Page 58 of Within the Veil

"She sits on a THRONE OF LIES!" Ryder pumps his fist in the air.

Zane, despite his attempt to maintain his serious exterior, laughs, "We still have to keep in mind that we do not know the numbers that Nici is working with..." He looks at Shea, who shakes his head, affirming he doesn't know the full numbers either.

Well, that makes sense, considering sharing the number with someone you know is already a turn-coat would be stupid, and like Remi pointed out, Nici is many things, a cunt primarily, but stupid is not on her long list of character faults.

Zane then looks at Oberon, who nods in affirmation that he will get someone dark and mysterious on it. Well, at least Oberon can use his powers of mystical tree climbing to find out anything.

"Or," Zane continues, "know who she has managed to convince to turn against us. We will have a better idea after everyone goes on their individual missions and Oberon reports back."

I sigh in frustration, begrudgingly understanding his point. But now, those grains that gave me a blissful reprieve are added back to my scales of anxiety as Mr. Sun-not so much-shine rains on my parade. Army numbers won't mean much if she has a secret calculator of turncoats. Realistically, with Nici having taken over so long ago, the rebel camp being small, and the jack-shit the Council has accomplished, we don't have much to go on. The Fae I was able to release from Nici's hold weeks ago was just a tiny slice of the people under her control. Gaia, help me, I really hate Nici. And by help, I mean literally, help me stab her in the neck.

"Understood. Don't count the Pixies before they hatch and all that. But we still need to be proactive. Shea was giving out all his Iced Coffee to ensure we had an edge on the war front. So, we need to utilize the foundation of his planning. Also, would it kill you to shine your light of greatness on the bright side? I'm going to need you," I poke Zane's ridiculously hard chest and tilt my head up to look into his eyes, "to be a little bit more positive. War planning does not mean you can spread negativity around like little dew drops of doom."

He grabs my finger and bends forward, "Strategy is about pointing out all the possible things that can go wrong. Not the things that can go well. But," he pulls me in closer, his eyes heating as the hand now splayed on my lower back, sends very non-war thoughts through my head.

"I will agree to no more dew drops of doom if you agree to letmepoke you with something else instead," he nips my bottom lip with his teeth and kisses me gently, his soft lips caressing mine.

I pull away with a sigh, my panties now ruined. I need a little bit more privacy for the shit I want to do to his lips. Preferably sitting on them with the lips on the lower half of my body.

"Damn you, Zane. You soak it, you stroke it. So you better live up to that deal," I scowl at him. "Now," I turn around, and Zane puts his hands on my hip as I lose my grip on my balance.

I turn my scowl to my swollen beach ball and glare at my stomach.Listen up in there. You little winged troublemaking crotch goblins, better be the cutest things ever because I, The Disruptor of all Things Imposter Related, am over the fuckery of 'balance'.The Fae are so damn invested in the balance of everything, good, bad, evil, good, but apparently, a mom-to-be isn't included in their giant gymnastic web of beams. I'm given power beyond anyone's expectations, all hail me and all that shit, but yet...I still waddle. Someone is going to get a strongly worded spiritual email...I'm looking at you, Gaia.

Ryder starts laughing, "If you keep talking to them that way, they will be terrifyingly hideous just to spite you."

"If they are, then they are yours' by default," I retort, sticking out my tongue.

"Also, they are not goblins," Oberon adds, his body shuddering in disgust.

I roll my eyes, "it is just a saying, Obi, unless you all have something to tell me. A secret Fae surgery to hide Goblin genetics, perhaps?" I raise an eyebrow.

He shakes his head, his face contorted in confusion. The look is downright endearing on his otherwise smug, 'I know it all', face. I want to lick it. His face...not his head. Unless it's the one that comes with Fae juice.

"I will ignore your salacious thoughts about my spear of great pleasure but, rest assured, I will get back to that later, to say that I am not aware of any Fae surgeries. We heal and evolve without barbaric means of physical befuddlement. Andthat is a saying?Dear, Gaia. Humans, after all this time, are still so strange. Calling their children goblins, I shudder at the mere thought. While I am sure they are beautiful... to their own subspecies, they are still grotesque, gold-hungry little demons," he gags at the word 'beautiful' and shakes his head.

We all try to cover our amusement, but it still travels down the bond, and he scowls. Oberon, out of everyone in this room, Shea included, despite being very knowledgeable, has spent little to no time in the human realm. Oh, he watches plenty of movies, but I'm quite sure he focuses on the parts that shed light on whatever the fuck his brain deems important. But even with his attempts to keep up, there is only so much one can learn from movies. So, his understanding, or lack thereof, of some phrases is downright adorable.

Unable to resist, I walk over to him and turn my face up for a kiss which he quickly gives me. "It's okay, sweetie, I will continue to teach you of all the ways humans have fucked up the English language, and you'll catch up in no time," I smile at his grimace, and when I turn, he pulls me to his chest hard chest and wrap his arms around my belly, holding me in place to run his lips along my neck. I shiver. Damn them. So many penises, so little time.

I clear my throat and look at Shea, "Okay, so. Now, how can I see Charlie?" I ask Shea.

He hesitates, shifting in his seat, as he looks around the room at my mates as if he is unsure whether to give me the information I want. The answer to that is... tell me, or you won't be spreading any more iced coffee ever again. I narrow my eyes. I'm not quite sure what world he is living in, but if I want to fucking leave right now and look for my sister, I would--With or without my mates' consenting. Even if we weren't living in a matriarchal society, I still run shit. I would hate to shove my queenly feet in his ass, but...

Grayson coughs to cover his laugh and turns steel grey eyes on Shea, "You don't need to look at us for approval when Hudson asks you a question that may or may impact her actions. For several reasons... one..."

"She is your Queen," Oberon cuts in, a bit savagely. So much so that Shea's eyes widen slightly. I would say something but he is more than likely reacting to my growing irritation, considering I am not only ridiculously anxious about finding Charlie, my stomach churning while I try to quell the panicked breathing. It also doesn't help that I had a lot of juice and I need to use the queenly porcelain chamber.

"Yes, thank you Oberon," Grayson shakes his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hard to rule a kingdom if everyone is deferring to the Queen's mates instead of the actual Queen. What I was going to say is that keeping information from Hudson either results in two forms of destruction, yours or someone else's. Sometimes both. And two, as much as we would like, and perhaps need to, tie her up and keep her inside, it will not keep her safe, it will just piss her off."

"In conclusion," Ryder chimes in, a hint of amusement playing on his lips. "We can't because she's terrifying and won't because we love her. You shove a phoenix in a cage, and the only thing you will succeed in doing is setting your entire house on fire."

I beam at him because not only was it an impressive line, but because he is absolutely fucking right.Cages only make the ones who are caged, wild, feral, and unpredictable. I'm already wild, feral, and unpredictable.

Shea sighs, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees. "Duly noted. However, I am concerned. Not because I lack confidence in your abilities, Hudson. Nor your mates," he inclines his head respectfully. "I am simply not sure exactly how to facilitate you getting to Charlie without you taking a trip beyond the Veil and putting yourself in harm's way. Nici has eyes everywhere, and while getting to her may be simple enough, the length of time you will more than likely need in order to explain the situation thoroughly is not. You can be quite persuasive with a blade, as Kalen once boasted," his lips quirk, and I fight the sharp pang of pain at the mention of his name.

"But Charlie is...well, she is you, for lack of a better explanation. Showing up and expecting a quick resolution is not feasible. And I cannot just show up and explain the situation to Charlie myself," Shea adds.

Well, duh, what are you going to tell her? She's a by-product of your iced coffee?

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