Escaping Destiny (17 page)

“Just dress me up and let me out.”

“As you wish.” Zahruk bowed his dark blonde
head and flashed me with his electric blue eyes. I felt his magic
cut through the air, as a simple blue bikini replaced my skirt and
top. He nodded, but before he turned to walk away, a simple white
cover of sheer silk was wrapped around my form.

“Thanks,” I mumbled and watched his wide back
as he walked away.

“Ready?” Darynda chimed in with a brilliant
smile as she returned.

In the pavilion there were women sitting
around doing different activities together—or there was, until we
walked in. Every eye in the place turned in our direction as we
entered, followed closely by Sinjinn and Aodhan.

I smiled and ignored the dirty looks the
group gathered around Claire tossed at me. She’d been nice when
we’d first met, but I was willing to bet it was because she hadn’t
planned on me sticking around long.

“Flower,” Ristan said as he sifted in beside
me.

“Demon,” I tossed over my shoulder as I
continued to the pool.

“I take it this isn’t for relaxation?”

“I need to stay in shape, and sitting in a
bedroom won’t do that,” I replied as we entered the back of the
pavilion where a more private pool was. They had three pools. One
for the children, which, I’d only saw a few of them so far. Another
was in the main room and was full of women splashing and playing
around in the nude—no wonder Darynda was having a tough time with
the idea of the swimsuit.

I was still a bit miffed that the first time
I had seen the pavilion, I had no idea I was in the Horde
Realm.

I’d chosen this one because it was currently
empty, so I could swim paces and work at keeping my physical form
in shape. Baby or no baby, I was a warrior and that wasn’t changing
due to a mommy status being stamped on my forehead.

“Sooo, I take it you are a bit restless?” he
ventured.

“Brilliant deduction, Sherlock,” I gritted
out. He smiled annoyingly at me.

“I’ll see what we can do about providing some
adequate entertainment for you.”

“Like spin the Fairy? Pin the tail on the
Demon?” I snapped.

“Oh, ouch! Touché, Princess. I’ll keep in
mind to manifest a few bottles, and a donkey for you. Wouldn’t want
to end up with a tail pinned to my ass, now would I?” He slid his
hands to his butt protectively for a moment. “I was actually
thinking of the libraries, and getting you acclimated with our
history, seeing that sparring and weaponry are off your schedule
for right now,” he went on mischievously. I looked at him
gratefully.

“I would prefer the sparring, and sticking a
certain Fairy with a dagger has a nice appeal to it. Okay, the
libraries would be a nice change. Please?” I gave him the pleading
puppy eyes, and he laughed. At least that would go a long way to
relieving some of the boredom.

I shook out of the silk cover and let it
slide to the floor effortlessly. Ristan and the men quietly left
the poolside room, leaving Darynda and myself alone. I sat down and
let my feet slip into the cool water. Obviously, this wasn’t one of
the heated pools.

I let the stress run off of me as I let the
water calm the racing of my heart. It hadn’t slowed down any since
Transition, and everything was moving entirely too fast. I’d been
devastated at the thought of losing Ryder when they’d said I was
the missing Light Heir.

Now that I had him, and knew what and who he
was, I wasn’t sure where that left us. I wasn’t about to become his
just because he could keep me here by sheer force. The night he’d
taken me beside the pool had been amazing, but he’d only come to
feed once since then.

He was busy being the Horde King, and I knew
that wasn’t going to get easier for a while. He’d spoken of being
challenged by his own people, and the other Castes of Fae; ones
that his own father had tormented.

“You keep glaring like that, and the water
might turn to ice,” Darynda said, sitting beside me.

“Sorry, just thinking about things,” I
mumbled and pushed off the side of the pool. The water was
shockingly cold and a gasp left my lips unexpectedly. “Shit, that
is cold!”

Darynda laughed but made no move to jump in.
She’d glamoured on a swimsuit as well, now that she knew what one
was. “Mind if I leave for a few minutes? There’s someone I’d like
to go see really fast.”

