Midnight Court: An Urban Fantasy (Magick and Misfits Book 2) by Ann Gimpel

Author:Ann Gimpel [Gimpel, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ann Gimpel Books, LLC
Published: 2020-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

9

Chapter Nine, Cyn

We finished with the covenant in no time at all and sketched out the beginnings of a plan to tell Oberon his ploy failed, and he had to leave immediately. A delegation of unicorns would show up at Dubrova. If the Unseelie didn’t yield—and produce Oberon—the unicorns would gore them.

My bet was the Unseelie would value their hides more than their allegiance to either Oberon or the Lord of Winter. The moment one of them fell, the others would hightail it out of there. Unseelie warriors are plenty brave, but also self-serving as hell. If there wasn’t an immediate gain for them, they wouldn’t stick around.

“We’ll report in,” the unicorns on the court told me.

“If there’s any doubt,” I said, “strike first.”

“Oh, we will. Where will you be?” one asked.

“I’m going to Nemia to assist Auril and Dariyah,” I replied, “but I’ll travel with you to the castle.” Once there, I’d check in with the serpents to see how many had gone with Auril and plan accordingly. Depending on their answer, I might rustle up some of our own warriors. Titania was their queen. They’d gladly fight for her.

When I reached the moat, I was warded to escape dealing with confrontations that might slow me down. I’d chafed at the delay back in the glade, but it had been too important not to see through to its end. I’d turned the newly ratified covenant and all its associated signature sheets over to the owls in Auril’s realm. They’d promised to hide them well, and I couldn’t very well bring them with me.

Nemia is a strange land. Its access is via the depths of Faery’s one true ocean, but once you cross beneath its gates, the water part of things drops away. In times past, it served as the sea serpents’ breeding ground, but they quit producing young around the time Oberon’s insistence Faery was only for Fae intensified.

Not that they ever generated very many. One of the big downsides of immortality is too many progeny gums up the works since no one dies except in rare, unanticipated accidents.

Or wars.

The moat was empty. I made one more transit of it to be certain. Indentations in the muddy bottom suggested serpents had been here recently. Had all of them left with Auril? It didn’t bode well when the Queen of Air and Darkness, one of the most self-sufficient mages I’d ever known, requisitioned that level of aid.

A splash alerted me I wasn’t alone in the water. It wasn’t my preferred medium, so I kept my ward in place waiting to see who’d joined me. If it was one of the Unseelie bastards, I’d quietly teleport out of here. I couldn’t afford wasting time on a project the unicorns had well in hand.

“Regent!”

I peered through the murky water, gave up, and switched to my third eye. A red sea serpent swam toward me at top speed. That she was still calling me Regent boded reasonably well. Not everyone had embraced Oberon’s return.

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