Stronger Together chapter 117

The trip to Mac's didn't take very long, and when we arrived early I  was shocked to see that Mac actually served breakfast. Deciding to take  advantage I ordered a western omelette and some fresh squeezed orange  juice. Raven and Cinder had the same, while Kara, Yang, and Barb ordered  sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches. Mac stopped serving breakfast at  noon and we'd beaten the clock by like fifteen minutes so we wanted to  try something new. We could have gotten a steak sandwich too, he still  had them, but personally I was excited to try more of his cooking.

We  had all gotten our food and sat down by the time Lily and Fix made it  to the meeting. I'd already taken my first bite of the best omelette I'd  ever had. To be fair, it was half incredible cooking and half what  appeared to be a more powerful sense of taste. Still, the eggs were  fluffy, the cheese was evenly dispersed, the ham was juicy and the  sausage was flavorful. Every single ingredient was perfectly accentuated  in such a way that those traits enhanced the total dish, making the  whole thing a multiplicative effect rather than an additive one.

Lily  and Fix sat down across from us with a friendly smile, and when she  caught how much we were enjoying our food she sent her Knight up to get  some before it struck noon. She turned to greet us but froze when she  saw me. Her brow furrowed at my appearance. I'd noticed after my shower  that I looked slightly different. Still obviously me but the godsteel  had sort of shaved away some of the imperfections. Little things here  and there but those little things added up. "Cameron, you  look...different. I must admit I haven't ever seen a mortal go through  such a subtle yet drastic transformation."

I  wasn't surprised by her shock. Most of the supernaturally beautiful  beings like Sidhe and White Court vamps were born not made. Some of the  transformations could enhance beauty or physical symmetry but she would  be able to tell if I was a vampire or werewolf. Barb and Yang and Cinder  still looked the same, so it wasn't an Aura thing. I was just different  now. I smiled easily, hoping to distract her from this. It had been one  of the reasons the girls had been so worried though I hadn't figured  that out until I looked in the mirror. "A recent development, so I take  it you got our message through Harry, how much did he tell you?"

As  expected of the Summer Lady she was able to change mental gears fairly  quickly, adopting a serious expression as Fix made it back to the table  with their food. She nodded gratefully to Fix, taking her omelette and  groaning a bit in joy as she bit into it. Her eyelashes fluttered in  ecstasy at the delicious breakfast. Fix, having heard the question  smiled at her and decided to answer for his lady."He told us the basics.  Black Court nest taking people. Normally we wouldn't be able to move on  one of the courts without permission from the Queen, but since we owe  you a favor, if you were to call in the debt we would be technically  under your authority, not that of Summer."

Lily  finished chewing her bite, blushing prettily and the satisfied noises  she had been making, which I was mostly sure was theatrics but was still  very charming. She cleared her throat lightly "Yes, of course we're  happy to help, though our resources when repaying a favor for Fix will  be a bit thin. Since I wont be acting in my capacity as Lady I'll either  have to call in some favors of my own or use whatever personal  retainers I've managed to gather in my time as one of the queens. I have  a few loyal followers who can come with us but it won't be the army of  Summer fae I believe you were expecting."

She  sounded genuinely sorry for the lack of resources but I wasn't too  worried about it. That wasn't what I had been banking on most. "I  understand completely, whoever you can bring, we're grateful. My biggest  request isn't for Summer exactly. I know you have some influence over  the White Court after you formed that alliance with them during the  whole Jack the Ripper mess, or if you didn't end up doing the alliance  it's still on the table as bait. If I call in that other favor, could  you pressure the White King into making a personal appearance?"

One  of my favorite things about working with the fae had to be the complete  lack of questions about motives. The fae assumed everyone was planning  some shady shit and when it wouldn't negatively impact them they did not  want to know about it. Instead of asking for my reason Lily just  furrowed her brow again, biting her lip in a very fetching manner. "I  believe so yes. It would cost me some political capital, but I do owe  you so much. A favor from the Summer Lady means something, so yes, I  believe I can make that happen. You're sure you wish to use your favors  now? It's admirable to help other but once gone those debts are  balanced."

I  had been expecting that. Honestly it seemed like a win to me. Fix and  Lily were good people, but they also weren't actually people. My  experience with Calliope had underscored the need to tread warily around  even friendly non humans. As the Lady Lily's loyalty was always going  to be to the court not to me. Wiping out the karma I had with Summer  when I could benefit from it and before it could somehow bite me in the  ass seemed like the best play. Instead of going into that and offending  our friends I just smiled grimly. "They have kids down there. It's more  than worth it. I'm sure."

