The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,121

give the shoulder a roll, noting it still seems to work.

“Let’s take this bitch down,” Zora grits out, her eyes moving to Kymaris.

Carrick and Maddox are holding their own with her, but the power she’s pulling from the Blood Stone is giving her the advantage. They are now backing up defensively.

“Let’s do it,” I tell my twin, and we rush forward to join the fray.

Kymaris catches our advance from the corner of her eye. With an airy wave of her hand toward Maddox and Carrick, she freezes them in place.

Just like that, without hardly a thought, she rendered them useless. Suddenly, I realize the entire time they’ve been battling her, she’s been toying with them.

Kymaris takes in Zora standing next to me, her eyes lit with confusion. “What is this?” she demands imperiously. “Two of you?”

“Identical twins,” I say proudly.

Zora reaches out and grabs my hand, and I can feel the power between us flare brightly. Mine is white while hers is tinged in dark, but when mixed together, it feels the most right I’ve ever felt when it comes to my powers.

Behind Kymaris, I see Maddox and Carrick starting to move, able to break free of her spell with their own magic might.

Carrick catches my eye, and I nod.

At once, all four of us shoot blasts of magic at Kymaris—Zora and I from her front, and the demi-god brothers from her rear.

It tears through her, causing her to stiffen as her back arches in pain. She screams and struggles, but we hold her in place.

And for a moment, it seems that this is it. We are taking her down.

I consider making a run for the Blood Stone. She’s fifteen feet away and I can tear it free, I’m sure.

Except I don’t get the opportunity as Kymaris gives a grand display of the power of the gem at her chest. With a mighty heave, she shrugs off our magic and repels it back on us. All four of us go flying away from her.

Zora and I land hard on our butts, but we both jump up and try to blast her again.

Carrick and Maddox do the same.

Kymaris is simply faster, and she blasts the four of us again.

We go flying again, this time further away from her.

We do this two more times and Kymaris sends us flying each time, this time until Zora and I are right back at the north end of the ritual field.

Our only reprieve is that a contingent of annihilators rush in to take on Kymaris, and they’re joined by several Brevalians.

I watch in horror, however, as she manages to destroy each one with relative ease.

All the while, Carrick and Maddox keep coming at her, but she manages to keep them rebuffed. Depression starts to swallow me as I push off the ground and watch Kymaris easily keep two demi-gods at bay and kill several immortals one by one as they rush her.

More demons pour through the veil, along with several more Dark Fae loyal to their queen.

When I look around, I realize we are losing everywhere.

It seems to go into slow motion for me, perhaps because I can’t quite process that I’m staring at true defeat.

My neck twists slightly until I see Boral and Zaid still battling Amell, but they’re losing as well. Both the Dark Fae and his daemon son are covered in their own black blood. Zaid can barely hold his sword up. While Boral’s strength is faring slightly better, it’s not by much.

All of it plays out slowly… as if I had time to rush in and stop it, yet also knowing there’s no way I’d make it.

Amell blasts Boral back with magic, then whirls on Zaid with his sword. He brandishes it parallel to the ground, the hilt by his shoulder and both hands wrapped tightly around it. He lunges forward, intent on sinking it straight into Zaid’s heart.

My eyes fill with tears as I know the death of my friend is imminent, but then… right at the last moment before his end comes, Boral appears, throwing himself between the iron sword and his son.

It pierces right into the left side of his chest, hitting his heart and coming out the back. Amell swiftly pulls the sword free, then starts to aim it back at Zaid.

I’m frozen, tears now freely pouring down my face.

But a blast of magic whizzes past my ear, straight at Amell, and hits him square in the chest. It’s not much and doesn’t even make him stumble