“You’re family,” Carrick replied nonchalantly.
“Finley told me about your history together and Rune’s curse,” Zora said, her head tipping to the side. “While you two aren’t married now, I suppose your past marriage makes it so we are indeed family.”
“Past marriages,” Carrick corrected, and Zora blinked in surprise. “Sometimes, we married before she died. Other times, we didn’t make it that far.”
“I’m sorry,” Zora replied, but her tone was flat. Carrick assumed not that she was bitter or uninterested, but that she perhaps just couldn’t understand that level of devotion and commitment. She’d been raised in the Underworld and had no examples by which to form opinions of such.
She’d learn though.
If they all survived the upcoming ritual.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Carrick began as they started to move a little more loosely. “I’m curious what happened during the actual part of the changeling ritual when Kymaris left the Underworld.”
Zora shrugged. “It wasn’t all that spectacular to be honest. They brought me into the room at the castle where she was held in stasis.”
“What did her stasis look like?”
“Like she was a statue,” Zora described without any inflection. “Like her body had just locked tight. She went into stasis standing up, hands down by her side. And I remember finding it odd how serene her facial expression was.”
“I can almost imagine it,” Carrick murmured.
“At any rate,” Zora continued. “They shackled me in place behind Kymaris—”
“Shackled?” Carrick growled in surprise.
“The process of receiving magic was not pleasant,” Zora explained with some bitterness. “I had to be restrained.”
Carrick wanted to ask her more about that process, but it was personal and, he suspected, highly unpleasant. If Zora was going to talk to anyone about it, it would be Finley. So he refocused her just on Kymaris. “When they took the magic you were holding and put it into Kymaris, what happened?”
“At first nothing,” Zora replied with a slight shake of her head. “And I thought… they must have gotten something wrong, but the entire room started to hum, then it started to vibrate, and there was such pressure my ears started to hurt. As if something was compressing in on us. And then… boom… she just exploded.”
“Exploded?” Carrick murmured, fascinated by the description.
“Not like blood and guts exploded, but more like her body blew apart in a spray of black dust that was sort of shimmery. I remember it hanging in the air. I held my breath so I wouldn’t breathe any in, and then it just sort of disappeared. I assumed that meant she had gone through the veil into the changeling’s body.”
Carrick dipped his head, making sure he had Zora’s eyes. “I’m sorry that happened to you. We’ll help you avenge what was done to you.”
“You don’t have to—”
Carrick cut her off. “I do. Because what was done to you has torn Finley up, and when someone hurts Finley, I make sure to hand out retribution.”
Zora looked off to the side to where her sister was talking to Titus before giving her attention back to Carrick. “Finley is lucky to have you.”
“I’m lucky to have her,” he countered.
Zora actually smiled, but it was a bit on the apologetic side. “I don’t pretend to understand what you two have. I never saw love and commitment in the Underworld. Relationships weren’t like that. More like business partnerships. But… it’s nice, I’ll have to say.”
Carrick had a pang of pity for all she had not only lost, but also what she’d have to re-learn in this world. It would be difficult for her at best, perhaps an impossibility at worst.
“What about Amell?” Carrick asked. Finley had filled him in on the ways that Amell had looked out for her, and while she didn’t give him details, he assumed there might be something romantic between them.
“He’s a friend who took great care of me throughout the years,” Zora replied, a very benign statement that didn’t say anything about their true relationship.”
Once again, Zora looked over at her sister before bringing her eyes back to Carrick. “But he was also the one who worked in conjunction with the Light Fae to fill me with magic throughout the years. It was painful, and he was part of it.”
This was news to Carrick. Finley had told him that Zora only ever talked about Amell with fondness and respect. In this instance, she sounded bitter.
And Carrick remembered something that happened in the Underworld. “When Amell brought us to you, he wasn’t happy that you’d kept the secret from him that you had a sister communicating with you.”
“No, he wasn’t happy at all,” Zora agreed.
“And you replied back to him, something to the effect of ‘let’s not start playing games when it comes to secrets’.”
Zora nodded, her eyes flashing with anger. “As much as Amell has done for me throughout the years, even treating me magically to heal my pain from the sessions with Pyke, he had told me a very deep lie that I’m not sure I can forgive.”
“And what’s that?” Carrick asked softly. He noted that the song had ended and they both came to a stop on the floor, despite another song starting up that was also slow enough to continue to dance.
“When I got older, I asked him where I came from, and he told me I was an orphan taken off the streets back in the Earth realm. I had no idea I had a family, much less an identical twin sister. I know he thinks telling me that was for my own good, so I wouldn’t wonder what I was missing, but the first time Finley contacted me and I realized she was telling the truth, my trust in Amell was damaged.”
“Is it still?” Carrick asked. Really, at that point, he needed to know if this was something that could be used down the road. Would Amell be willing to earn Zora’s forgiveness by helping them? Finley was certain he cared for Zora.
“I don’t trust anyone fully,” Zora replied, stepping away from Carrick. “Twenty-eight years of abuse and fending for myself made me only have faith in myself.”
Carrick’s voice was soft with empathy. “Understandable.”
