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

Her mother wouldn’t wait forever, and time didn’t work the same in the Faerie realm as it did here. Humans saw time as a constant, but the Fae knew it was a fickle thing not to be counted on or underestimated. So, she knew she needed to move fast.

Next to consider were resources. Her mother wouldn’t offer any power, but power had a different meaning for Fae. She wouldn’t lend any of her magic to support Aveena, like she had with Godric to allow him to make interdimensional portals. If Aveena had that magical support, she could kill her half-sister, take Cam, and be home in a few hours. Such was the power of one of The Nine. Instead, she would have to use more mundane means, and what magic was available below whatever threshold the Lady of Winter deemed acceptable.

Like a game of chess, she counted her pieces. She reached down for the bonds embedded in her bloodline and sought out those who owed fealty to her personally. First to solidify in her mind’s eyes were twelve changelings. Some had attended St. Vincent’s, and others had not. She gave them all commands through the bonds, and access to the necessary funds to make it happen. They needed weapons, armor, transportation, allies if they could be trusted, and intelligence. She set those dozen half-Fae in motion before she even started tracking Cam. She had a hunch her half-sister would retreat to the cabal’s stronghold; that’s what Aveena would do in that situation, so she sent her people to Nevada to begin reconnaissance of the most likely target.

Ymira Foxbelle, and most other powerful Fae, didn’t consider money to be power; after all, it was just paper mortals attached value to. Aveena still had access to all of the House’s accounts in the mortal realm; accounts with sums in the tens of millions. She gave the changelings the access codes through the blood bonds. It would take them a day to get to Vegas and set up, which gave Aveena time to dig deeper into her blood and find those who would determine her ultimate success.

The changelings were the easiest bonds to call upon, but there were others in this realm that swore fealty to House Foxbelle. She reached into the core of her noble blood where the fealty of powerful, full-Fae resided. Distance didn’t matter for this magic to work. It was engrained in all Fae at the genetic level. As she completed her dive, she sensed several individuals like they were standing right next to her. Of those half dozen possibilities, three immediately broke the bond’s contact with polite denials; which told Aveena her mother had declared them off limits. The other three were hers to command.

One was a troll residing in Missouri and living his life undercover as a construction worker. He was weaker than Ser Fredrick, not a knight of Winter’s court, but something big and ugly would be useful as a distraction. The second was a selkie in California. She was a known Fae openly competing in surfing competitions against mortal supernaturals.

Selkie were a type of water Fae with the ability to shapeshift like human shifters. Legends about a sealskin that human males would try and steal from selkie females was a bunch of bullshit. A Selkie’s true form looked nothing like a seal. It looked like a great white shark had fucked an octopus. It was all teeth, tentacles, a tough hide, and a bad attitude. They didn’t like to stray far from water, so Aveena prepared for a grumpy soldier.

The selkie in question purposefully misled the humans she competed against. It wouldn’t help her if they knew the true terror of the deep they rode the waves with. The woman, Anna Seatwig, acknowledged the call and would rendezvous with the changelings in Las Vegas. She didn’t sound too happy about it, but she knew her duty.

Last but not least, she connected with the final Fae she would command. The emotions on the other end of the bond were confused for a moment before dissolving into laughter. Aveena knew this Fae, and she would be perfect for what she had planned.

Saffron Ambersong was a Dryad already living secretly in Las Vegas; right under the cabal’s nose. She worked as a showgirl, dancing her way across the strip in the guise of a lovely young woman. Like all nature spirits, she was seductive and a natural trickster. Having her in position would allow Aveena to set up a base of operations before her people even arrived. If the cabal was on the lookout for new supernaturals infiltrating their community, Saffron would be able to thwart their efforts.

Even better, a quick acknowledgment from Saffron told Aveena she already knew where Cam was, and she would be the person in the best position to infiltrate and retrieve the mortal man who was making Aveena’s life a living hell. She ordered the dryad to hold off on the snatch and grab. She was to prepare for Aveena’s arrival, and assist the changelings, troll, and selkie in flying under the radar when they arrived in town. If the cabal expected someone was moving against them, they would crush Aveena’s small army like a bug. She couldn’t have that happen and expect to survive.

With her pieces on the board, and in motion, she had one final task to complete before traveling to Vegas. Ser Fredrick had a pixie sworn to him. In terms of power, the creature was negligible, but what she did provide was a crucial link to Cameron Dupree. When Cam absorbed Ser Fredrick’s power – something Aveena still didn’t understand – he most likely received the fealty of the pixie, and that could be turned against him. Bonds worked both ways, and while noble Fae had developed defenses over time to counter attacks through the bond; Cam would be ignorant of the threat until it was too late.