Escaping Destiny (16 page)

“Synthia, you need to rest. You need to allow
the medicine to help you,” Eliran said, taking in my shaken
pallor.

“I can’t
lose
this baby,” I whispered
as my chest burned with fear and unshed tears.

“Syn, no one in hell will touch our child,
including the sickness. Not even if we have to take him to your
world to save him,” Ryder said, scanning my face tenderly.

“Get Alden here, and Adrian and Vlad. Adam is
on his way. When they get here, we go Mage hunting,” I said,
fighting off more nausea.

“You are not going hunting,” Ryder
argued.

“Who the hell is going to stop me? They are
the ones causing this sickness in the children. So I say we catch
one and torture the prickless bastard until he tells us how they
are doing it. Then we stop it. We make this world safe for
our
child, Ryder.”

“I have men out searching for them,” he
continued to argue.

“Yet, they attacked the Shifters. Which means
they are attacking the smaller creatures of the Horde, the one’s
they stand a chance of fighting. Something drew them here, and
there’s a reason they are attacking the smaller clans. We just need
to catch one of them and figure it out when we do.”

“You get some rest. I’ll send out a notice
that we need one of the Mages alive. It’s the best I can do for
right now, Pet. I need to get the Horde under a bit more control
before I can leave for any length of time. I’m under constant
challenges right now, and I’m needed here.”

“I need you here, with me,” I whispered. I
needed his warmth and the comfort of his arms right now more than
anything. I was handling everything this world was throwing at me,
but he was a big part of why I was handling it so well.

He might not say the words I wanted to hear.
He may not have broken the contract. But I could tell he was trying
and he truly cared about me. And right now, that meant
everything.

Adam was waiting for me in a formal receiving
room, wearing jeans and a loose fitting black silk shirt when I saw
him. I wasted no time in running to him and throwing my arms around
his body in a bear hug. His arms wrapped around mine, and we stood
together like that for a while.

“I thought I had lost you,” he whispered.

“I thought I was going to have to kill the
Horde King!” I pulled back and studied his handsome face. He looked
well; he looked really well. I put a little distance between us,
and smiled. “Wow, you got buff,” I observed. His lime and emerald
eyes were brighter now, the black line that surrounded them more
defined.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled
Adam closer. “I missed you,” I whispered.

“You too.” He smiled against my neck. His
hands warmed against my back through the thin cotton dress I wore.
Turns out, hormones can make you easily overheat. I’d noted
swelling as well, in my boobs…I’d decided that pregnancy sucked
monkey nuts.

“How are things with you?” I asked as I
finally let go of his neck.

“I’m on the hunt,” Adam said, smiling
wickedly.

“For the Mages?”

“For my fiancée,” he answered, with a small
grin lighting up his face.

“Me?” I asked, watching as his grin falters,
and his lips turn up into a semblance of a smile.

“No, Sorcha,” he said, and I notice he’s
enunciating my name on his lips, teasing me.

“Then who?” I asked, because just name me
George and put me in a monkey suit, I was curious to see if Darynda
got the gossip right. He had been going to marry me, until I’d been
snatched from our handfasting ceremony.

“The Light Heir. I’m still engaged to her.
The prophecy still says we are the other half to putting Faery back
together. My father thinks it’s a good idea we begin looking for
her a bit more aggressively. The sickness is getting worse in the
Dark Kingdom now, and more land is being affected and more children
have been dying over the past few weeks. It’s heart breaking to see
it happening.”

“Oh,” I said quietly. I had already done one
freak out, and this was a sore subject right now.

“I hear I’m going to be an uncle?” He smiled
until it met his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. “How the hell did you find
out, anyway?”

“Ryder sent word to my father,” he
explained.

“You mean Ryder boasted about his
virility?”

“Pretty much,” he confirmed and shook his
head. “Having the Horde King’s love child? I never thought I’d see
the day that Synthia Raine McKenna had a love child…with a Fairy.”
He ducked quickly as I threw a punch at his shoulder, but
missed.

