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

“Die,” Zora exclaims, her face paling.

We have not discussed this in detail, but now I need to fill her in. “A seer in Faere said I’ll have to bear a sacrifice to thwart the prophecy. The prevailing theory is that it means my life.”

Zora stares at me a long while, before shaking her head. “How can you be so cavalier about it?”

“I’m not,” I say, taking a step toward her. I grab her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve just accepted it.”

“You make it sound so easy to die,” she says, her gaze moving off to look out over the city. “I don’t think I could be that brave.”

I glance at my watch one more time, and we might be a little late. “It’s a little easier to be brave about it when I know I’ll come back.”

“Because you’ll be reincarnated and Carrick will find you,” she surmises. When I first told her all about Carrick, I told her everything, including about Rune’s curse.

“That’s how I’m brave, Zora,” I assure her. “Not from anything inherently strong inside. I know that death isn’t permanent for me, and maybe that’s why I was the one chosen to stop the prophecy.”

“But Rune could decide not to bring you back on a whim,” she points out.

I nod grimly, my chest constricting at the thought. It’s something I think about a lot. Rune thinks he’s torturing Carrick with my death each time he takes me, but, at some point, he might figure out the greatest torture is in not letting me come back.

Zora makes an observation I’ve repeated over and over again like a mantra. “That makes it more important than ever for you to stop this prophecy.”

“Yeah,” I agree as we head inside the condo. “I don’t want to come back into the world with Kymaris ruling it.”

I don’t like to think about it. What would my life be like if I was unsuccessful? Would Carrick and I be able to survive? Would we even be able to find each other in a world where Hell was now on Earth?

I push those thoughts out of my head as we gather our things and head down to Carrick’s limo. It’s a short ride to the shop, but he insisted on it so we could all ride together.

We exit the back when the driver opens the door… me, Zora, Maddox, Carrick, Titus, and Zaid. It’s a showing of friendship that we all came, because truly… this was a big deal for Rainey. While Zora knows my level of excitement isn’t where it should be, I resolve to put on a big, enthusiastic show for my friend.

Boral isn’t with us. Instead, he decided to stay clear in case Kymaris’ minions are watching. He’s going to try to gently work his way closer to them, and has reached out to Kaesar in an attempt to “casually catch up” and glean any other information. So far, Kaesar hasn’t responded.

Rainey meets us at the front door, Myles standing just behind her. I look up at the beautiful facade of One Bean with its worn, red brick walls, the upper balcony surrounded in black wrought iron, and the marquis letters spelling out the name of the coffee shop. Admittedly, there’s a tiny pull occurring right now and perhaps I actually did miss this more than I had thought.

“I’m so glad all of you came,” Rainey gushes as she steps out to hold the door open for us. We walk in single file past her, where Myles greets us with fist bumps and smiles.

I haven’t seen Rainey and Myles in the last few days, as, like the others, they’re giving me space to spend time with Zora. While I know Rainey still has reservations about Zora’s trustworthiness and there has to be a little bit of jealousy that I have made room in my life for my sister which pushes Rainey back just a bit, she warmly welcomes her as she follows in behind us.

Stepping up to Zora, she links her arm through my sister’s. “Let me give you the grand tour since this is your first time here.”

Zora glances over her shoulder at me, only a slight bit of panic on her face, but I make a shooing motion with my hand that she should go. She has to get used to these things.

While Rainey shows her around, Myles points out some of the finishing touches. By the tone of his voice, there’s no hiding how proud he is of Rainey’s work.

Carrick, Titus, Zaid, and Maddox walk around, talking about manly things like construction lines and craftsmanship.

I merely look around at how pretty everything is with gleaming new flooring, a new layout, and expanded upper floor space. Rainey’s vision was everything I had wanted and more.

When she returns with Zora, who thanks Rainey for the tour, Rainey beams a smile back at her as if they’re now fast friends before turning to me. “Got a few minutes we can talk in private?”