The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,19

the relic we found in Hungary, which is queued to get us back to Micah’s realm since we don’t have Lucien, and our determination. If things go to hell in a handbasket, we’re prepared to rip the veil wherever we are and jump back into the Earth realm. Carrick spent a lot of time lecturing me on this last night as we laid naked in each other’s arms, sweat from a vigorous second round of sex still cooling on our skin.

“Finley,” he had said in a serious, no-nonsense voice. “If we get into a dangerous situation that puts you at risk, and I tell you to get back to the Earth realm, you go without question, okay?”

I love Carrick with my whole heart and soul. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

Except… abide by this command.

I had made up my mind. I was not leaving without Zora. If it meant my demise happened there, then so be it.

The most I would promise is that I would consider his advice, to which he heaved a sigh of frustration while pulling me into his arms to hold me.

“Everybody ready?” I ask the group, but my gaze moves to Rainey and Myles. Their arms are linked, and Rainey chews on her fingernail with worry.

I walk to her, put my hands on her shoulders, and lean in to lock my eyes with hers. “I promise you that I will be fine. I’ll stay safe. And I promise you that when we come back from the Underworld, we’re going to work on the finishing touches of your wedding.”

Rainey scoffs at my suggestion, the worry in her expression not alleviated. “We don’t have time for weddings. It’s the end of days.”

“It’s not the end of days until the new moon,” I correct as I pull her in for a hug. She struggles against me, her lingering anger that I’m doing this evident, before capitulating. Putting my mouth near her ear, I whisper, “You are going to marry Myles the weekend after this, and nothing is going to stop that. It’s the one thing I have pushing me forward and making sure I’m extra careful so we can have just one day of love, peace, and happiness. Okay?”

When she nods against my shoulder, I pull back and give her a brilliant smile. “Good.”

Turning to Myles, I hug him as well. Far more stoic in his worries, he merely says, “Love you, Finley. Come back safe.”

“Always,” I reply.

I don’t bother with hugs for Zaid and Titus, but they give me reassuring smiles. While they care for me—I’d even dare say love me—they are hardened to the ways of evil and know what must be done.

Carrick steps away from the table to make room for Maddox, Boral, and me to join him. He holds the brass relic we picked up in Hungary, sets it to Micah’s realm with some beautifully ancient words, and then rips the seam open right in front of the shelves that hold Carrick’s diaries, which start in the 18th century.

My first glimpse of the realm we were just in a mere nine days ago immediately causes my blood to chill, and it has nothing to do with the cold wind I can feel whipping through the seam.

It’s where we lost Lucien, and it’s that emptiness that makes it feel so frigid.

We step through, one by one—Carrick, Maddox, Boral, and then me. When we’re through, I glance back to see Rainey crying as the seam closes up.

I pull my hood up over my head, which is already covered with a ski cap. The cold-weather gear is sufficient in keeping me warm. We move left around a large boulder to come out onto the shores of the dead ocean. The Crimson River seems almost blinding against the darkness of the mountains, skies, and the black sand on the beach. Its flow of lava meanders lazily away from the Underworld, traveling against gravity up one of the mountains.

Perhaps the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.

The roughly half-mile walk to the river is done in silence, but there’s not much to say. We hashed and re-hashed our plans. For example, we weren’t entirely sure there aren’t other creatures in Micah’s realm. While he had destroyed every living creature except for Charmeine, who he’d imprisoned in the gemstone, it doesn’t mean he didn’t create more to keep him company over the thousands of years he was here.

As such, we’re on alert as we walk along, and the lack of conversation helps