The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,3
surprise, and it caused Carrick to loosen his grip slightly. “The Blood Stone? But when you were here last and we talked about it, we agreed it was just a myth.”
“I never agreed to that,” Carrick muttered, releasing his hold completely. Nimeyah sank into her chair, rubbing her neck. “I was able to procure the Blood Stone. Somehow, he thought Finley had it and kidnapped her. I want to know why. Does he intend to do something with it?”
“I swear it to you, Carrick.” Nimeyah’s expression was about as earnest as he’d ever seen. “I have no clue what you’re talking about. You know my son spends a lot of time outside of Faere. He’s sometimes gone for years, and we don’t have the closest bond.”
“Do you have a way of reaching him?” Carrick pressed.
“No,” she replied without hesitation. “I mean… I could put feelers out through some of my people who travel between realms. But he could be anywhere.”
Carrick didn’t bother asking if Deandra would know where he was. He planned on having that conversation with her when he got back to Seattle.
Backing off the dais, Carrick gave Nimeyah a pointed look. “If he shows up here, you send Rebsha to me immediately to let me know.”
For the first time, Nimeyah decided to attempt some queenly bearing. She lifted her chin. “I am not your personal messenger.”
Carrick leveled her with a smile that bordered somewhere between threatening and malicious. “If I find you’ve been harboring him without letting me know, I will lay waste to Faere and everything in it. You know I have that ability, and you know I keep true to my word.”
Nimeyah gasped in outrage. “The gods would never permit it.”
“They’d never be able to stop me in time,” he promised darkly. And he couldn’t give two fucks if the gods would hand down retribution for the violence committed against an entire realm. Finley was far more important than what they could ever do to him.
Spinning on his heel, Carrick moved across the throne room.
“Does this have anything to do with your last visit to me?” Nimeyah queried. She was asking about the information he’d imparted to her after the binding of her tongue. Carrick had told her everything about the prophecy and Finley’s powers, including that she had a twin sister in the Underworld.
And that indeed was the question.
Did Pyke wanting the Blood Stone have to do with the prophecy, or did he merely want the power for himself?
Carrick didn’t reply to Nimeyah as he moved past Rebsha to the door. Zaid followed him out. As soon as they were in the hallway, Carrick opened the veil and took them back to his condo in Seattle.
CHAPTER 2
Finley
I have no clue how much time has passed since Pyke kidnapped me from Faere and brought me to… well, wherever here is.
When we’d first bent distance and ended up in a bedroom, I had guessed by the traditional decor that we were back in the Earth realm, but I’m fairly certain now we’re not in America since where they are holding me is incredibly old.
I know this because I’m currently in a dungeon, and those just don’t come standard in modern America.
When Pyke brought me down to the dungeon, I took note of the carvings in the crown moldings, the stone staircases, and other little details such as period-dated doorknobs and hinges. I wasn’t a history buff by any means, but the home we’re in just reeks of something older than the modern era, and the existing decor and architecture seems old European.
Regardless, the dungeon is the giveaway. It’s complete with a natural stone floor, crumbling hand-made bricks, and what looks like decades of mold and slime on parts of the walls. It’s here that Pyke cuffed me to the spike in the wall from which a short, thick chain hangs.
Thankfully, the spike is a few feet off the ground, which affords me the ability to sit when my legs get tired. I’m also grateful that he recuffed my hands so they are now in front of me. When I plop onto the cold, damp floor, my butt starts feeling all kinds of numb given the chill down here.
I’m confident I can easily get out of the restraints using my magic, but it’s a secret I’m not willing to give up just yet. The element of surprise—springing my powers on Kymaris or Pyke—is far more important than getting out of these cuffs right now.