silent statement that while he might be rightfully in charge of this entire battle plan, he was not in charge of her.

He wanted to throttle her as much as kiss her, but before he could even level a glare or a grin her way, movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

At first glance, it was a Dark Fae walking purposely across the field with his eyes pinned on Finley with determination. He strode with purpose, sidestepping battles without a weapon in hand.

Carrick focused in on the creature, feeling a vibe of pure energy that rivaled the way the Blood Stone felt when he first held it in his hand, and he knew it was no Dark Fae.

That was a god disguised as a fae and heading straight for Finley, and there was no mistaking the malicious intent in his expression.

Carrick only needed one guess as to who it might be, and he knew Rune was going to end Carrick’s love right here before Finley even got a chance to prove herself as a savior.