Chapter 19 #2
“I know what you’re thinking, Chosen,” Cecil chimed in, jiggling a cocktail shaker between his hooves.
“Audrina seems so vulnerable. And she is. But she’s not stupid.
She took every precaution to make sure nobody knows who she is, not even the human who hired her.
She’s working under her stage name, and I checked all her socials and messages to make sure she covered all her bases.
There’s no hint of her real name, or anything linking her to anyone called Audrina Morningside.
” Cecil poured a martini, dropping in an olive with a plop.
“And I gave her a makeover before she left. I cut off all that awful hair and dressed her in something suitable.” He let out a smug chuckle.
“Believe me, babes, nobody will recognize her. Nobody will recognize Nate, either.”
“He has a glamor?”
“Nope, I just styled him to look like a young human nightclub bouncer.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That’s it?”
“He’s got a baseball cap and some aviators.
Remember, magical folk train themselves to see when magic is being used, even if it’s for a glamor.
I didn’t want one of Connor’s assassins looking at Nate and sensing the magic around him.
Audrina and Nate are in incognito mode—no magic, no glamor. They’ll be fine.”
Some of the panic in my chest eased. I watched Cecil for a moment, shimmying around the room, dispersing cocktails and offering pretty pastel-colored macarons.
I was sure I had broken our master-slave bond, but apart from the fact that Bronwyn was now suddenly wearing a sexy sports-luxe outfit—a tiny vest and a cropped jacket, showing off her sculpted abdominal muscles—and Fionn’s shirt was now wide open, displaying a rugged manly chest…
Cecil wasn’t acting any different. He wasn’t acting like he was free.
I cleared my throat as he approached me with a tray of cookies and a glass of champagne. “Cecil, we need to talk about the slave?—”
“Blood sugar check!” He shoved a pistachio macaron in my mouth. “You need to keep your energy up, Chosen.” He shot me a meaningful look. “We’ve got a lot to do, and not much time to do it. Let’s keep all unnecessary discussions for a later date.”
I chewed and glared at him at the same time. Unnecessary?
“Audrina will be okay, and that’s all there is to it,” he said, piling a half-dozen macarons into Donovan’s hands next to me. “Let’s worry about getting Martina back for now.”
I caught the shadow in his eyes as he turned away.
Oh.
Cecil was scared. Okay, we could talk later.
“Right.” I swallowed the rest of the macaron.
“Yes, Martina. On that, I have news.” I sat up straighter and brandished my new phone.
“I just synced a backup of my phone to a new one. Twenty minutes ago, I got a message from the Andresanos. They’ve sent a message with proof of life—a video of Martina frowning deeply in front of the television showing the evening news. ”
Donovan exhaled. “She is alive.”
“She is. I mean, she looks pissed, but she’s alive. The Andresanos are offering a trade. They’ll give us the location of my lawyer, and we’d find her safe and well, in exchange for the high fae spark stone. As long as it’s not closed.”
Fionn scowled. “My lady?—”
“It’s okay, Fionn.” I held up my hands, palm-out.
“I have no intention of handing over your stone. I do, however, think we could use it as bait.” I cleared my throat and spoke a little louder.
“So far, Connor has hidden behind his assassins, and his banwyn, and now, his army. Both his armies,” I clarified.
“I’m going to assume he made it back to the Middle World, so his Upper World army is out of the picture for now. ”
“He has,” Bart croaked. “I’ve been talking to mummy.
She called me to ask me why I was spotted on a murderous rampage in the Woods, so I took the opportunity to grill her for information.
Apparently, Connor arrived just after you disappeared, and took out his fury on some of his army.
They’re still gathered in the Woods, and he’s got his two assassins with him. ”
“Purg, wrapped in his death shroud, and Agarthon in his black armor.” I gnawed on my lip.
“Half of his army are shifters. The other half are made up of vampires and witches and mermen and… miscellaneous,” I said lamely, trying to remember the twisted, angry faces who’d been chasing us.
“But most of them are shifters. The Woods is their home turf. We need to flush him out and get him away from his armies somehow.”
Ideas bounced around my head like ping pong balls. A very loose plan was forming in my mind. A bait and switch. A hoodwink.
A way to take out his assassins as well as drain his forces considerably.
I’d need help. I’d need to call in a few favors…
But first, we had to make sure Martina was safe. I cleared my throat. “The Andresanos have asked that we make the trade tonight at Juliette Forbes’s annual charity ball.”
“Ooh.” Cecil quivered. “That ball? The one you were talking about yesterday?”
“Yes. She has one every year, a huge event to raise funds for Alzheimer's research. She spends a lot of her husband’s money on it and manipulates his friends into emptying their pockets.” I hesitated.
“And to be completely honest, it’s always a good party.
Something scandalous always happens; people talk about it for months afterwards.
I’m on the guest list, so we’ve got no problem getting in. ”
“Why would they want to make the trade at the ball, though?”
“It’s nice and public, and we won’t be able to use any magic in front of a crowd.
On the plus side, neither will Connor. He’ll be there, too.
Considering they’ve chosen the ball as the exchange point, it’s probably best if we assume Connor’s back with Juliette, and he’s slimed back into her good graces. ”
Donovan frowned. “The investigator has not reported any dealings between the two.”
“Nevertheless, when it comes to Connor, I’m going to assume the worst from now on. He’s a scumbag that hides behind other people, so I think our first move should be to take out the people he hides behind. Violet, a whiteboard, if you please?”
She pushed my favorite whiteboard up from the floor. I stood and caught the marker that flashed into existence in front of me.
A very loose plan was forming in my mind.
“So, Connor will be at the ball to take possession of the high fae stone. He won’t have his army, and he won’t have his banwyn.
We just need to get Martina’s location, take out the assassins he keeps hiding behind, and try to lure him to another location.
Somewhere he’ll be off-balance, somewhere we have a chance at beating his army. So, here’s what I’m thinking…”