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

Kill her.

Kymaris stares at Pyke, a calculating look in her eyes.

Rather than smite Deandra as he requests, she turns her back on the scene and strolls away.

Pyke screams, and I do hear him above the battle this time. “N-o-o-o-o-o!”

It’s cut short when Deandra rams her sword through his chest, obliterating his heart with the iron. He’s a royal, though, and he’s not quick to die. Instead, he wraps his hands around the sword blade, desperately trying to pull it out before the iron can destroy his heart. Deandra leans her weight into it, holding it in place.

The siblings stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, but, eventually, Pyke follows his mother into oblivion—in a burst of white sparks that float away on the wind. I know I’ll never forget the look of pain and betrayal on his face when Kymaris walked away.

It was no less than he deserved, and I’ll actually cherish it.

Deandra doesn’t even watch the last spark burn out, but pivots on her heel and jumps into the battle by charging at a Dark Fae.

My attention is grabbed by Carrick, his hand taking mine. “Let’s end this now.”

Our eyes meet, and I can do nothing but nod. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

Holding tight to my hand, Carrick bends distance and flashes us to Maddox first. He lets me go to step in and help his brother, who had easily dispatched half of the Dark Fae in the time it took us to get there.

I keep my eye on Kymaris, though, whose hand has tightened around the Blood Stone. She closes her eyes with a rapturous expression.

As if she’s bonding with the damn thing in a weirdly intimate moment.

When her eyes open, they seem to be staring blankly ahead and I wonder if she has fallen into a trance. Perhaps I should take her on right now while she’s distracted.

But then my heart sinks as I see the air before her start to ripple. It shimmers, warbles, and pulses.

And then a rip slices down the middle as our world peels back on each side until I can see the Underworld.

Kymaris ripped the veil at The Pit, and the glow from the fires casts her body in orange. I see beyond The Pit to the stone mountain of cages I had seen when I had traveled there, and my stomach bottoms out as I note that all the cage doors are open.

Her demons are loose.

“Carrick,” I call out, not taking my eyes off the tear in the veil. When the first demon slithers through, I scream with all my might. “Carrick!”

The demons are not what I thought they’d look like. I had expected big brutish beasts with tusks, slobber, warts, and weapons. Instead, they’re sleek, small, and run on four legs with sharply clawed paws. Their skin is smooth and black as pitch with an oily sheen to them. They have spindly tails that whip back and forth over their backs. Their heads have a long snout with razor-sharp teeth and their eyes are white, making them appear blind, though I know they’re not.

Though they may be small, they are utterly terrifying.

The first few come through, looking unsure as they swivel their heads left and right and raise their noses to the air.

It’s the scent of blood that gets them riled. As if they are pre-programmed to know who to attack, they take off in loping runs toward our forces. With powerful hind legs, they jump on the backs of our allies, sinking their jaws into flesh and bone. While they cannot kill the daemons and fae fighting on our side, they provide a horrible distraction.

I watch as four demons attack a Brevalian from behind as he battles three daemons. They easily drag him to the ground, ripping at his wings and stomach while the daemons manage to plunge a spear through his chest. The Brevalian explodes into sparks, and I’m glad his death was quick.

Something blows by me, two blurry flashes, and I can tell it’s Carrick and Maddox. They both flash to Kymaris, but she whirls on them before they reach her. With a swipe of her hand, she manages to backhand Maddox and he goes flying.

When Carrick reaches her, she throws a blast of sparkling red magic at him, which drops him to his knees.

I don’t hesitate. I pull my lariat out, thankful for some quick training by Carrick, my prior life as a cattlewoman, and a healthy dose of my magic now freed from Rune’s clutches, and I throw it at Kymaris. It sails gracefully through the air and lands right over her head. When I yank hard, the loop closes and the rope strangling her neck is the first indication to her that I’ve joined the fight.

She whips around, one hand on the length of rope that is now held between the two of us, and attempts to pull it free.