“You must be so proud of yourself,” I snap in sarcastic irritation.
“Why yes, I am,” he says with a feral grin, rising from his chair. Clearly, he’s not happy with my tone. He honestly expects me to be impressed with him.
With a wave of his hand, I’m back on the floor with my chains in place. The food, water, table, and chairs are gone.
“Kymaris is right, you know,” Pyke says as he walks up to me, giving a light kick to the side of my leg in an almost playful manner.
“About what?” I ask, tipping my head back to see him.
“You’re nothing special,” he murmurs in contemplation. “We’re still a bit stumped why you’re the key to this prophecy, but it doesn’t matter. Once we get the Blood Stone, you’ll be less than nothing special.”
I give Pyke a sweet smile. “You flatter me. But what makes you think you’ll get the Blood Stone?”
“A message has been sent to Carrick offering you up,” Pyke says as he turns away and heads toward the staircase. “I can’t imagine he won’t jump on that, then we’ll have the Blood Stone in hand by nightfall.”
He stops at the base of the stairs, looks over his shoulder, and smiles. “And when the new moon comes, the world is going to change for the better.”
I don’t respond, just stare at him impassively as if his words don’t mean anything to me.
The problem is, they mean far too much.
CHAPTER 3
Carrick
Carrick wasn’t the type of man to get frantic over anything, but Finley had been gone for almost five hours, and he had not one fucking lead. He’d never felt so lost.
After visiting Nimeyah, Carrick and Zaid returned to the condo. It wasn’t long before Maddox returned, having gotten Rainey and Myles settled into their secret hiding place. After apprising Maddox that Pyke was after the Blood Stone and had taken Finley, Carrick sent his brother off to find Deandra.
She might have been in on it, but, more than likely, she knew nothing about what her brother had done as they were not close. Regardless, that angle had to be checked.
After Maddox left, Carrick didn’t need to think about it much since he knew what Finley would want him to do. She would have wanted Rainey and Myles to know what happened. She had repetitively promised to keep them in the loop, and he felt they had a right to know their friend had been kidnapped.
Carrick made the call to inform them. From wherever Maddox had taken them, they assured him they would head back to Seattle immediately. Luckily, Maddox had left his Hummer with them.
Next, Carrick had put a call in to Titus and left a voicemail message. Regardless of what realm he was in, he would always go somewhere to check his messages a few times a day, so Carrick knew he’d be arriving before too long.
While Carrick waited for everyone to arrive, he and Zaid sat at the kitchen island and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.
“And Pyke never gave any indication as to why he wanted the Blood Stone?” Carrick asked.
For the third time.
Zaid was patient, though, as he knew Carrick was furious and fearful at the same time and allowed him to work this through however he needed. “No. Only that he wanted the Blood Stone. The last thing I heard before I left was Finley telling him that you had the stone. So if he really wants it, he’s going to offer Finley in return for it.”
Carrick’s expression was grim, but he nodded in understanding. That was the most logical conclusion, and he assumed Pyke would send him a message at some point. Carrick just wished it were soon rather than later.
“What could he possibly want with the Blood Stone?” Zaid pondered, drumming his fingertips on the countertop.
“To have more power than his mother,” Carrick fathomed a guess. “He never did like playing prince to the queen. Felt he was always destined for something greater.”
“I thought that was just his ego,” Zaid muttered, his distaste for the Light Fae evident.
“It is mostly his ego,” Carrick replied with a scoffing laugh. “But he has some ambition in him. I’m wondering if the power of the Blood Stone was just too great of an opportunity to pass up.”
“What if he wants it for gain?” Zaid suggested. “Maybe he’ll sell it to Kymaris.”
A dark shadow swept over Carrick. “Or he’s in league with her.”
Zaid’s eyebrows shot high. “Surely not. Pyke isn’t evil. Just ego-driven.”
Carrick stood from his stool. “Isn’t he evil? He wants an immeasurably powerful relic and was willing to kidnap Finley—who he knows is special to me, his friend.”
“Point taken,” Zaid murmured, but then was distracted by his phone ringing.
He connected the call, listened, and then pulled it away from his ear to press to his chest. His face was noticeably pale. “It’s the concierge in the lobby. Kymaris is here to see you.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Carrick snarled, whipping his own phone out. With a few taps to pull up a security app, he dialed into the camera that covered the lobby all the way to the front door.
Sure enough, Kymaris stood at the reception desk wearing a pleasant smile. She was dressed in a business suit and her glamour was that of a beautiful, sophisticated woman. She wouldn’t have caused an eyebrow to raise.
“Send her up,” Carrick instructed Zaid, who passed the information to the concierge.
Moving from the kitchen to stand before the elevator, Carrick released the protection spells on the condo so Kymaris could enter. He then instructed his friend, “Go to my office and wait there. If you hear things go to hell, get down to the library and lock yourself in.”
Zaid knew exactly what Carrick was suggesting. There was a distinct possibility this meeting would end in bloodshed, and Carrick didn’t want his friend anywhere near two powerful immortals if they clashed. “Understood,” he said before hurrying away.
Carrick looked down at his outfit. He rarely wore business suits anymore. It was either workout clothes, jeans, or fatigues, and he couldn’t say he missed the formal attire.
However, to match the Dark Fae who was currently on the way up in his private elevator, he waved a hand down his body and was immediately outfitted in a tailored suit with a silk tie. He didn’t want to appear too casual, nor did he want to look battle-ready. Carrick wanted to exude power. In the Earth realm, his money was what gave him that.
In the immortal world, Kymaris already knew that he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe under his designer clothes. As such, he figured she wasn’t here to fight, but he was ready if she was. She still had to be smarting over the fact that he blew up her house the day before yesterday.
Whatever her reason for visiting, Carrick wanted her gone as soon as possible before Rainey and Myles showed up, as they would be the most vulnerable should she decide to attack.
The elevator doors whooshed slowly open, and Kymaris blinked in surprise to see Carrick standing before her. She quickly regained her composure and stepped into his foyer, looking around at the grandeur of his condo.
“I thought you were putting this place up for sale,” she said as she moved to the left to better take in the massive living area.
“I am,” Carrick replied as he turned to study her. He was a bit surprised she had healed so quickly from the explosion. Underneath her glamour, she only had pinkened skin left on her face from the burns. It spoke to the fact that her powers were far beyond a normal Dark Fae’s, even one who had managed to get a hold of a bit of stone magic. He might have underestimated whatever she received through the changeling ritual.