Courts and Cabals 2 by G.S. D'Moore (warren buffett book recommendations TXT) 📗

troll strength blazing in my chest. It launched me backward, and my last sight of my half-brother was him collapsing inward on himself, like a dying star, before I felt myself getting sucked into something. Whatever that something was, it was on a tumble dry cycle from hell, and every bump brought on a new, worse wave of agony.

I lasted maybe two rotations before I passed out, and I was pretty sure I would never wake up again. Fine by me.

***

 

Aveena watched in horror as a rift appeared behind Cam. The Aesir warrior gave him a violent push, and he was swallowed by the kaleidoscope of color.

“No!” she roared, as the Aesir laughed and collapsed inward into himself. With a loud pop, he was gone.

She’d heard stories of the Aesir since she was a child. They were told in the same vein that humans used for the boogeyman. If you don’t clean your room, eat your vegetables, or do your chores the Aesir would come and take you away. Or in most Fae tales, they just brutally killed you.

The Aesir that appeared and rescued Cam had more than met her expectations. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that the Trickster of myth and legend had referred to Cam as his little bro; so, she didn’t focus on that right now. There was plenty of other shit that had hit the fan. Half of her mother’s royal guards were dead. Dozens of courtiers were broken and dismembered. The Lady of Winter herself had been wounded several times, an impossible task for anyone other than another member of The Nine. It had taken the Coldstone itself, the jewel of the frost giants, to level the playing field.

“And all because of Cam,” her renewed rage tipped past the boiling point.

“Mother, allow me to go after him. I caught him once, and I can catch him again. He will not elude me. He will not embarrass the House of Foxbelle anymore. He . . .” someone knocked her legs out from under her.

She fell flat on her ass, and was about to jump to her feet when she felt the cold iron blade against her throat. Godric stood over her, his arm clutched to his side and in need of a sling. His face was a grimace of pain, but she couldn’t tell if it was his wound or him being on the brink of killing her. The old goblin had always liked her.

“Seize her,” her mother’s voice boomed, but it felt tiny compared to the Aesir’s cruel laughter as he slaughtered half the Fae court. “Throw her in the dungeons and lock away the key. I must see the Queen about this,” despite the strength she was trying to convey, the Lady of Winter just looked tired.

“Mother . . . why?” Aveena looked up at her in shock.

“Treason, my worthless child. To bring an Aesir into this House . . .” she shuddered. “Queen Maeve will decide your fate, but I declare now, for my entire court to hear, that you are dead to me Aveena Foxbelle. Your name will be stricken from the house records, all honors conveyed to you are hereby stripped, and if you live, you will never again grace the halls of your ancestral home.”

Each sentence was a body blow worse than the last. By the end of it, Aveena was curled in the fetal position sobbing like a newborn baby.

“Take her away,” Ymira turned away so her guards could do the dirty work.

Aveena’s cries echoed until the doors of the throne room slammed shut and silenced her once and for all.

***

I don’t know when I regained consciousness, but like most times when I rejoined the land of the living, I was naked and half-dead. All I wanted to do was pass back out, but the universe had other plans.

“Fine,” I groaned when pain kept me from fading back into oblivion.

I opened my eyes, but it was still pitch black. “What,” I grunted, and tried to sit up, but that was a bad idea. “Ow . . . ow . . . ow. Okay, I’ll just stay right here,” I rested my head back on some hard surface and looked around without moving my neck.

In my peripherals I caught a silver sliver of moon. Not enough to throw much light around, but enough to know I was back on earth. “Or at least I hope so,” I couldn’t be sure until I had enough strength to get up and find some civilization.

Whatever happened, my Fae gifts were totally spent. There wasn’t even an ember of strength left to help me get to my feet. The ride through the inter-realm rift had left me magically and physically crippled. I listened for any dangers, but it just sounded like nighttime; crickets chirping, owls hooting, that sort of thing. The white noise nearly made me doze off again until I caught something else.

It wasn’t a rumble, but more of a low hum that was steadily growing louder. I lifted my head to see what was coming, and my body only complained enough to make new stars dance across my vision. After they cleared, I still didn’t see anything, but the hum was growing louder. Another few seconds of searching, and I spotted two pinpricks of light in the distance. Along with the hum, they were growing by the second.

“I’m lying in the road,” the realization hit me, and a burst of adrenaline allowed me to pull myself up to a seated position. Unfortunately, my legs still weren’t cooperating. In fact, I couldn’t feel anything below my waist.

I fought down the panic. It was a guy’s worse nightmare to have an inoperable dick. “Come on!” I growled, as I tried to pull myself to the side.

It didn’t take me long to figure out I