“I’m not mad at you. I understand now why you did it. At the same time, I’m not the only one who you should apologize to. Your actions didn’t only hurt me. I had previously claimed a familiar in the Dark Prince, and when Faolán killed my parents, I stole him from this world with my pain. It was unfair to him and his family as well,” I said before taking a breath.
“You are your mother’s daughter. This entire time you have been talking, you have been more worried of what happened to those around you,” he said, meeting and holding his wife’s eyes.
We talked into the night, and, while it felt good to have closure, I missed Ryder and Adam. When I started fighting sleep, my mother smiled. “Come, child, tomorrow is a big event for the entire kingdom, and I’m sure you could use some sleep.”
“If you’re planning on putting me in the nursery, I think you’re going to need a bigger crib,” I replied.
“Of course not. I gave away a beautiful baby over twenty years ago. The beautiful woman that has returned now is much too big to fit inside the tiny crib that your father made just for you.”
My mother didn’t have fangs, but I’d noticed that all of her children, along with my father, did. So much for hoping they went away. I was shown to a room that was beautiful, even though it was done in white. White silk covered the bed, and windows. I looked out the window, and smiled at the sheer cliff side that was the view from below the window. They didn’t plan on letting me go until I was presented to the Horde King.
“You need some sleep, daughter. Tomorrow, we will talk more of our plans,” she said and stood there hesitantly.
I smiled at her. This woman had been through hell, and, even though it had been a choice, I couldn’t blame her for it. I probably would have made the same stupid choices if I thought it helped those I’d loved. I stepped closer, not sure of what I had intended to do, but, in the end, I wrapped my arms around her and listened as she started to cry against my shoulder. Her arms tightened around me as she buried her face in my neck and cried. It was awkward for me, but I knew she needed this; I’d seen it in her eyes.
We were still standing like that when my father came around the door and stopped dead in his tracks. He swallowed and smiled sadly. “Madisyn,” he whispered, but I shook my head.
“She’s fine,” I replied, tightening my own arms around her. For some reason, I didn’t want her to stop hugging me. I swallowed back my own tears as my siblings sifted into the room, as if brought by their mother’s tears. I wondered what it would be like to have this many people who cared about me in my life.
My sister watched with her own tears streaking down her face while my brothers looked on uncomfortably as any male would with a crying female on hand. When Madisyn pulled away, she smiled. “Thank you. I’d thought to never hold you against me again.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Tears were choking down any words that tried to come up as my throat grew tight with emotion. She smiled and brought her hand up to touch my cheek. “If you need to cry, daughter, I will hold you.”
“Crying will change nothing. In the end, they can only be used against you. You’d do well to remember it tomorrow, for if he sees a kink in our armor, he will use it.”
“You sure she doesn’t have balls?” Liam said, stepping closer to me.
“Liam!” My mother cried.
“Oh, I got big balls. I beat every male in my class just to prove how big they were,” I said, smirking at him.
“We need sleep, and to prepare our defenses for when the Horde King comes tomorrow,” my father said with pride shining in his eyes.
Chapter Forty Two
I was dreaming. I knew it, because I felt weightless and the day’s events no longer seemed as overwhelming as they really were. I was dressed in a soft, pastel-pink baby doll nightgown that showed way too much to be considered appropriate. I closed my eyes and inhaled the intoxicating scent of Ryder. I made a sound that was half need, half hunger deep in my throat, before I turned from the bed to look at the door.
He stood there in a midnight colored cloak. His face was hidden by the shadows, until he pushed the hood off, and revealed his face. “It’s about time, Pet. I was beginning to think you’d never sleep.”
“I knew you would come for me,” I said, slipping off of the bed and standing up. I was ready to go, but then the weightless feeling came back. “You’re not here; this is a dream,” I whispered and lifted my eyes to his as my smile fell.
“I need to know where you are and how badly you are hurt,” he said, stepping closer to me.
