Escaping Destiny (32 page)

“It is okay, Synthia. Breathe,” Ristan
encouraged me as he patted my hand resting on his wrist.

I closed my eyes as Ryder accepted her hand
and focused on just getting air into my lungs. I wasn’t upset.
Quite the opposite; I wanted to jump on the dais, smash her head
in, and claim my king. It just seemed like the wrong time to do
so.

I opened my eyes to find Ryder standing in
front of me. “Come, Princess, you sit with me for the feast,” he
said with a crooked smile on his beautiful face.

He walked us to the second hall, which was
right off from the great hall and held many tables. It was a huge
room, decorated in a pale shade of grey with black trim. Huge
chandeliers were lit above the tables, which were hand-crafted from
oak and polished to a high shine. It was a beautiful room, and the
chair Ryder pulled out for me was comfortable.

Abiageal and her father, who looked no more
than thirty, sat on his right, as I was seated to Ryder’s left with
Ristan on my other side. Adam was beside him, and the others sat
around us protectively. Adam’s father and mother sat a little way
down the table from us, and Kier acknowledged my arrival with a
small smile and a nod of his head.

An entire boar rested on a platter on the
table in front of us with an apple shoved in his mouth. I felt my
stomach flutter and pitch at the sight of it. Ryder noticed.
“Synthia?”

“It’s the pig,” I said from beneath my hand,
which I’d placed over my mouth and nose. “It smell’s horrible.”

Ryder snapped his fingers and servants came
running to remove it and place it further down the long table.
“Better?”

“Thank you,” I said, removing my hand.

“My king, I was under the impression in the
contract your father agreed to, that Abiageal would be the one to
birth the heir. She will be the first wife, as was your mother,”
Cornelius said with a glare that could have melted the iceberg that
sank the
Titanic
. It was leveled at me.

“The contract stated that I should take your
daughter as my first wife. Danu designates the Heirs, so this is an
assumption on your part,” Ryder said, leveling the dark haired man
with an equal deadly glare. “I’ve been reading over the contract
between you and my father. You wanted to ensure that it was
unbreakable.”

Cornelius narrowed his green and yellow eyes
crudely. “Are you trying to find a way out of it? I assure you,
there isn’t one.”

“I didn’t say that now, did I?” Ryder growled
from deep in his chest.

“My daughter was to be the queen, and with
the title comes the opportunity of the Heir. The previous three
generations of Heirs were born from the first wife.”

“That was an assumption on your part rather
than being in the contract, as Alazander did not think he would
ever die. Synthia wasn’t planned. She is, however, my choice. Have
a care how you proceed, Cornelius.”

“Are you threatening me?” he sputtered.

“No, I’m warning you. If I was threatening
you, you’d know it. I don’t plan on ruling as my father has, and
that means there will be a lot of changes. I took Synthia, Princess
of a Royal Caste. She may not be from the Horde, but she is my
choice as the mother to my children, Cornelius. That was not
addressed in the contract, nor was it my father’s right to give. It
is my choice alone, and she is my choice.”

Okay, so dinner was awkward!

“She is lovely,” Abiageal said sweetly, her
big brown and lilac eyes still plastered to the table.

“Thank you, Abiageal. She is exquisite,”
Ryder said as his hand slid down my leg beneath the table.

I almost jumped as his fingers fluttered over
the silk dress and his heat sank into my skin, setting it ablaze.
This wasn’t the place to set me on fire, considering how unbalanced
my sex drive was. I couldn’t get enough of him as it was.

“Still, the first pregnancy should go to my
daughter! I was promised it!” Cornelius slammed his hands on the
table, forcing more eyes from around the room to look at us.

“There was no promise of it,” Ryder said in
that voice that brooked no argument.

“It’s irrelevant, as I’m in the second
trimester of my pregnancy,” I pointed out.

“There are herbs to take care of unwanted
bairns!” Cornelius said in a high pitched nasal voice.

Ryder moved so fast that no one saw him until
Cornelius screeched in terror from across the room. Ryder had him
pinned to the wall with his hands around the guy’s neck. “That
child will not be harmed. If anyone so much as attempts it, I will
kill them in a way that makes my father look weak!” Ryder roared in
his multi-layered voice.

