The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #5) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,17
is he won’t answer my calls.”
Being able to get inside information now is a long shot. Boral was invaluable through his connection to Kaesar, but I suspect everyone in Kymaris’ camp is keeping their heads down and circling the wagons tight.
But that doesn’t mean Boral’s useless.
I lean in his direction, having to look past Rainey and Myles to do so. “You’re our expert on the Underworld. You’ll have to be the one who guides us.”
Boral nods. “As I told you when we were in Micah’s realm, I’ll be glad to help.”
For the first time since I can remember, Zaid doesn’t scoff at something his father says. He’s normally extremely dubious of Boral’s intentions, and he never minds being vocal about it. Instead, he just studies his father with an almost detached curiosity, as if he might believe that some good can come from the Dark Fae.
“Should we go in through Micah’s realm?” Carrick’s lower hand comes to my back, perhaps as a quiet means of support that he doesn’t mind me taking the lead on the planning, or, more likely, because he just wants to touch me. Regardless, I like it.
Boral considers my question. “What you have to know about the Underworld is it is so vast that you could travel through it for a hundred years and not see it all. The Underworld is even more vast than the Earth realm.”
I blink in surprise, thinking of the time I projected into Zora through a dream. It seemed like a massively big city inside an even larger underground cave, but I hadn’t considered there was more.
“The Crimson River leads to The Pit, which is close to Kymaris’ castle. It would be easy to get there, but then how would you even find your sister?”
My heart sinks as I realize our first obstacle is a doozy. “When I projected into her during the dream, the city she was in was near The Pit. I could see the glow of it from there.”
Boral’s smile is grim. “That’s the city of Otaxis. One of the largest. Making it there isn’t the problem. Searching through the thousands of Dark Fae to find your sister will be, though.”
Growling in frustration, I lean away from the counter and cross my arms over my chest. I stare blankly at the rest of my sandwich before turning to Carrick. “I can contact her again. Tell her we’re coming.”
“And put her on notice, so she has monsters waiting for you when you arrive?” Rainey says mildly. She’s clearly still against this plan.
“I’m going to be a human walking in the Underworld,” I say as I glance her way. “It’s going to be dangerous no matter what.”
“You’ll have two demi-gods at your side,” Maddox points out. “Our combined magic alone should give us somewhat of a safe passage.”
It’s something I haven’t been all that worried about.
My safety in the Underworld, that is.
I’ve been so focused on getting Zora out that I had not stopped to consider how I’d do it without getting killed. I am quite literally stepping into Hell, and I will be walking among the most evil of creatures.
“I still think our best bet is to go in through Micah’s realm to follow the Crimson River in,” Boral says, taking over the conversation again. “It will take us the back way into Otaxis.”
The next hour is spent making our plans. We bring up hypotheticals and plan for contingencies. We argue about who will go, but it’s ultimately decided that Boral, Maddox, Carrick, and I will make the journey.
Titus and Zaid will stay behind with Rainey and Myles for their protection, on the off-chance Kymaris would dare to try something.
Ultimately, we decide I shouldn’t try to contact Zora until we make it through the veil and enter the Underworld. On the off chance she’s adamantly opposed to us coming and has the means and ability to stop us, it’s better if our arrival is a surprise.
Hopefully, it’s a good one.
“When do we go in?” Boral asks as we start to wrap things up. I had managed to eat the rest of my sandwich and chips as we talked.
“Tomorrow,” I say.
At the same time, Carrick says, “In a few days.”
We stare at each other, and Carrick gives me that over-protective look. “You were just kidnapped, held in a dungeon, and could have died. Maybe you need a few days.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him with a smile. I even lean in and punctuate it with a kiss. “I promise.”