Escaping Destiny (22 page)

“Just seeing if she’s into me, my King.”

“She’s not,” Ristan said as he pushed his way
through to where the Elite Guard had gathered. Darynda was standing
beside Z, and Adam, who would be joining us for the trial according
to Ryder. He wore black armor as well, but on his was a coat of
arms that marked him as a royal from the Dark Kingdom.

Darynda waved to me, but she was eyeing
Zahruk with something akin to hunger in her eyes. I shook my head
as Ryder headed to the horse and easily mounted him. He turned back
to me and held out his hand. I accepted it, and was assisted by
Ristan, who had snuck up behind me.

“Allow me, Flower,” he said smoothly, as he
hefted me up to Ryder, who placed me astride the horse, in front of
him.

I was wrapped in one of Ryder’s big arms, as
he turned to address the crowd gathering in the huge courtyard. “We
ride for the Horde!” He growled over the crowd, and it erupted in
cheers that sent my skin tingling with the sheer volume of it.
“Those who stay are to protect the kingdom, and those who ride
protect the princess, and the future heir!”

I rolled my eyes. The big guy was a little
too happy that his little warriors got the job done. It was a once
in a lifetime (I hoped) thing to see the Horde warriors, and the
elite guard ride out of the castle. They moved like a well-oiled
machine, the entire assembly was three horses wide, and as far as
the eye could see when I tried to look back.

“Am I riding the entire time?” I asked as I
noticed a few wagons toward the back.

“You ride with me. I can make sure you are
safe this way. The Mages are in the area, and the Shifter is here
to sniff them out if they get too close. I’m not taking any chances
with you. We won’t be able to use glamour, or cast magic when we
leave these walls. It is part of what I was telling you last night;
to be mentally ready, we must walk as mortals. The elders thought
it gave the warriors time to reflect on their past as they prepared
for their future as a chosen warrior,” he replied against my
ear.

“You plan on squishing me with your arm for
the entire ride?” I countered as I turned my face and looked up
into his beautiful amber eyes.

He laughed and loosened his hold on me as I
shifted to rest against his back. “How long of a ride is this?”

“A few days journey to reach the trail to the
labyrinth. After that it should be two weeks or so, to reach the
actual labyrinth itself. The men and Adam will stay with you when I
enter the trial.”

“Ryder, Vlad and his men have arrived,”
Ristan said as he rode up beside us.

“Good, find the Shape Shifter and see if he
has caught any scent of the Mages.”

When it got quiet again, I closed my eyes and
rested against the protection of Ryder’s body. His soothing scent
wafted in, and even though it was morning, I fell asleep in his
arms. In the last month I’d been falling asleep with an ease I
wasn’t used to. I was willing to bet it had something to do with
being pregnant.

I awoke to Ryder whispering in my ear, and
opened my eyes to see everyone around us dismounting. I yawned and
turned my face to his. “Are we there yet?” I asked, knowing we
weren’t.

“No; we need to water the horses, and rest
them for a little while. You slept for a couple of hours straight,”
he informed me with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

“That’s what happens when you keep me up all
night,” I shot back, barely concealing a smile and slight blush. He
dismounted and held his arms out for me, so I slid from the horse
and was instantly pressed between his body and that of his huge war
horse.

“I enjoyed last night. Didn’t you?” he asked,
and my heart melted right into my feet. I had. I’d enjoyed being
with him and his beast. It had felt right, as if this was where I
was supposed to be, and I was his. Right about the time I was going
to reply, Claire came strolling up to where we stood.

“Darynda is looking for you, Synthia,” she
said sweetly, as she batted her almond shaped eyes at Ryder. “Is
there anything you desire from me, Sire?”

“Not at the moment, Claire,” Ryder replied,
and I felt my claws extend. I pulled away from Ryder and took off
without asking where Darynda was, only when a hand landed on my
arm, did I notice that I’d started walking without asking where she
was.

“Princess,” Silas said, as he stopped me from
entering the wooded area. “It’s not safe to wander around
unprotected.”

“Who says I’m unprotected?” I asked, lifting
a brow at him. I may have wandered off, but I was never
unprotected.