“I’m with my parents, and I wasn’t hurt too bad. It was easily healed.”
“Funny girl,” he retorted, “Tell me where you are being held, Synthia.”
“I’m with the Blood King and Queen,” I said and smiled as his eyes widened with shock as my words sank in.
“Why are you with the Blood King?” he asked carefully, placing his hands on my shoulders and pulling me close against his body.
“Because, he is my father,” I whispered as I pressed myself against him, and lifted my arms around his neck.
“Synthia, this is serious,” he growled throatily as he lowered his mouth to the tender flesh behind my ear and nuzzled it with his nose softly. It sent heat pulsing to one particular spot between my thighs. “I need you to tell me why you think they are your parents, when you wouldn’t believe the Light Fae were.”
“Ryder, they knew about the tattoo that suppressed my powers, as well with the wards on the walls of my house. They did it to hide me, so you were right, they didn’t abandon me. They did it to protect me, and when I met my father something inside of me clicked into place. As if the final pieces to my life were meeting and connecting. I felt him inside of me. They said they took me to the Harvest Festival, and they also told me that they buried a child in a tomb that was marked for me. They did it all because they agreed to some sort of contract with the Horde and my father to get my brother back and stop the fighting between the Horde and the Blood Fae. Now that I’m back, they said they have to give me over to him, or this stupid war they have going will never end with him.”
He pulled back from me and shook his head in wonder. “That means you really aren’t the Light Heir. Shit.”
“Does this mean I don’t have to marry Adam now?”
He hesitated, but when I tried to pull away from him as the pain lashed through me with his unspoken words, he pulled me back. “No, you don’t have to marry Adam. The contract is void if you are not the Light Heir. This puts a new spin on things, though, and we still need to get you out of the Blood Court.”
“Well, then there’s also the part where I’m to be given to the Horde King tomorrow.” I mumbled it, because saying it out loud just tasted dirty.
“They are planning on giving you to the Horde? Are you sure?” he asked as everything in his face, emotion wise, shut down.
“That’s their plan, and, of course, I’m once again unable to sift because of a stupid necklace,” I showed him the torque that Liam had magically wielded around my neck.
“At least, for now you are safe, and I know they won’t harm you,” he said hesitantly as he walked me with his body backward, his hard muscles pressed against mine until my legs folded as they connected with the bed.
I fell back against the soft mattress with a startled squeak, but his body pressed and held mine down, stifling any other complaints from my lips. He didn’t kiss me. Instead, his lips curled in to a wicked smile as his fingers played with a soft tendril of hair that had fallen over my face.
“They plan to give me to the Horde King tomorrow in some kind of ceremony in front of the entire kingdom,” I said softly, and quickly wetted my lips.
“I bet they do. It’s a show to ensure the Horde does not retaliate while under truce. Do you know anything else they have planned?” he continued.
“No, they plan to go through with giving me over, and that’s the end of it. Ryder, if he is like they say he is, I need you
to tell me everything you know about the Horde King; weaknesses, shortcomings, anything that can help me—because I think the only way to get myself out of this mess is to kill the Horde King,” I said, knowing if I could tell anyone my plan, it was Ryder.
His eyes grew large and round. “You’re going to kill the Horde King? That’s a joke, right?” he asked as his eyes once again narrowed as he took in my face, which was all the proof he needed to tell him I wasn’t joking.
“No, it’s the only way to void the contract my parents made with him. We’ve thought him missing this entire time and he’s been here the whole time. My parents told me he makes regular demands from them, so he’s got to be around. If I take him out I’ll be free, Ryder. I’ll be free to go with who I want to, and I can help you find the real Light Heir and get the relics.”
“You’re talking about killing the Horde King; the fucking Horde King. Have you even thought about how disastrous that would be, not to just to your health, but to the entire caste of the Blood Fae? Or did your newly found family talk you into it?” He was mad, and it showed and resonated like a tuning fork from his entire body pressed against mine.
