Page 56 of Within the Veil

I sigh, "No need to shout you fae-andrathal. As I was saying...Just like with Gaia and I, Charlie will be part Fae. Whether she realizes it or not, she has a deep connection to pure magic. Adding that to the fact that she has ties to the magical world could mean more allies. Although I admit that while we have knowledge of the magical communities, some things were kept from us. I never questioned it, Magical Communities and Political Science was, by far, my least favorite class. So anything they left out, I was all for it. Now I feel like I've been bamboozled. However, I suppose makes sense now if they were keeping to themselves, the magic council wouldn't have seen the need to discuss them further. That being said, since Darnica is one of those secluded communities and under the influence of Nici, having Charlie on our side will not only help her in the long run but it would mean having a close connection to more than one magical community, mine included."

Zane nods, his green eyes sparkling, and I know it only means one thing. Strategy.

"Strategically," he starts, making Hunter's face light up.

Bingo

He ignores my thoughts, "If she has knowledge of or suspects anything underhanded from the council, it will be beneficial to have her cooperation so we can ferret out the shit Nici is doing and stop the lies of kidnapping. It doesn't take much for people to switch sides, but with this information the tide will turn against Nici. Then if we reach out to Chancellor Jacobs, considering he is the head of the American Council, it would mean more potential allies. From a war planning perspective, it is absolutely beneficial."

"It is also quid-pro-pro. Charlie would be able to get rid of the council there. Once she is made aware of the particulars, she will be able to better prepare for the inevitable fallout," Hunter adds.

"Let's think bigger," Remi adds. "Shea said Communities as in plural. How many of them can we get on our side? Especially if we have Charlie run point?"

"Even bigger," King adds, "Shea also mentioned a magical academy he has the children taken from their homes, training in. If they are of age, would they also be able to help?"

We all turn to Shea, whose eyes have been pinging back and forth between us all.

"If I am tracking this correctly, and I think I am, otherwise I may be losing my mind," he mutters the last before clearing his throat. "We would need the help of the Academy students, and possibly gather those from the communities Nici has targeted. As well as utilizing the regular magical communities, if we can get them all on our side."

"Not to mention my own Army," Oberon adds.

Shea's eyes get impossibly wider and he nods absentmindedly. Poor guy, not really though, the sneaky fuck, but I'm sure he has to be reeling from the information influx. Then you toss in glowing bellies, tangents and Oberon offering up his army of savage death and darkness, that he has always kept under wraps, it's a lot I suppose. But, I shrug, internally, what is the point of licking multiple peens if you couldn't also be the Queen with all the allies?

Shea scrubs a hand across his face and then sits up straighter, a look of determination on his face. "Okay I will make contact with the Academies. After some rigorous testing to ensure those of age are able to fight, they would be at our disposal. It won't be an 'army' in the typical sense, only a couple dozen, but the quality is better than quantity, and I am confident in their education," he nods succinctly.

I blink, " just how many academies of stolen children do you have?"

"Just two, Aeloria Institute of Magic and Mystglade Academy..."

"Subtle," Ryder mumbles. I bite back a smirk.

Shea rolls his eyes, "The schools are divided into age groups. They start from infancy, for obvious reasons, and then progress into the other parts of the school and training. Each school, before you ask, has about 150 or so students. Also before you ask," he holds his hand up to stave off my next question. "They are guarded within a realm that is within a veil that cannot be accessed without my blood or that of one of the students. It is very complex and we can get into details at a later time."

I narrow my eyes, oh yes he fucking will. My curiosity is beyond fucking peaked now.

"Fine. Later then. So now, we need to start reaching out to as many people as we can, discretely. There are a lot of wheels in motion here."

"Too many damn wheels..." Zane scowls.

Jensi nods, "on several buses, going round and round and not one of them run on clean energy. Someone should say something about that nursery rhyme."

I laugh. "Anyways...Once we get Celene on our side..."

Shea sighs and mumbles, "I am going to need a lot more than just a simple briefing."

I wave my hand in the air, "King, Jensi, and Luca will brief you on the war planning details and the Council stuff," I look at the three of them, who nods.

I use magic to bring my one of my many notebooks and pens closer to write everything down. I'm magical, but so is note-taking. Not to mention if I don't take the notes, chances are too many wires will cross later on.

"Okay. So, first order of business. Iced-coffee. Shea I'm going to need to get Charlie's location. Magical students, we need to find a way to send missives and a message to Chancellor Jacobs, we need to make a show of force. Nici has been stealing magic children, that should be enough to garner the attention of their pompous asses. We can lay it on thick and say they are next or some other Chamber of Secrets type of shit, minus the cat killing. Then, the Whispering demons of doom, Oberon you can use them to lay a false trail so that the missives can get in and out without being intercepted. We can assume the magical communities are being watched since Nici has been working them over like a hooker with her rent due..." The guys choke back a laugh and Oberon scowls but Grayson jumps in before he can go on a tangent about the 'demons of doom,' comment.

"We need to include missives to our own families in this list of to-do's. We are going to have to get them on our side as allies, and the truth is we can't just show up and expect them to welcome us. But more importantly, with all things pointing to our overall connection being planned and our mothers or grandmothers having a hand in it all, we don't know if they have been touched by Nici's influence in this time," Grayson says gruffly.

"And then after?" I ask.

"We will have to make our way to them personally. Hunter will have to go into Arallu territory, I will have to go into Lough Leane and Ryder will have to go into Dinka territory. Remi should go with Hunter, she can help keep him calm when he decides to rip a tree in half," he smirks when Hunter scoffs. "Zane and Oberon will stay here. Zane's lands are under control by Nici right now, so his staying would be more beneficial."

I frown at the flash of panic that fills me at the thought of them going anywhere alone but I shove it down, like everything else, to think on a practical level. This is war, danger will always be present. I sigh, "Not a big fan, but I don't want anyone alone. Ryder and Jensi can go together and Grayson, you can go with Luca. King will still be here with me and this way everyone has some form of backup."

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