Carrick turned away from Rune. When he reached his cell, he grabbed onto the metal bars and pulled the swinging door open. He intended to enter, lay down, face the wall, and give Rune his back, which he knew would infuriate the god.
Instead, a crack of thunder rent the air, causing Carrick to wheel around to face whatever wrath Rune was going to level at him. Carrick came to a halt in a semi-crouched fighting stance.
But Rune was still on the chaise, his eyes wide with astonishment as he took in Onyx in full battle armor. The god of War was a beautiful vision despite the warrior vibe she radiated. Like Rune, she wore her magenta-pink hair in a mohawk, but it was much longer and stood in a flowing wave from her crown to the back of her neck.
She glared at Rune, merely spitting out one word, “Enough.”
Rune pushed up from the chaise, giving his fellow god an incredulous look. “Enough?”
“Yes,” Onyx replied. “You’ve had enough fun with Carrick, and we let you have it. But enough is enough. We allowed him to take part in this prophecy so he could have the chance to ascend. It was a deal that was made, so he must be given that opportunity.”
“You can’t tell me when enough is enough,” Rune sneered. He was the one always at odds with his brethren—the most spoiled, the most entitled, and simply the biggest asshole.
Given Rune could kill Carrick with a mere snap of his fingers, it was certainly foolish for Carrick to enter the discussion. “Why such animosity, Rune? Why isn’t your curse enough?”
Rune turned from Onyx to face Carrick, rage morphing his face into a hideous mask. “Because I don’t like seeing you happy. You deserve every bad thing that could ever happen to you.”
And with that, Carrick tipped his head back and laughed deep from his belly. When he brought his gaze back to Rune, he shook his head in pity. “Get the fuck over it. It’s been centuries, you candy-assed priss pot. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even mope this way when you killed Finley over and over again.”
Which was a lie. Every time Finley died in her past lives, Carrick was devastated, but he would never let Rune know that.
“Another thirty lashes,” Rune barked at the jailer.
“No,” Onyx murmured, but her tone was as hard as steel. “Collectively, the rest of your brothers and sisters demand he be released. He’s had enough.”
She was talking about the three other gods in addition to her. Circe, the god of Fate, Veda, the god of Humanity, and Cato, the god of Nature. They operated simply by majority rules for most things, unanimity required for the important ones like Ascension.
Rune was livid over this proclamation, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn’t strong enough to fight them on this, and they would fight him if he didn’t come back into line.
“Fine,” Rune snarled, giving a rolling wave of his hand above his head. The chaise, food, bathtub, and women disappeared, as did the masked jailer. “I’ve got better things to do anyway.”
And with that, he vanished.
“Such an asshole,” Onyx murmured under her breath as she walked over to Carrick. Before he could even thank her, she had him by the wrist and flashing out of this faux Hell of a place.
In a blink, they stood in what appeared to be a massively opulent foyer of what Carrick would peg as an Italian villa. He assumed Onyx owned it.
“I need to get to Finley,” was the first thing Carrick said.
“Agreed,” Onyx said as she lifted her chin toward the spiral staircase. “But you stink of more things than I can even describe, and your wounds need to heal. Finley does not need to see you this way, so go get bathed and you can return to her.”
Onyx had an incredibly good point. In a million years and through a thousand more lifetimes, Carrick would never let Finley know what Rune had him doing these past few weeks. She didn’t need that burden on her already-laden shoulders.
At some point, though, he would have to tell her what Rune said about her going up against Kymaris.
With no harm in asking, Carrick tipped his head to Onyx. “Rune said Finley would be the one to stop Kymaris, implying she was the only one. Is this true?”
Onyx seemed reluctant to answer, but she was the one who most often held true and fast to the rules, particularly when it came to not interfering once things were in place. Her expression was grim when she nodded. “It’s her burden alone to take Kymaris down. I hope she’s ready.”
Fuck.
She truly wasn’t. They had work to do.
Bending in a slight bow, Carrick said, “Thank you, Onyx.”
Onyx gave a slight bend back with a tiny smile. “Good luck to you and Finley. You’ll need it.”
CHAPTER 5
Finley
Time is ticking, and I’m feeling the pressure. As of yesterday, Carrick has been gone three weeks and I’ve lost hope he’s coming back.
Maddox tells me to keep the faith. He had it on authority from Cato—the god he was closest to—that Carrick would return. But while I trust Maddox, I sure as hell don’t trust the gods. It’s their vanity and their need to play their silly games that have me in the mess I’m in.
The October new moon is creeping closer, just about a month away, and we have no clue how to defend against Kymaris. We might know what day the ritual will occur, but we have no clue what time or where. We don’t have the Blood Stone, nor any idea how to get it.
I can’t even tap my powers, so what kind of savior of the world does that make me?
Maddox walks into the kitchen, officially convening the start of this little meeting I called with him and Zaid. We have decisions that have to be made, and we can’t wait for Carrick to come back and lead us.
“Isn’t Boral due to check-in today?” Maddox asks as he heads to the refrigerator and pulls out a beer. Zaid leans against the back counter, legs crossed casually with a cup of coffee in his hand.
I’ve also got a cup of coffee because it’s still morning time and I roll my eyes at Maddox as he turns my way, beer in hand.
“What?” he asks innocently. “I feel like a beer.”
“Whatever,” I mutter, then nod toward a stool. “And to answer your question, yes… Boral should be here in a little bit for a progress report.”
Zaid scoffs, still making it clear he is not on board with having his father working with us. He’s entitled to feel that way, but I think Boral is our best asset right now. He’s hanging around with Kaesar, one of the original fallen Dark Fae, and sometimes gets invitations to Kymaris’ house. In my opinion, he’s crucial.
Unfortunately, since the wraith incident, Maddox and Zaid distrust him even more.
“No one has shown up at Marianna’s house,” Maddox reports as he twists the cap off the bottle, placing it on the counter.
Zaid, who can’t stand anything disorderly in his kitchen, swoops in and nabs it. He throws it in the garbage can with a side glare at Maddox.
“If no one has shown up at the house,” I conclude with a pointed look, “then Boral’s not telling our secrets to Kymaris.”
Zaid and Maddox exchange a look, a clear indication they will always be dubious when it comes to the Dark Fae who has planted himself within Kymaris’ circle.