None of us know what it means. The river itself is almost mythical, but it’s supposedly filled with evil souls stuck there for eternity. We know the river was able to seal Charmeine within the stone, another representation of its powerful nature. We are assuming the stone itself now has unlimited potential since its little bath in the river of souls.
But what did it actually do to Lucien? Carrick said he didn’t catch fire or burn, but rather seemed just slowly to get pulled down into it.
Does that mean he drowned in it?
Flowed with the current somewhere else where he got out safely?
Or could it have turned him into something dark the way the gem was changed into the Blood Stone?
My thought was if the souls were stuck there for eternity, that perhaps Lucien was, too. Maybe the river was inescapable.
Carrick had no answers, and he has been reaching out to the gods every day to see if one will tell him what happened to his brother. As of now, they’re being silent, and that includes efforts to find out when Cato will release Maddox. We’ve not heard anything from him since he disappeared the day we left for Micah’s realm.
While Carrick is worried for his brothers, he’s more worried about what their absence means to me and the prophecy. The plan after retrieving the Blood Stone was to secure it and then go after Kymaris. He wanted his brothers by his side for that battle, not to necessarily help defeat her, but to help protect me because it was my battle, too.
Carrick also needed them to help protect the Blood Stone from any attempts made by Kymaris to get it if she ever finds out we have it. He had wanted them to combine magic and reinforce the protections around the condo. I had offered my magical services to combine with Carrick’s, but he kindly explained that my powers were too unknown at this point to rely on them.
He had a point, I suppose, but no matter… I trust him.
Boral has been hanging out back in Kymaris’ camp, keeping an eye on them. He hasn’t reported in since we got back, so I’m assuming they’re still looking for both the Blood Stone and the twelfth Dark Fae she needs for the ritual.
Now there’s nothing to do but wait for Lucien’s fate to be revealed, Maddox to return to the fold, and for the October new moon to roll around while hoping we can protect the Blood Stone until then.
“Is that thing just going to stay down here in the library?” Rainey asks, tipping her head toward the cup and bringing me out of my thoughts. “I’d at least thought it would be in a fortified safe or a bank vault or something.”
I laugh, because in our regular human life, that would be the most obvious thing. “As long as it’s within the confines of the condo, there are better protections around us than any safe or vault could give. Still… Carrick would like to fortify them more if he can when Maddox gets back.”
“Why not just take the Blood Stone somewhere else? Another realm or something? Just leave secretively. There’s no way Kymaris could find you.”
“We could,” I admit, and Carrick and I had discussed it. “But we can’t stay hidden forever, and we suspect there would be another new moon she could perform the ritual on. Also, who’s to say she won’t find us? We don’t know the magnitude of her powers. Regardless, we feel like we have to make our stand to end this.”
“So, it’s safe here,” she concludes softly. “And nothing to do but wait.”
I’d been lamenting just that thing, but something strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I smile at Rainey slyly. “Not nothing to do.”
“Why do you have that look on your face?” she asks skeptically.
“Because we have a wedding to plan,” I announce, pleased with myself to have given us something to fill our time.
Rainey frowns, taking a little bit of the wind from my sails. “Is this really the right time?”
Leaning forward, I look at her solemnly. “It’s the best time, Rainey.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I assure her with confidence. It will be good for us to have something to take our minds off the darkness facing us. “I understand from listening to Fallon go on and on about her wedding to Blain how much there is to do. It could take months to book out your venue—assuming it’s not overrun with demons—get your wedding dress picked out, test cakes, and all that good stuff. We might as well start now.”
Rainey smiles, but it’s half-hearted. Her gaze briefly drops down to the table before her eyes come back to me. “I don’t want to wait months and months to marry Myles.”
“When were you thinking?” I ask.
She hesitates, ducks her head slightly, and gives me a sheepish smile. “Sooner rather than later.”
“Oh,” I reply, surprised she wants to move so quickly knowing the perfect wedding will take time to plan. “That’s not a lot of time, but I’m sure we can work it out.”
I ignore the slight welling of panic. I’ve fought Dark Fae, learned I’m destined to die, and have the responsibility of the world on my shoulders, but the thought of helping her get a wedding together in the next few weeks freaks me out a bit.
“I want to do it before the October new moon,” Rainey says quietly. “Everything is moving so fast, and dangers are coming every day. Look how much has happened in just the last five days.”
So much has happened in five days. Carrick returned and took me to the Hall of Histories, Deandra taught me how to use my powers, and we defeated Micah to get the Blood Stone. God knows what could happen tomorrow.
“Rainey,” I butt in softly, suddenly sad she feels the need to rush this out of a sense of doom.
“No,” she says adamantly, shaking her head. “Don’t make this into something morose. I want to be Myles’ wife. I have no doubts, so why are we waiting?”
“Um… because both your parents will kill you if you elope,” I suggest playfully.
“But I don’t want to elope,” she quips with a bright smile. “I want my core group there to witness it.”
“And just who is that core group?” I ask because we seem to be growing in numbers.
She starts ticking off people while holding up fingers on her hand. “You, Carrick, Zaid, Maddox, Titus, and Boral.”
“Boral?” I ask in surprise.
“He’s been very helpful,” she replies with a nod. “And, obviously, Lucien if he… um… you know, comes back.”
I study my best friend, but I don’t detect a hint of rash impulsiveness. She’s speaking from the heart.
“Okay,” I say with a firm nod. “Let’s plan a quickie wedding. We have just under four weeks before the October new moon. Let’s pick a date.”
Without consulting a calendar, which tells me she’s given this some thought, Rainey says, “Two weekends from this one. September twenty-ninth.”
“Sounds like the perfect date,” I reply, reaching way to the right and pulling a spare yellow pad and pen toward me. I scribble Sept 29, then underline it three times. Looking back up to her, I ask, “Flowers?”
“Just a bouquet,” she answers, again so quickly I can tell she’s already put the mental work into this. I now know I’m just here for validation, but I want to add some effort.