Zora nodded, tipping her head. “Thank you for the dance. I know you were saving me from your brother, but truly… I can handle him.”
Carrick grinned at Zora. He appreciated moments like this, and he knew she might have a chance in acclimating to this world after all.
Zora moved away from Carrick. Before he could even turn around, there was Finley. With a smile, he pulled her into his arms and they moved like magic. She may not have it in her to do a good Macarena, but she was all grace and elegance within his embrace.
“Titus tell you about his idea to go to Semper Terra tomorrow?” Carrick inquired.
Finley tipped her head back. “It’s a great idea. I’ll talk to Zora about it after the wedding festivities.”
For several beats of the song—Come Away with Me by Norah Jones—they danced closely and in silence. Finley put her cheek to his chest, and he could feel the pulse of his heartbeat against her.
“I think we should get married after the ritual,” Carrick said out of the blue. To give Finley credit, she didn’t so much as twitch at the proclamation.
While he couldn’t see her face with his chin currently resting on the top of her head, he could hear the lazy smile in her voice. “That would be lovely. Maybe an elopement to somewhere tropical,” she suggested.
“I can totally arrange that,” Carrick replied. “And we can get married on a beach—you in a very miniscule bikini, of course—and we’ll spend days upon days making love afterward.”
Finley sighed dreamily against him. “That sounds amazing.”
Neither one mentioned what a long shot this was because she would most likely die in the prophecy. But there would be another time for them to get married, and it would definitely be on a tropical beach because it would make her deliriously happy.
Except Carrick didn’t feel that way ju
st now. His heart was heavy knowing that his current time with Finley was ticking away, and he was not ready to lose her yet.
CHAPTER 12
Finley
There’s so much bad in my world these days that I feel almost guilty for being practically giddy with excitement that I’m going to Semper Terra.
That magical place Titus first told me about months ago.
Semper Terra.
Forever Land.
The Peter-Pan-esque realm where mermaids swim in the crystal blue bays, people are imbued with magic so they can fly, and no one ever ages as long as they live there.
Oh, and of course, it’s where they train annihilators who will then go out into the Earth realm and destroy evil beings to help keep the human population safe.
Titus had told me once I’d be a good annihilator. Before I knew my destiny was so entwined with Carrick’s, I thought that might be a good life for me after this whole prophecy business played out.
But if I have a life with Carrick, it will never be on Semper Terra and so that career path is not an option.
After the wedding celebration, Rainey and Myles were sent off on one of Carrick’s private jets to Fiji for a well-deserved honeymoon, all at his expense, which makes me love him even more. Carrick, Titus, and I talked to Zora about going to Semper Terra to see if we could tap her powers.
I thought she might be reticent as she’s still so very closed off about many things, but to my surprise, she thought it was a good idea. I think she is understanding the meaning of freedom now that she’s not in the Underworld and she can truly do whatever she wants.
That she can be taught to celebrate her powers and tap their full potential.
Only Carrick will be accompanying us. Maddox is going to stay behind with Boral and Zaid, their main job to try to ferret out any information on Kymaris and where the Blood Stone is being kept, as well as more clues about where the ritual will take place. Right now, we’re flying blind and all the training and practice in Semper Terra won’t mean anything if we can’t intercept Kymaris and stop her from completing the ritual.
“Everyone ready?” Titus asks as he faces Carrick, Zora, and me. We’re in the living area where the wedding festivities had gone on until almost midnight last night. All the furniture had been restored to its proper places, the flowers magicked away, and the leftovers appropriately refrigerated where I was sure Maddox would finish them off by the end of tonight.
“Ready,” I reply for the group. We each have a small bag packed with a few days of essentials. We’ve been graciously invited to stay at Titus’ house, and I’m dying to see how annihilators live on this magical, tropical island.
Traveling through veils has become almost commonplace for me, so it’s not overly exciting as Titus opens a seam between this realm and Semper Terra.
But that first glimpse of Semper Terra through the opening starts my blood racing. Green mountains filled with lush tropical plants and trees sloping down to a large bay with white sand beaches. Below, I can see buildings of various shapes and colors, mostly pastels of blue, green, yellow, and peach, staggered downward.
The sky is a blue I’ve never quite imagined before, and there are fluffy white clouds that look way too perfect to even be real. Before we step through, I feel a waft of warm air brush over my skin—perfumed with tropical flowers—and I see why Titus told us to dress for summertime.
Zora and I both opted for sundresses for our travel into Semper Terra, but our backpacks are filled with workout gear. Carrick went with khaki cargo shorts, a short-sleeved V-necked tee of denim blue, and a shock to me… flip flops.
I’d never thought I’d see my demi-god in flip-flops.
It feels strange, the casual nature of our dress, and that we’re stepping into a tropical paradise where one could envision us lying on the beach below drinking fruity cocktails.
But we’re here for work and none of us forget that as, one by one, we follow Titus through the veil and leave Seattle behind.
We step out onto a lush green lawn that is mostly flat but slopes slightly downward just as the mountain we’re on does. It’s dotted with palm trees and the vegetation at the edge of the lawn is cut back and well maintained so nothing can block the view of the bay below.
