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

her right. Apparently, they got to talking about what a horrible child Aveena was, bonded over that, and that led to some fucking.

Aveena tuned out her mother’s rant, but everyone else listened with rapt attention. They all knew something big was going down. Aveena only tuned back in when it came to Ser Fredrick.

“You stole my knight and lost him to a mortal!” she roared. Her fist split the arm of the ice throne as she fueled her rage into action. Magic swelled to repair the throne, but it would take time. “I ought to give you to his father for all the shame you’ve brought on me.”

The old troll grinned, and Aveena could practically see him get hard under his tunic. She’d never allow that to happen, she’d rip his fucking head off before he touched her. Ymira continued to rant as she stared the old man down. He quickly looked away, and she smiled. Her mother did not take that in the right way.

“You think this whole ordeal is funny,” now it was Ymira’s turn to smile. “Consider this. You will bring me the head of the man who felled my knight. You will bring him to kneel before me, so I can see the human who can strike down one so noble,” she inclined her head to the old troll. It was a political move. Aveena knew her mother didn’t give two shits about Ser Fredrick; especially since he’d let a human kill him.

“If you do not bring this mortal to me, you will be replaced in the line of succession. This new child; borne of ice and hound, will be the next to sit on this throne,” the savagery on her face would make the mortal devil cower in fear.

If Aveena wasn’t already in a state of shock, she’d have done something stupid. She still might. If she didn’t bring Cam to her mother, she’d be replaced by some infant brat. That brat, raised in a Fae court, while Aveena had spent years in the mortal realm, would learn early on her older sister needed to be eliminated to consolidate her power. Aveena would find herself with a cold iron dagger in her back within weeks. Being replaced was as good as a death sentence.

“I will not fail you,” Aveena tried to portray strength and confidence to show the court she was unafraid, but underneath her bravado, she was about to piss herself.

“Ha,” Ymira let out a barking laugh. “We’ll see about that. You have fourteen human days. That should be enough to catch a mere mortal.”

With that, the last of the battle behind her ended. An injured and ravaged male limped up behind Aveena. “My lady,” he gasped, blood oozing out of him and onto the floor; which eagerly ate it up to fuel the repairs to the throne.

Aveena turned around to look him over. He was a sturdy example of a male frost giant; nine feet tall, broad of shoulder and chest, a thick mane of hair covering his body, and a rather large, throbbing cock. Large cocks meant strong seed, and if she took this male to her bed, she might get pregnant.

That was almost enough to make her do it. The shock on her mother’s face would almost be worth it, but in the end, she wanted to live more than she wanted to piss off her mother. She extended her hand, and the male’s eyes lighted with passion. When their flesh met, flames engulfed him, and he screamed in terror and pain.

He took a long time to die. The son of the Master of Hounds covered his nose at the rancid stench of burning frost giant. Her mother just looked bored, but her father looked proud. His honor was on the line too. House Woodspark wanted a foot in the door, and to continue to build a dynasty that would eventually include Winter. He would do what he could to help her without looking like he was helping. Dishonor and shame were anathema to the Fae. Any association with the dishonored, until their honor was regained, could spread like a human virus; infecting anyone by association.

Aveena left the unfortunate male to burn to death, but didn’t head back to her chambers. The faster she caught Cam the better. Godric fell in beside her, but he wouldn’t be helping. He was to provide her with transport back to the mortal realm. When he created the multi-colored vortex to travel between realms, it was the charred stench of her father’s power he wielded.

It was probably the nicest thing the Seelie noble had ever done for her. She stepped through the portal and appeared in a snow-covered field not far from St. Vincent’s. She pulled her human glamour around her hulking form and went to find the boy who’d turned her life to shit.

***

“Oh no. Not again,” I thought as I tumbled back into reality. This would be my first, and last, trip through a dragon portal if I had any say in it.

It felt a lot like when Amanda first dived into my mind. I’d been terrified of Anima mages already, but when she dug through my brain looking for information about what had changed inside me, it had been quite the mindfuck . . . and not the good type that came later.

This was the type of mindfuck that left you puking your guts out because you’d just been on the tilt-a-whirl from hell. I stepped into the swirling vortex of fire in Upstate New York. I stepped into utter darkness, was beaten, bashed, kicked, punched, and generally put through the ringer by metaphysical forces beyond my understanding; all in the span of a second. I stepped out feeling like battered shit, and missed the six-inch drop in elevation. My stomach was already revolting from the jarring ride, so I failed to catch myself