“Ristan, I think dinner is done,” I said,
looking at poor Abiageal, who looked about as tan as a ghost. “He
won’t hurt him,” I assured her. I hoped he didn’t, since every
Royal of the Horde was watching him.

“My father had no right to say that to you.
It was meant as a barb, and shouldn’t have been even whispered out
loud. There are too few children in Faery now, and to even say that
in jest was cruel,” Abiageal murmured softly.

Well shit. She was sweet. So much for hating
her. She was the opposite of Claire.

We entered the grand hall and came face to
face with the last people on earth, or Faery, that I ever wanted to
see again. Dresden and Tatiana both glared at me as they blocked my
way.

“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises,”
Dresden spewed harshly as his eyes roamed from my breasts to my
abdomen.

“Such a joy pregnancy is,” Tatiana said as
her husband’s eyes got stuck on my breasts.

“I guess I am,” I replied, feeling a little
bold, considering who was behind me guarding my back. “And this
pregnancy has been a joy,” I said, making sure I had replied to
them both. The pregnancy had been a surprise that had both shocked
and joyed me.

“Had I known you were so fertile, I would
have kept you around,” Dresden pressed.

“That wasn’t one of your options,” I indulged
him, but only because I wanted to see his face when Ryder joined
us.

I didn’t have long to wait as Ryder rounded
the corner and stood beside me. His eyes went from my stiff
posture, to Dresden who had yet to look up. Sensing Ryder’s
presence, he finally did, thankfully.

“You!” he growled as recognition dawned on
him that the new Horde King named Ryder was the very same Ryder he
had thought was one of Kier’s sons. It also didn’t help that Ryder
was no longer disguising how much power he had when he was in his
Fae form.

“Dresden,” he bowed slightly, “Tatiana. What
an unwanted surprise,” Ryder purred.

“You lied to us!” Dresden sputtered in
outrage.

“I’d be very careful of your words, Light
King, as we have a very precarious treaty right now. This event is
under truce and has been declared as a Sanctuary. If you overstep
your welcome, I will have you removed from this gathering. I’d also
be very careful of how you treat Synthia.”

“I had a treaty with your father! He gave it
to me when he killed Anise. It is still binding, and I hold you to
it.”

“You are wrong. Most of the treaties my
father made died with him. You’ve had peace, because I chose to use
my time to gain allies, and secure other things needed before
claiming my birthright. I suggest you start thinking of terms for a
new treaty that we can both agree on, and remember, Dresden, I am
not my father. I think he made a rash decision in killing Anise,
which set your spoiled self-indulged ass on the throne. It can be
easily rectified should you prove to be a thorn in my side.”

He dismissed Dresden and Tatiana, both of
whom looked like they were about to be sick. They sifted out
together, before I could manage an in-your-face to them both. The
look on his face had been priceless when he’d seen Ryder.

“Synthia, go with Ristan; you do not need to
be present or suffer through this. It will be a lot of posturing
and other bullshit. You can visit with Adam and Adrian as well.” To
Ristan he said, “Stay within my sight.”

“Can do,” Ristan said, slipping his arm
through mine as Abiageal and her father trailed behind Ryder. I
wasn’t privy to what Cornelius was telling the man to his left, but
his eyes were on me as he did it.

We sat between the others with the Elite
Guard as Ryder stood on the dais and listened to those who had
grievances about the way Alazander had ruled. No one could actually
challenge Ryder’s claim since he’d been chosen by Danu to be the
Heir.

There were too many of them; all expressing
their displeasure, although no one challenged him outright. But
Ristan had been right; this would give Ryder a better idea of who
opposed his rule. I watched as Liam glared at Ryder, and if looks
could kill, Ryder would be dead. He looked as if he wanted to
protest as well, but he kept whatever was on the tip of his tongue
in its place.

Some opposed Ryder for what his father had
done, and it made me proud with how he deflected them as to why he
would be a better monarch than Alazander was. He wouldn’t follow in
father’s footsteps; he’d make his own path. One that would benefit
all of the Castes as he intended to repair what had been ruined and
replace the bridges his father had burned.