I turn around and gasp as I take in the house behind me.
It’s not quite palatial, but it is freaking big.
All one level and massively sprawled out, it’s made of white painted wood and glass.
Mostly glass that retracts, as the entire front of the house is open and I can see inside to a living area that’s dotted with low-slung furniture with plush cushions, colorful braided rugs, and lazy ceiling fans with giant paddles to move the air.
Further back past the living area, I can make out the kitchen done in teak and stainless steel. To my surprise, a woman moves from behind the counter and starts walking our way.
She’s absolutely stunning and exotic. Dark hair that’s wavy, long, and worn over one shoulder with olive skin and chocolate eyes. She’s dressed in a floral print skirt that hangs low on her hips, hitting at her knees, and a bathing suit top that shows off how very well endowed she is. She’s barefoot, fresh-faced, and her eyes are pinned on Titus as if she is a starving woman.
“You’re late,” she chastises with a teasing smile as she hurries down the few steps that lead into the yard.
My jaw drops as Titus strides her way and plants a deep, sensuous kiss on her that makes it clear she was missed.
Cutting my eyes to Carrick, I note he’s not shocked the way I am to see Titus kissing a woman, but I can tell he doesn’t know who this woman is.
We’re not kept in the dark long as Titus lets her up for air. With an arm around her waist, he turns her to face our group.
“This is Priya,” Titus says, giving her a squeeze and pulling her in close. “Priya… this is Carrick, Finley, and Zora.”
She steps forward gracefully with a welcoming smile. She shakes each of our hands, repeats our names, and then jerks her head toward the house. “Come on in. I’ve got refreshments for everyone.”
“We can’t stay long,” Titus says, taking her hand as they lead us up to the house. “We’re expected over at the Academy.”
“Of course,” she replies, giving him a bump with her hip. “But you can be polite and let me entertain guests for a little bit since we don’t get them often.”
I glance to my left at Carrick, smirking. He gives me the same look back.
Once inside the house, I can see the left and right sides are actually recessed wings with hallways down each. On the other side of the kitchen, the glass walls are also opened, leading out onto a concrete patio covered by lattice laced with what I think is jasmine. From the patio, there is a courtyard where I can see a bubbling koi pond and blooming gardens with stone paths winding among them.
“Your house is incredibly beautiful,” I say to Titus as we’re led past the kitchen to the patio where a teak table is loaded with platters of fresh fruit, pastries, pitchers of colorful juices, and a tea service.
“I just built the damn thing,” Titus says as he plucks a handful of grapes from one of the platters. He pulls a chair out, slumps down into it, and nods at Priya. “She’s the one who made it a home.”
“Whoa,” I exclaim incredulously. “You built this house? Yourself?”
Titus smirks. “I’ve lived a long damn life, Finley, and I’m not working all the time. I’ve learned a few things in my spare time.”
We all follow Titus’ lead by taking chairs around the table.
All except for Priya, who gracefully plants herself crosswise on Titus’ lap, one hand on his chest, the other absently toying with one of his dreadlocks. Titus’ hand comes to grip her hip to hold her in place.
It’s not sexual, but it’s such an intimate pose, and I try to envision doing that with Carrick. I’ve never been overtly affectionate like that with him when we were around others, and I wonder if that’s something he would like o
r not.
I know if I had my choice of seats, it would always be in Carrick’s lap.
I catch his eyes on me, and my cheeks heat because, somehow, I get the feeling he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Help yourself,” Priya says as she sweeps her hand out to the spread on the table. “We’re informal here.”
We take a moment, load up some plates with food, and fill goblets with fresh juice. Zora is noticeably silent, but I expect she’s a bit shy. Priya’s the first person she has met outside of our little group in the last five days.
Because Priya said we were informal and we’ve not yet gotten down to the serious business, I grin slyly at Titus. “I asked you during our very last training session if you were married or had a girlfriend, and you said you didn’t.”
Titus grins back, teeth flashing brilliantly white. “I never said I didn’t. You indeed asked me if I was married or had a girlfriend, but before I could even answer, you were whining about Carrick and the kiss you two shared.”
The heat in my face is so extreme, I actually feel dizzy from the embarrassment of Titus turning that back on me. My mind races, and I think he’s right. He never answered my question because I had indeed started bemoaning the things that Carrick and I couldn’t have because he was immortal and I was mortal.
My eyes shoot over to Carrick, who is wisely focused on some pineapple on his plate, but his lips are tipped upward. Zora watches raptly as she slathers butter on her go-to croissant.
Turning my gaze back to Titus, I shoot him death daggers with my eyes and he only continues to smirk. I decide to ignore him and turn my attention to Priya. “How long have you two been together?”
Priya chuckles, twisting her neck to look at Titus with a frown. “Forty years?”
Titus shrugs. “Give or take, but that sounds about right.”
It’s surreal. I know this place is magical and people don’t age. But it’s odd for someone as young as they look to casually say, “Oh, we’ve been together for four decades.”
The Rise of Fortune and Fury Page 11