“I wouldn’t wander too far, Princess, you
might get eaten by the big bad wolf,” he continued.

“Is that so? I have an army behind me, and I
assure you that I am never defenseless,” I dropped my voice a few
octaves to make sure he understood what I was saying.

“You’re pregnant,” he replied, as if that
alone meant I was a defenseless female.

“I am, but I’m also a trained assassin of the
Guild. I enforced the laws inside the human world, and I was damn
good at it. I may be pregnant, but I can still kick ass.”

He smiled, his eyes lighting up with
something akin to pride. “You will be a worthy queen to our king.”
He bowed his head, causing his shoulder length blonde hair to brush
against his shoulders. “I’ll escort you back all the same. I’d feel
much better knowing you were safe within camp.”

I didn’t argue with him, since I hadn’t meant
to come in this direction, anyway. I didn’t stand around to see if
he followed, as I headed back in the direction I had come from. I
made it five feet before I was surrounded by Ryder’s posse, and
Ryder himself. He and the Shifter stared at one another for a
moment with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Don’t get all pissy with him, Ryder. He only
told me to turn my ass around and come back to where it was safe.”
I wasn’t sure why I stuck up for the guy, other than, I knew he
hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t deserve to be throttled by
the crew currently standing around us with their hands on their
weapons.

“Silas?” Ryder growled his name, as though it
was a vile thing on his tongue.

“I caught the scent of the Mage, who has been
trailing us for the last mile. I didn’t think it wise that she go
toward it in her current condition,” he explained.

“Z, Sinjinn, Aodhan, go scout. Synthia, come
to me, now.”

“You guys do know that pregnancy isn’t a
condition, right?” I mumbled, even though I had stopped worrying
about it. I was more worried that Mages were on our trail. The fact
that they were in Faery meant they had followed us, but why? I knew
they wanted to ruin Faery, but this shit was getting personal
really quick.

“Why the hell did you wander off?” Ryder
demanded as soon as the men all hurried off in different
directions. “I told you to stay close!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I figured you would want me
to make myself scarce so you could service Claire!” I’d spun around
on him with my hands fisted at my sides. Great way to hide the fact
that I was jealous of that tramp! Ninny!

“You sound jealous,” he purred.

“Suck it, Fairy!”

“I don’t plan to suck anything. I plan to
lick it until it flows down my face. Now answer the question; are
you jealous?” he continued.

I wanted to scream no, but being that I was
now Fae, I couldn’t lie. This sucked! I narrowed my eyes while
watching his smile break across his lips. “And if I was?”

“Are you?”

“If I was?”

“Are you?”

“Are we, what?” Ristan asked, as the entire
camp shook from an explosion. Ryder grabbed me quickly, and pushed
me behind his back.

“To me!” he shouted with enough force to
bring every guard in the camp to us. They created a shield around
me, and the other women that were pushed inside the protective
barrier of the men. “Vlad!” he ordered, and I watched through his
arms as Vlad, Adrian, Zade, and more men that Vlad had brought with
him moved protectively to the front of us.

“On it,” Vlad said, and began shouting out
orders rapidly. Smoke rose from the trees where the men had gone to
look for traces of the Mage. I looked in the air, and saw some of
the tree tops on fire, but rain pelted them now, as if someone had
placed a cloud above the fire.

I turned and watched as Darynda moved her
fingers in a circular pattern as she made her way to me. She made
it rain! I grinned to myself, and kept that it was her to myself as
well. The rules of the trial did say we could manifest water. When
she reached me, it was to shiver violently before she clasped my
hand.

“Are you well?” she asked, and I nodded at
her question.

I felt something touch my shoulder through
the cloak, and turned to find the Shifter watching me closely, with
his hand pressed to my shoulder. He removed it and nodded to me,
before he turned and melted into the crowd.

“Are you sure?” Darynda pried.

“Me and bombs are on a first name basis,” was
my reply, which caused her to look at me as if I was insane. “We
are close, like this,” I crossed my finger and wiggled my eyebrow,
trying to reassure her I was fine.

