The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,117
good twenty feet and while I call on my magic to soften the blow to the ground, the wind is still knocked clean out of me when I hit.
Wheezing, I push up to my elbows. Against the backdrop of the battle on the ritual field, I see a Dark Fae advancing on me with hate-filled eyes. His hair is dark, his eyes black and fangs peek out at the corners of his mouth. I can feel the power rolling off him as he gets nearer.
It surrounds me, suffocates me until I can’t breathe.
Pressure squeezes my head until tears leak from my eyes and something runs out of my nose. I rub at it with the back of my hand, pull my sticky fingers away, and peer down to realize its blood.
Whatever this Dark Fae is, his magic is powerful enough to kill me quickly. I manage to find the strength to crab walk backward, but it’s in no way fast enough to get away.
I throw out a hand in an attempt to shoot a blast of magic at him, but nothing comes out. The pressure surrounding my body has trapped my magic inside me. I can feel it bubbling, but I can’t release it.
When the fae comes toe to toe with me, he glares down. His lips peel back in a sinister grin and he rasps, “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”
And then to my shock, his face begins to distort and melt, until I realize I’m watching a glamour receding.
A powerful glamour I could not see under.
Rune stands before me, and I know I’m dead.
“You can’t,” I try to argue because the gods are not to interfere. But deep in my heart, I know that Rune has never played by the rules, nor does he care for them.
“I can,” he replies coldly. “I can stop your attempts to thwart Kymaris, kill you now, and then stand by and watch as Carrick finds your dead body. I can’t wait to hear his howls of pain.”
Without dwelling too much on how demented this god is, I try to keep him talking because every word we exchange will forestall my death. “Why do you care if Kymaris wins? I thought the gods didn’t care about outcomes, only how the game is played.”
Rune laughs, and it’s the evil kind heard in the movies. Deep and taunting. His voice bubbles with superiority. “I am the god of Life, which means I am the god of Death. The Underworld and all of its inherent evil have always been more precious to me than the Earth realm.”
“Or you’ve struck some kind of deal with Kymaris,” I allege condescendingly. I don’t actually believe that at all, as Rune has no true need of Kymaris. It’s a stall tactic, no more.
I can see the idea of him stooping to strike a deal with anyone offends him, but before he can retort or smite me, something comes flying at Rune.
It’s a blur, so fast I can’t make out the details, but, in my heart, I know it’s Carrick.
He crashes into Rune so hard there’s a tiny pop as the magic he had surrounded me with releases. Hurriedly, I suck in a huge breath as my lungs start to fill.
I scramble up just as Rune and Carrick go rolling over and over on the ground. When they stop, they both jump apart and ready themselves to battle.
“You stay the fuck away from her,” Carrick snarls, and the ground actually shakes from the volume of his fury.
“Careful, demi-god,” Rune sneers. “I can kill you both with the snap of my finger.”
Carrick doesn’t give him a chance to act, merely charges.
Actually bends distance since, in a flash, he’s before Rune, throwing an uppercut to Rune’s jaw that is so powerful, the god goes flying upward a few feet before crashing to the ground.
But Rune is infinitely stronger than Carrick and he disappears, only to reappear with his hand around Carrick’s throat. He squeezes, lifting my love off his feet, and blood starts trickling out of the corner of Carrick’s mouth.
“Yes,” Rune taunts with a laugh. “I can kill you with a snap of my finger, but I’d rather draw it out.”
“No,” I scream so loudly I can feel my throat shredding with the vehemence in my voice.
I run for Rune, intent on attacking him, but also knowing it will be futile. I make it no more than one step when there is a massive boom and a flash of white light that