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

Carrick and Maddox had been on a hill about two hundred yards away, watching the villa for the last hour. It was quiet with no apparent activity on the outside. With their powers, they could tell there were indeed Dark Fae inside, but not how many or if Kymaris was among them.

“Should we just walk up and ring the doorbell?” Maddox asked.

Carrick didn’t need to look at his brother to know he’d have a lopsided grin on his face. Normally, he didn’t mind his brother’s brand of humor, but he wasn’t in the mood and for more than one reason.

Keeping his eyes pinned on the villa, he asked dryly, “I don’t know… did you just walk up to Zora’s room and ring her doorbell to get in?”

Maddox snorted, which was not the contrition Carrick was seeking for his brother sleeping with Finley’s sister. Yes, Finley had told him all about it last night before they’d gone to bed. She didn’t seem perturbed about it, but Carrick was irked on her behalf.

“As I told Finley,” Maddox drawled, “it was mutual.”

“It was casual,” Carrick corrected.

“It was both,” Maddox replied as he turned his head to look at his brother. “We both got exactly what we wanted.”

For a moment, Carrick moved his attention from the villa to his brother. “She’s vulnerable.”

“Maybe,” Maddox concurred. “But she’s also hardened, and she doesn’t view sex the way other humans do. Nothing about our experience is going to hurt her.”

Finley had said almost the same thing. He knew Zora had a physical relationship with Amell. He also knew she didn’t understand feelings of love, care, and commitment. Not her fault at all, but if she stayed in this realm long enough, she’d come to learn about it.

And when that time came, Maddox would probably be long in the wind, so it was all moot.

Carrick grunted his understanding and swung his head back to his target, indicating the conversation was over.

They watched for another half an hour, then agreed they wanted to make their move while there was still good daylight that would filter into the windows that all seemed bare of coverings. If they waited until dark, they were at the mercy of whatever type of lighting—or lack thereof—that the inhabitants chose.

They had three goals.

Kill the Dark Fae that would be used in the ritual.

Kill Kymaris.

Take the Blood Stone.

They really didn’t need to accomplish all three. Ideally, they’d consider it a full victory if they could ensure Kymaris’ demise. It would be a bonus if they could kill her Dark Fae and get their hands on the Blood Stone.

The brothers didn’t approach the villa on foot. They didn’t want to be seen coming, so they merely bent distance from their spot on the hill to the front covered portico and rang the doorbell.

It was answered by a hulking daemon with a wide black aura around his frame. The last time Carrick had visited Kymaris at her home in Seattle, the daemon who answered the door had not recognized him.

This one did, and he opened his mouth to sound the alarm. Maddox flashed forward with a speed that couldn’t be observed by the human eye and jammed an iron dagger through the daemon’s ear and into its brain. It slumped immediately in death before turning to ash and disappearing.

Carrick took in the large foyer with glossy wood floors and a sweeping staircase before them. The architecture looked to be mid-to-late nineteenth century and was filled with period pieces of furniture and art. He doubted it was to Kymaris’ taste at all, but he knew this was nothing more than a temporary abode until the ritual.

Listening carefully, Carrick didn’t hear anything. No conversations, no creaking of floorboards. No one coming out with curiosity to see who rang the doorbell.

It didn’t appear to the normal senses that anyone was here at all, until… Kymaris was there.

Standing at the top of the staircase balcony, hands resting lightly on the railing and staring down haughtily at the demi-god brothers. She was dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a long-sleeved tunic. Her feet were bare, and Carrick found her casual state to indicate not so much that she was caught by surprise but rather a confidence that she could confront demi-gods without good shoes on her feet.

“You go look for the Dark Fae,” Carrick told his brother softly. “I’ll handle her.”

Kymaris tipped her head back and laughed. “Don’t bother looking for my brethren. They’re not here.”

Neither brother was about to believe her, nor would they leave without checking every nook and cranny of this villa for her original Fallen and the Blood Stone.

Maddox didn’t wait, taking off to the left of the staircase and disappearing into the back of the house. Carrick didn’t spare him a glance as he left, keeping his head tipped back and eyes pinned on Kymaris.