I could smell blood before Aodhan came into
sight with it oozing down his face. I felt my fangs pulse in my
mouth and brought my hand up to hide them. I smelled the iron that
was thick in the air as well, and knew he’d be harmed with the
deadly metal. I felt the pull to heal, and pushed at Ryder, who
turned and looked at me.

“He’s hurt,” I said.

“Stay there, Synthia. They didn’t come here
for Aodhan; they came for you and the child you carry,” Ryder
growled.

I didn’t push, though. Instead, I nodded.
“Then bring him to me. I need to heal him,” I said quietly, for his
ears alone.

“Synthia,” he warned.

“Don’t you Synthia me, Fairy. I
have
to help him.”

I felt the urge pulling inside of me. It
wasn’t a choice; I needed to help him. If I didn’t, I’d be
violently ill. It was like something else was inside of me, trying
to come out. My hand trembled with the need to touch him, to run
over his skin and pull the iron out. As more men came through the
wooded area, the need to help them become all consuming.

“Synthia,” Ryder said, his hands framing my
face as everything inside of me was set on fire. “Fucking hell!
Bring them here, now!”

They were brought one by one and laid at my
feet. I dropped to my knees, even as Eliran dropped with me. I
closed my eyes, and allowed whatever was inside of me to cure the
tainted blood from their system. When I was done, my eyes grew
heavy, and Ryder watched me with worry set deep in his eyes.

“Get the horses, there’s a copse a few miles
from here. We can secure the area in case the Mages follow us. She
needs rest,” Ryder ordered, and everyone ran to obey him. Of course
they did, he was the freaking Horde King.

It was an hour on horseback before I was
pulled off, and handed off into waiting arms. Ristan, who was now
my official bodyguard, and Adam both took turns holding me as camp
was set up and secured. They set up enough tents to house half of
Spokane easily. I’d wondered why they hadn’t glamoured anything,
but then Zahruk telling me how the trial required that outside of
basics of food and water, no magic could be used. They might as
well be mortal.

I was in Adam’s arms, with my head nuzzled
against his shoulder when I felt well enough to stand. I told him,
and he placed me back down on my feet. “Thank you,” I said, and
watched him smile.

“No problem. Don’t mind holding you,
Syn.”

“I know, but I feel better,” and I did.

“They are as mortal as we were when we first
met them,” I said with a wide grin. Ryder was efficient, as if this
wasn’t his first Trial, but some of the men were scratching their
heads, and cussing at the tents as if they’d been built by the
devil himself.

I wanted to laugh, but I hurt and I wasn’t
sure why. I looked to where Ryder stood talking to his men, and
caught the eyes of the Shifter on me. For some reason him staring
at me was disturbing, and yet I felt no violent feelings from him.
Something was off about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on
it.

Ryder turned and motioned me closer, and I
smiled at Adam and kissed his cheek before moving over to
Ryder.

“Our tent is set up and ready for you.
Follow,” he ordered, and I did because I wanted to lie down. I felt
as if I’d run in a marathon today. Inside the tent was basic, with
a crude makeshift bed, and covers that looked thick and
welcoming.

“Synthia,” Ryder said, stopping me before I
made it to the bed. I turned and looked at him carefully. “You
can’t do shit like that now. You need to think about the babes,” he
said carefully.

“I couldn’t stop myself, Ryder. I don’t know
what the hell it is, but something happens to me when they are
poisoned with iron. It’s like a drug to my system, and the need to
help them is more than I can bear,” I replied honestly, with tears
forming thick in my throat.

“Shit,” he said, raking his fingers through
his hair. “We were afraid of that. Ristan has seen you healing
people en masse. We need to figure out if you are collecting the
iron in your system, or where it goes when you are done.”

“I have no clue,” I said, eyeing the bed
longingly.

“Get some sleep, Pet. We leave at dawn,” he
replied, and kissed my forehead, before running his fingers across
my flat abdomen.

Dawn came fast. The air was chilling, and
there was a somberness to the group that hadn’t been there
yesterday. The excitement of going on the trial was tarnished by
the Mages attack and their attempt to escape the men when they’d
gone looking for them. The injured had been all healed—by me. I was
still drained, but I wasn’t about to ask Ryder to feed me here.