“Are you upset?” I asked carefully.

“That we didn’t make a baby? No. Syn, I came
to an understanding when you were taken. I don’t love you that way.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I totally thought I did,” his eyes
scanned my face, “but it wasn’t my love for you that I felt. It was
what you were feeling for him. You love him.”

I swallowed and considered the nearest exit
to escape and hide in. I wasn’t a coward, and I knew that had been
why Adam had been acting the way he had. We had a bond, and it fed
him my emotions as surely as I could feel his. “How’s your
dad?”

“Syn, this is me. You can’t lie any more than
I can. You can tell me anything, and you know that. I can feel the
hurt, the love, and most of all, I can feel the fear you are
feeling for your child.”

“Guilty, but that doesn’t mean I plan on
saying it out loud. Now, how did you get here?”

“Ryder said you needed to see some friendly
faces, and I am hoping that Ristan might get a solid lead on the
Light Heir.”

“That’s good, but are you ready?” I asked,
thinking it was a little too soon for him to be doing this. Larissa
had just moved on, and he’d loved her.

“Faery won’t wait for me to figure it out,
Synthia,” he said lightly. “I don’t need to love her to make a
child, I just need to fuck—”

“Got it,” I cut in quickly, not wanting him
to paint a vivid picture for me. “You should at least want more
than just a quick fuck, Adam.” I rolled my eyes when he awarded me
with a smile.

His eyes looked harder. We’d aged. Not in
years, though, mentally. We’d been through hell together, and yet
we’d both hung on and made it out on the other side alive. He at
least remembered his childhood in Faery now, so he was far more
accepting of their ways than I was. It still felt weird that he had
such an acceptance of his role in this world. I hoped he could find
his way back to being the sweet man I grew up with and could always
count on. I smiled at him. “Wanna grab something to eat?” I
asked.

“Synthia, are you asking me to put the moves
on the Horde King’s girl?” He shot me a mock look of horror.

“I’m not his girl,” I barked, shaking my head
at him.

“Oh you are. You just won’t admit it.”

“I am not!”

Yes, I was arguing for no good reason, but it
was Adam.

“He marked you. He couldn’t have said you
were his any better way than that.” He smiled, knowingly.

“He didn’t, not this time.”

“He did.”

“No, he didn’t. Last time it was…awkward. I’d
have known if he had, Adam.”

“Syn, I have Fae senses, and they are telling
me to back the fuck off. Very violently.”

“I’d know if he had marked me,” I argued.

“Would you?” he countered with a small frown
creasing his forehead.

“I’d have seen it.” I wasn’t sure who I was
trying to convince, myself or him?

“You are marked,” he shook his head, and
smiled again. “Let’s go grab some food, and we can talk some more.
You need to feed my nephew.”

*~*~*

I left Adam at the door to his room, which
was only three doors down from mine. He’d been told to ready
himself for dinner and that he would escort me himself tonight.

I was so happy the Fae actually ate food, and
some of it was incredible. The fruit that Ryder had fed me was
amazing, but then, it could have been because he was feeding it to
me and my senses had gone all haywire. I was standing with Darynda
inside the room when Ryder stuck his head in.

“There is a dinner tonight for the Dark
Princeling
…Syn needs to be dressed in something red to
symbolize the Blood Caste.” He was gone as soon as the last word
was said.

I was fighting the nausea again, but the meds
were helping. It sucked that being Fae didn’t cancel out the bad
parts of pregnancy. I had asked Darynda for an actual bath, and was
pleased when she had conjured water into the huge tub.

She’d also brought bath oils and towels,
which was nice since I couldn’t for the life of me glamour fabric
onto my ass. I was starting to think it had something to do with
the necklace Ryder refused to remove.

Dinner had been casual, and I had been
informed that there would be a huge feast and celebration very soon
for the crowning of the Horde King, since he had skipped the
formalities in his haste to get to me.