I shook my head. “Go ahead. I’m going to get
used to the water and just do a few laps.” I wondered if it was to
see someone or some male—hey, I knew enough about how things worked
around here, and I understood that my girls had to feed, too.

As soon as she was gone, I started to run in
place, letting my body get accustomed to the chill of the pool. I
turned my head and stared at the closed door, wondering if my
guards were just outside, or if they had moved onto somewhere
else.

I felt a ripple tear through the air around
the pool, and before I could do more than turn around—Liam
appeared.

“Sister,” he said with coolness to his
tone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, moving
closer to the side of the pool he stood on.

“I’ve come up with a plan to get you out of
here,” he said, kneeling down as he shook his blonde hair from his
face. His blue and purple gaze looked a little too cocky.

“Um, what?” I asked, not sure if I wanted his
answer, but curious enough to ask all the same.

“News has traveled to the Blood Realm that
the Horde King has a child on the way,” he answered as his eyes
scanned the door and came back to rest on mine.

“So I’ve heard,” I whispered, wondering where
the hell he was going with
that
line.

“I plan to kidnap her and ransom her for your
own release. If he even thinks this child could be his Heir, he’d
void out the contract father made.”

“By kidnapping the concubine that is
pregnant?” I asked for clarification.

“Yes, I need you to help me, though. I need
you to sneak me inside the pavilion, and point out which one is
pregnant.”

Oh the irony!

“You know that the pavilion is full of
guards…right?”

“Synthia, I don’t have much time. This is the
only way I can get you out of here. I can’t just take you from
here; you are bound by the contract. She, however, isn’t. Not if I
take her with me.”

“So, let me get this straight,” I said,
watching him scan the room and the door. “You steal the Horde
King’s concubine, and you exchange her, for me. Then what? You
think he wouldn’t come after the Blood Fae over this?”

“He is a new king, Sister. He will be
bombarded by challenges, and trying to rein in the Horde for
months,” he said, holding out his hand to help me up from the
pool.

I accepted it and exited the pool
silently.

“You will need to cause a scene, something
that will make the guards go after you. Can you do that?”

I blinked and shook my head. I knew how much
it had taken him to come back here. He’d been tortured here, his
hands cut from his body. He’d endured more than any one person
should ever live through. And he’d come back to this place, for
me.

“Liam, we can’t do this. I’m sorry,” I
whispered.

“We can, and we will. Right now the Horde
King is out checking the borders. He won’t be back for a while,”
Liam said, standing up to his full height.

“Liam, I am the pregnant concubine,” I
whispered, meeting his eyes that were so much like my own.

I watched as he shook his head and did the
math inside his head. “Look, if you want to be his whore, you can
just say it!” He growled, his eyes flashing with anger.

“Ryder is the Horde King. He’s the same one
who brought me back inside Faery; the one who accidently undid the
protection spell on my skin. He was playing a part, and since the
Dark King was his uncle, and had adopted him—he played that part
well. I had no idea that he was the Horde King, or that it was him
when I was being gifted to him. But this plan? It won’t work,
because I’m pregnant with his child,” I said, watching as his
features fell from the news.

“Fuck!” he whispered vehemently.

“I’m okay here,” I assured him, but his eyes
were now wild and when I reached out to touch him, he recoiled from
my touch.

“I have to go. I’ll find a way to save you
Sister. I will,” he said, and sifted out.

I finished my exercises in the pool,
disturbed by the desperation that had been stamped on Liam’s face.
There was also the sudden absence of the guards, and Darynda. And,
well, there was the fact that five minutes after Liam had sifted
out, they’d all returned together.

They’d known. I kept the fact that I knew
that they knew to myself. I waited until I was back inside my
bedroom to excuse myself from Darynda, and entered Ryder’s room—to
find him leaning against a wall, bathed in shadows.

“Nice try,” I said, stopping just inside the
threshold. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a slight chill
from the window he had opened.

“Hmm?” he made the noise from between his
full lips.

“Liam was here, but then you knew that
already,” I accused. He’d set me up!

“I always know when someone sifts inside my
stronghold. He was allowed inside. He was also allowed to leave. I
am aware of everything that goes on inside these walls, Pet.”