I felt it in my bones that he was the right
choice for this. He’d been born to rule this deceptively dangerous
land, and it was why he was such a brute. He’d been raised here,
and his father had been brutal, but he’d also seen what ruling as
his father had, left behind.

He would be a better ruler than any before
him had, because he cared for this world, and he would sacrifice to
fix to it. He could make the hard choices that would need to be
made. The mere fact that he was presiding over this assembly in his
Fae form rather than the form of the Horde King spoke volumes as to
the kind of monarch he wanted to be known as.

I watched as a Fae male with long black hair
and wearing flowing robes that looked like the Milky Way got lost
in them, approached Ryder at the dais. He was escorted by four Fae
males, armed with ceremonial weaponry. As if a signal had been
given, they knelt as one in front of Ryder.

Ryder placed his hand on the robed Fae’s
shoulder and he stood proudly, as his voice rang out.

“Ryder, first born son of Alazander, do you
accept the responsibility of ruling the Horde, as well as the
smaller Castes who depend upon the Horde for protection?”

“I accept the responsibility of this, and
more. I will protect the Horde from those who seek to harm my own.
I will protect those of the weaker Castes, and those who depend on
us for their livelihoods. I vow to repair what my father left
behind in his wake, and the destruction he brought upon our kind
with his greed and merciless pandemonium.”

Zahruk stepped up, his blue eyes smiling as
he presented the gold crown to the mass of the crowd, and then
turned to face his brother. “Kneel before your people, my brother,
and be crowned as King of the Horde before all,” Z’s voice rose to
be heard above the crowd as the High Priest stepped up and accepted
the crown that Zahruk held in his hands.

“Who is your second in command?” The Priest
asked, as his robes were held out of the way, by those who stood
beside him.

“Zahruk, second son of Alazander, will serve
as my second. He will walk beside me, but never behind me.”

Ryder held his hand up for Zahruk to take and
knelt before the High Priest. Z towered above Ryder now, which
almost made it comical, except no one else thought it was funny.
Zahruk bent low and kissed his brother’s hand, with a wicked smile
planted on his face as he did so.

“Zahruk, second son of Alazander, do you
pledge your life to protect your king? Would you follow him
willingly into battle to protect the Horde?” The Priest asked.

“Without thinking twice,” he replied with a
wicked little smirk on his face for the entire crowd to see.

“Ryder, you kneel before me and accept this
crown and the responsibilities that come with it. Danu has chosen
you as her Heir, the King of the Horde. Follow my lead and give us
your pledge, and accept this crown as a symbol of the bond you will
share with your people.”

“I will,” Ryder said, still on his knees.

“Do you take this crown, and vow to protect
this land and its people from harm?”

“I take this crown, and vow to protect this
land and its people.”

“In times of war, do you vow to defend your
people until your last dying breath?”

“I vow to protect them even in my death,”
Ryder growled. The crowd gave wild hoots of encouragement at his
words.

“Do you vow to give back to this land, for
which you take?”

“If I take from this land, I will plant new
seeds, I will replenish what we need, and in doing so, always
protect the interest of this land. No harm shall befall Faery, or
the Horde Kingdom from my hand, or any other under my rule.”

“Then with Danu’s blessing, I crown you
Ryder, first born son and Danu’s chosen warrior heir, with this
crown you are King of the Unseelie, and the Horde alike. Rise as
the King, and face your people.”

The entire room erupted into boisterous
cheers as Ryder faced them as their newly crowned king. The crown
changed as it formed to Ryder’s head. Gemstones of amber formed in
the front as black onyx and ruby appeared behind them. It was
beautiful and mysterious, everything that Ryder was.

I turned my head a little and found Cornelius
watching me and it was unnerving. The crowd started to disburse as
people drifted to the open doors of the hall. Some went outside for
fresh air, as others went to the hall where refreshments were
served. People moved around freely as music started up from across
the room. People started mingling, and soon couples started moving
toward the dance floor that had been glamoured with
decorations.