I enjoyed seeing Ryder and Adam interacting
with each other now that Adam and I were in on the secrets. When
Kier had taken Adam away from the presentation, evidently Ryder had
given him permission in those parting words to let Adam in on
everything. The first thing Adam had wanted to do after finding out
the truth was kick his ass for scaring the crap out of everyone.
The second thing he wanted to do was kick his father’s ass for
tricking him into thinking Ryder was his brother.

It was a relief knowing that Adam was here,
and that I could go to him when I needed to. I was sure that had
been why Ryder had brought him here, and for whatever reason he had
done it, I was happy he did.

It was refreshing to have Adam close by. It
was also a subtle reminder of how many people I had left in the
world. Ristan was slowly making his way to my heart. He was a hard
one not to like. Ryder had been a little distant, but then he had a
lot on his plate right now.

He had ascended, and with it, came everything
he had put off to find me and help the Dark King retrieve his
missing heir. He was running a kingdom now, and we were both trying
to figure it out as we went through it.

I was grateful for the time it gave me to
think, but also afraid that if I thought too much, I would want to
run. I had nowhere to go now. My house was gone. The apartment
wasn’t an option; not after what had occurred there. Adam was now
with his father, and it was where he belonged.

I just needed time to figure out where I
belonged, and time to wear Ryder down, and make him see that I was
worth fighting for. There would be no running from this; not now
that I was pregnant. I couldn’t leave a world to die either; not
when the child I carried could be the cure.

No, I just needed to find my place and make
sure it was beside Ryder. Even after everything I’d gone through
with him, I was willing to fight to keep him. I just needed to give
myself some time to adjust to the different culture, and the new
world I’d found myself living in.

It was both thrilling, and terrifying. Change
always was, though. The part that scared me most was having no
control over my own life. If I stayed, I’d be giving most of the
control to Ryder, but wouldn’t loving him, and being with him also
give him full control?

Ristan’s advice helped me, and I was
appreciative for it. The idea of being placed in the pavilion, and
left there bothered me the most. I wasn’t sure if he would do that,
but it was still there in the back of my mind that he could do it,
and easily.

I was inside my room before I thought to look
for Ryder’s mark, and I found it on my lower back, right above my
left cheek. I could have thrown a fit over it, but it looked sexy,
and Ryder would be expecting a fight. I could easily give it to
him, but I wanted to be unexpected. I wanted to make him wait for
it, and he would. He loved it when I gave him attitude, but the
truth was, if I was ever taken—I wanted him to find me.

For now, I’d let him think he’d won.

Make him wonder why I was so accepting this
time.

He needed to feel as if he had control over
me, and I understood that he wanted to keep the unborn babe safe as
well. Strangely, this gave me a level of warmth and pleasure
knowing he’d go out of his way to protect us both.

Ryder would be a fierce father, and protector
of our child. This was the safest place to have our child, and I
wasn’t an idiot. I needed to be here where they could help save my
child if anything went wrong. I was right where I needed to be. For
now.

A few days went by at somewhat of an easy
pace while I spent my time passing the endless hours in the bedroom
with Adam. Darynda had been great through it all—including the one
fit I’d thrown when Ryder had left to go scouting with his men.

I was going stir crazy and had never been one
to be idle. Ryder seemed to think that I would be meek and timid
now that he had become the Horde King, and I was pregnant with his
heir. Yeah, right…so not going to happen!

Today I had asked Darynda to find a swimsuit,
and since she didn’t seem to understand what I was looking for, she
was currently out trying to find someone who could do just that. It
wasn’t until Zahruk came to the door that I groaned.

“I was informed you were in need of swim
wear?” He asked, scanning the room before he pushed through the
threshold and smiled.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leveled
him with a narrow eyed gaze. “I am, I’m tired of sitting in a room
and watching the clock tick by until Ryder allows me out to
play.”

“Allows you out to play? You have free reign
of the pavilion. No one can get in or out of it without us knowing.
You were kept here because Ryder was worried about your
comfort.”