Lily  beamed at me, and the radiant joy and approval on her face was so  bright it was almost literally shining. With my new senses I could see  more of the world, and Lily was even more beautiful like this. Despite  what she was, Lily was a genuinely good person. I could just feel it.  Harry had assumed in the books the mantle subsumed who a person was  completely, but I suspected it was more of a melding. A house built on  unstable foundations would be shaky at best. Granted the Summer mantle  did a lot less to stamp out that decency than it's winter counterpart,  but still. Lily had a good heart, and it was clearly still in there.

I  actually flushed a bit at the glowing look, feeling a bit guilty about  the cynical thought's I'd just been having about the real life faerie  princess who was trying so hard to help me. Rather than think about that  confusing mix of emotions I took another delicious bite of omelette and  a sip of absolutely amazing juice. I wondered if Mac grew his own  oranges. He seemed like the type. After I swallowed I cleared my throat a  bit. "So you mentioned some loyal retainers, any chance I could get a  list of who will be there, just so we know what to plan for?"

Lily  nodded, face all business again "Of course. Aside from Fix and I there  are five Summer fae I consider loyal enough to bring them along repaying  a favor for my Knight. Despite the scarcity of their numbers however  they are mighty warriors with centuries of experience." She turned to  Kara, who she had been very careful not to stare at the entire time she  was here and graced her with one of those spotlight smiles "Not, perhaps  as mighty as you Kara, but dangerous foes all the same." The Kryptonian  blushed a bit at the praise.

Lily  turned her eyes back to me. "But I digress. You asked for an accounting  of our forces. First up we have Savannah. A high sidhe lady and one of  my most loyal subjects. Savannah is a mistress of the sword and a  survivor of many battles. She has faced the Black Court many times  before and has a gift with fire, as do many in the court. She should be a  great asset to our endeavors." I wondered how much of her ever present  formality was the mantle and how much was training. Lily had been a  model in her mortal life, not a diplomat, I doubted this was her natural  speech pattern.

Oblivious  to my thought's she continued. " Ellery is an expert at stealth and  subterfuge. Able to disappear into the light at a moments notice and  strike with deadly efficiency, she is a master scout and a welcome  addition to any engagement. I would humbly submit that we send Ellery to  scout out the location before combat is joined, her eye for detail and  skill at analysis has kept her alive through many similar battles." I'd  been planning to have Hana do that, but since I didn't think she was  centuries old and the fae used magic like breathing that might be a  better plan, I nodded to show I'd think it over and Lily accepted that  and moved on.

I  could see the pride on her face as she listed off her retainers, that  she had managed to win over such powerful warriors. The next one must  have been something special because her smile was even more proud "  Simon is one of the most talented blademasters in faerie. He is known  throughout the world for his skill in combat and his amazing talent. He  has faced Denarians, fae, and even some minor gods over his long life  and is among all the bladesmen in Summer, the undisputed xenith of  skill. His decision to swear himself to me was one of my proudest  moments as Lady. In fact Simon is Fix's teacher with a blade, and sings  his praises regularly."

Fix  actually flushed a bit at that. The knight decided to pick up the last  two, leaving the Lady to finish her food. He'd already eaten his and  poked her in the ribs, earning an eye roll from Lily and making me  smile. Their continued closeness was a welcome show of Lily's humanity.  Fix smiled at the next one and I expected they might be close "Marrow is  an archer. She's one of the most skilled shots I've ever seen and has a  knack for hitting the heart. She's pretty damn nasty in close combat  when she needs to be but she really shines with a bow and arrow."

I  could tell from his tone he had a lot of admiration for Marrow, but the  last person on the list gave him pause. He seemed almost afraid. He  cleared his throat before listing the final member of the party.  "Jace...Jace is scary. He's a magic specialist, and he was a peer of  Jack while he was still alive. They had something of a rivalry. I  suspect her execution of Jack is what brought Jace into Lily's service.  He favors electricity, and is one of the most talented wielders of it in  the court. Fae centuries his senior are terrified of the guy."

I  couldn't help but notice the fairly decent distribution of skills  across these five and figured Lily had kept some of her weaker subjects  out of things which was fine. Her addition to our forces was more than  enough, and since she would be bringing Lord Raith to the party her  contribution was even more important. I smiled at her, telling her I  appreciated her commitment to our cause without saying thank you now  that we were even. I might like her but I didn't want to owe her. We  finished up our brunch and said our goodbyes agreeing to meet up in a  day or two. Then we headed for Harry's place, we needed to fill him in  and check on whether Ebenezar would be coming.