“It’s the only way I can get away from him. I’m going to the Horde King! I’m supposed to be some timid female. He’ll never expect it, so it’s perfect.”
Ryder glared down at me, “You think you’re the first fucking person to try killing him? He can’t be killed; your parents are sending you on a fucking suicide mission.”
“My father didn’t ask me to do it, and I won’t let him hurt me. There’s a way—there has to be a way to kill him,” I argued.
He was right, it was a suicide mission, and while it sounded impossible, there had to be a way to do it. If not, how had the last Horde King managed it?
“I’m coming to get you, so get any thoughts of killing the Horde King right out of that mind of yours.” He lowered his mouth and kissed my forehead gently before his hand slipped between us, and ran over the flesh of my abdomen. “Promise you will let me save you and then we can figure out what to do about the contract.”
“I can’t promise you that,” I whispered and searched his eyes.
“Dammit woman,” he growled before claiming my lips in a bone melting kiss. “I’m coming to get you. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Ryder, I need you,” I moaned hungrily, but noticed he was moving away from me to stand up.
“Be a good girl for me and I’ll save you from the big, bad Horde King. I’m coming to get you, Pet, so remember you just admitted that you need me. Watch for me tomorrow, and don’t let these people talk you into doing anything stupid…like killing the Horde King who can’t be killed by just fucking anybody.”
“You gonna scale the walls and be my Prince Charming?” I asked, raising a delicate brow in question.
“No Pet, I’ll be your Prince Fucking Charming,” he smiled wickedly and disappeared.
I allowed a single sob to escape my chest, but it wasn’t until someone else started to form that I really sobbed. She was beautiful with long blonde curls, and blue-green eyes. An un-controllable sob racked my body as she looked around surprised until her eyes landed on me.
“Synthia,” she whispered and ran toward me as I stood and opened my arms.
I was still dreaming, I knew because she was dead. I’d killed her myself by deflecting the bullet she had aimed at me on that horrible day. There. I was sure I was dreaming, because, here, she had no blood from the gunshot, and no evidence of the horror that she’d endured at the hands of the Fae.
“Momma,” I whispered, afraid she’d disappear on me.
“Oh, Baby, you’re so grown up now,” she whispered and moved to close the distance between us.
“Momma,” I whispered and threw myself in to her arms. God, she felt so real. “I’m so sorry!” I sobbed, finally letting it all out.
“Synthia, you were only five years old. You couldn’t have saved us from the Fae. You did as I told you to, and it’s the only thing I wanted you to do that night. I need you to know that we have never blamed you for what happened to us. Never has it crossed our minds, Baby. You gave us what we couldn’t give ourselves; a beautiful daughter who, even though she was shy, she loved us in her own way. You gave us the innocent love of a child, and that itself was the greatest gift we could have ever known. We always knew that someday someone would come to try and take you away, but you were the one thing in our lives worth dying for. I wouldn’t change my life. I was a mother, and you make me proud to call you mine.”
“But I could have saved you both. I was strong, even then. One spell and we could have all been protected—we could have all lived,” I cried, pulling away from her.
“And if you couldn’t? We made a choice that night, Synthia; one that ensured that you would survive. A mother never takes a chance with her child’s life. I knew what they wanted when they came to the door. I could feel their hatred even before they knocked on it, and kicked it in. I knew how evil he was then. There was no way in hell I would allow him to find you.”
“I’m being given to the Horde King tomorrow, so you died for nothing,” I swiped the tears away furiously.
“I know, but you won’t end up unhappy, Baby. You will find your love; I promise you that. Synthia Raine, listen to me carefully. Hear what I am saying. Someday someone is going to look at you with a sparkle in their eyes as if you are the most beautiful woman alive. They’ll look at you like you are everything they’ve ever wanted, everything they’ve ever dreamt about. Wait for it, my daughter, for he will be the light that brings you to life, and lights your way through the darkness.”
I smiled through the tears. “I want what you and daddy had,” I replied softly.