“Why? Why allow him in; to see how faithful I
was?” I was done being nice, he’d actually set me up to test me.
I’d passed, but he had no idea how much in love with him I was.

“I needed him to see that you were unharmed
so that he could return and report it to your family. I wanted him
to see that he couldn’t take my concubine without breaking the
contract. Liam is a warrior, and he needed to see with his own
eyes, and hear with his own ears that you are mine. I respect him.
The entire time he was a
guest
here, he never begged for
mercy, and he never complained.”

“A
guest
? You cut his hands off and
sent them to my parents! If that’s how you treat your guests, then
I’m afraid to see what you do to your enemies.” I rolled my eyes at
his flippant comment concerning my brother.

“Liam was in my father’s custody for years.
He’d already been caged, and tortured when I found him rotting in
the dungeon. I took his hands, yes, but only because your parents
refused my offer. Synthia, I did what I had to do in order to get
you. I don’t regret what I did, nor do I regret the fact that I
have you here now.”

“As your concubine,” I growled.

“I’ll take you however I can get you,” he
answered with a grin that I could see even through the shadows that
bathed his face.

“I thought you were out patrolling the
borders?”

“I was, earlier. I got word that the Mages
had moved their encampment; they’d been tipped off by someone. They
have someone inside the walls of this kingdom, or close to it,
helping them. Most likely it is Dresden. He’s not happy that he is
no longer in the favor of the Horde King. My father was of the same
ilk, not me. His challenge has been issued, as well as many others.
Your brother told you as much. Did he not?” He finished and stepped
from the shadows. “How are you feeling?”

I narrowed my eyes on him coldly. “Like I
should throw up on your shoes.” I was tired of the games. “Next
time, Ryder, if you want them to see me, just invite them in. Stop
with the fucking Fae games, or just keep me out of them.”

“We found another relic; one we can get to,”
he said, smoothly changing the subject. “I leave in the morning to
get it.”

“I’m going with you,” I said, meeting his
golden stare.

“No, you are staying put.”

“I’m pregnant, Ryder. I’m not made of glass.
I am going with you. If it gets dangerous, I’ll leave. I won’t let
anything happen to our child.”

His eyes lowered to my flat stomach. “Our
child,” he tested the words on his tongue.

“I’m going,” I repeated.

“I’d rather you stay here where it is safe
for you both.”

“I’d rather be with you,” I protested, making
sure to stand my ground.

“Fine, but you need to be cleared by Eliran
before you can go,” he growled and pinned me with an angry
look.

“Fine,” I chirped triumphantly.

“Fine,” he said on an exasperated sigh. He
held his hand out, and I quickly accepted it. He sifted us into the
medical ward, which was where Eliran could normally be found. We’d
been there less than twenty seconds before Ryder started bellowing
orders. “Eliran, now!”

“You don’t have to shout,” I muttered.

“Synthia! The medicine not working?” Eliran
rounded the corner with his hair sticking up as if he’d been
resting, or worse, feeding before we’d so rudely interrupted.

“They are working wonders,” I smiled and
thanked him. In a matter of moments, I ended up on a table next to
one of the 3D ultrasound machines. From the looks of it, Eliran had
been busy back in the human world.

“This is going to be cold,” he said before
squeezing a container that looked like something ketchup would come
out of over my stomach. I rested my head on my arm as I got
comfortable.

He placed the globe looking wand over my
stomach and pressed in gently. I watched the monitor silently as he
moved it up and down until he stopped and flipped on a switch. The
noise coming through it sounded like static.

“That’s the heartbeat,” he replied to my
silent question.

Heat flushed through me and my eyes swung to
Ryder’s with a grin from ear to ear covering my lips. My baby had a
heartbeat!

“Oh, crap,” Eliran said.

“What’s wrong?” Ryder and I both asked at the
same time.

“There’s a head,” Eliran said, pointing it
out on the screen, “and there’s another one.”

I felt my stomach drop. “Oh my God, my baby
has two heads!?” I cried, feeling as if the table had fallen out
from beneath me and my entire world was crumbling.