“That is the key to finding what you need, Synthia; remember it always. Please remember that our sacrifice was not in vain, for you lived. You carry us with you and you will always keep us alive. In here,” she touched my heart. “Never forget us. Remember, we loved you more than life, so when it became a choice, we made the right one. We have no regrets and you shouldn’t either.”
I woke crying, this time. Screw sleep; that shit wasn’t working for me. I sat up and walked to the window and tried to open them, but they wouldn’t budge. I was freaking locked in! I paced the room angrily. I was replaying Ryder’s, and then my mother’s, conversation in my head. In less than twelve hours, I’d be gifted to none other than the Horde King.
I was glad to find that I wasn’t walking around half naked and that I was still in the long black nightgown I’d glamoured on before bed and not the pink baby-doll nightie from my dream. I went back to the large window and looked out again. Was Ryder out there even now, searching for me? Or was he planning to kill the Horde King outright to claim me? He’d given me to Adam, basically on a fucking platter. But that had been to save his world, and now I wasn’t the Light Heir, so it had to be off the table…right? He couldn’t scale the walls and save me and then hand me off to another man.
Right?
Maybe?
Dammit!
I was still pacing when Adaryn sifted into the room. Wearing all black. I jumped into a fighting pose and leveled a mean glare at him, for which he laughed.
“Relax. I just came to check on you. My room is next door, and you’re a loud walker.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
“Come, you were not the only one who couldn’t sleep,” he said.
I wrapped my arms around my chest and glamoured on a long black skirt, and a matching long sleeve knit top, since the chill of my dreams had seeped in to my bones. I walked with him down to a large room where the rest of my family were sitting and talking already.
We sat for hours with them asking me about my previous life that we didn’t get to talk about yet, and me doing the same. It was sorta comforting knowing they were semi-normal. They argued like siblings and even our parents butted in with a snarky comment here and there. They had what I had pined for after my guardians had been killed.
>
The time came to prepare and the palace was a flurry of activity. Spells for peace were being written in blood on the walls by artisans as weapons were being sharpened by the men at arms. They were planning for an attack, or, maybe they were planning against one. It was all happening so fast.
If Ryder couldn’t get me out of this, I still knew he would eventually find the cure for Faery, and, with it, our worlds would be saved. I’d escaped one life, to another of which was way worse. One I wouldn’t walk away from. I’d actually felt torn and awkward at the thought of marrying Adam, but now facing the Horde King, it seemed almost insane to have complained about it at all.
I couldn’t get a break, nor could I get away from my family to see if Ryder was here to save me. I wanted to cry and scream at the unfairness of it all. But what good would it do? McKenna’s had pride, and it might be my downfall, but I’d get through this somehow. Ryder would make it; had promised he would get me out of this. For the first time in my life, I felt like a damsel in distress waiting for her prince Charming.
If Prince Charming didn’t come, I was probably going to kill the Horde King, or die trying…I was leaning toward the whole ‘die trying’ part.
Chapter Forty Three
I was dressed in an elegant light blue gown; one that had a slit to the waist, and a crisscross bodice that sat low enough to show off the top cleavage of my breasts. My mother wept while she brushed my hair for the last time. She continued to brush it until it looked as if it was made from the same silky soft material of the dress. Silver torques of royalty had been placed on my biceps, while one with a blood-red ruby in the center was secured to my neck as the other was removed. I was asked to hold still so that the painter could paint the outlines of my brands with the small paintbrush that had crimson colored paint on the tip.
“She will paint them, so he knows who you are, and of what blood you were born of,” my mother explained.
It took over an hour of being prepared, before my mother had me slip on the small flat sandals that tied up to my calves. No one spoke as the time grew closer. Everyone in the room was acting more like this was a mourning procession than a gifting ceremony…whatever the hell that was. It wasn’t until a translucent veil was placed over my hair, and the silver circlet secured over the veil on my head that I allowed myself to exhale a shuddering breath.