“
You’ve left a mark on me that will never be replaced. I’m incapable of loving anyone. You have turned my world upside down, Pet. I want you—the visions don’t change that. Let me make love to you, Synthia. Let me show you what you make me feel. I need to be with you now. I need to feel you beneath me. I need to touch your soul and leave my mark on you, so that you never forget me.”
His mouth was soft
and searching as he kissed me. His hands held me immobile in his arms. His warmth sank in to my bones, as his erection pressed against me. His power vibrated through me, and I didn’t want him to stop. I didn’t want this to stop, this, well,
whatever
we had together. I wanted him to keep me. I wanted him.
His mouth drove me insane as his tongue caressed mine,
as his clothes melted away with his magic. He didn’t remove mine with magic. Instead, he took each piece off slowly as if he was trying to commit every fine detail to memory.
I captured his head with my hands, and opened myself for him to ravish. I spread my legs in open invitation, and he growled hungrily with approval.
We were together in this moment, and the vision could wait. In this place and time, we were living in the present, and not with what we both knew would happen soon.
I was scheduled to meet the Light Fae in the presence of Adam and his fat
her. Ryder and his men would also be present. I wasn’t looking forward to this, and, personally, I could have gone the rest of my life without meeting them. I’d worn a skirt and a sleeveless blouse at Ryder’s request, but had skipped putting on any make-up, since I had absolutely no desire to impress the Light Fae. I was sitting at the bar waiting for the inevitable to happen when a strong hand landed reassuringly on my shoulder.
“
You look like you’re about to throw up, or run away. Which one is it, Kid?” Alden said, seating himself beside me.
“
It might be both. Why are you here?” I asked, wondering how he’d gotten away to come here.
“
This old man has ways of finding things out, Synthia. Besides, I couldn’t let my only family meet her
other
family without me here to support her,” he said before reaching for my hand, and squeezing after shooting me a reassuring look. “I’m here for you, Kid, always and forever. I told you, McKenna’s stick together, Kid. It doesn’t matter if you’re my family by blood, or not. You’re my niece in here,” Alden thumped his heart and smiled reassuringly. “That’s all that matters to me.”
“
Thanks,” I said, grinning into his gentle, smiling blue eyes.
The commotion at the club
’s doors wiped the smile from my lips, as a huge group of people entered. Adam and his father were close to the doors, and the first to their feet with the arrival of the Light Fae. Ryder swiftly walked over to stand in front of me as the crowd came in.
T
hey were all impossibly beautiful. Their hair was varying shades of whitish blonde, while their eyes ranged from shades of sky blue, to my own electric blue and lilac colored eyes. Power radiated from them, but it lacked Ryder’s raw current that sometimes resembled a downed power line.
“
Only address them if they speak directly to you. Let me do the talking,” Ryder hissed against my ear, before he grabbed my hand, and pulled me across the room to stand by his men. Once again, they created a wall around me.
“
You had better have a damn good reason for calling us here. Kier, this is a direct breach of etiquette. Next time you summon us, it had damn well better follow the rules of protocol,” the tallest of the group growled out to Kier who was, even now, waiting to greet to the Light Fae.
“
You wouldn’t know protocol, Dresden, if it slapped you upside the head and said hello,” Adam’s father replied innocently. Oh yes, he had been waiting for this showdown for a while.
“
I see you haven’t changed a bit. So tell me, what has you breaking protocol this time, Kier?”
“
I found something you lost,” he said with a mischievous smile on his lips.
“
And what would that be? I didn’t come here to play word games with you. Spit it out already,” the Light King demanded.
“
Your daughter. The real one. We found her.”
“
I see, and why should we believe you? Considering we have already had one imposter trying to pass herself off as my wife’s child, I’m hesitant to buy another so easily,” Dresden said with his own lips lifting into a sardonic smile.
“
Because we have a seer among us, and he has seen the union of the Light Heir, and the Dark Heir, my son. They are to have a child that heals Faery of the toxins induced by the Mages. Ristan, would you care to explain what you have seen to them?” Kier asked, tilting his dark head toward the Demon who stood and nodded his agreement.
“
Your majesty, I can see the past, and the future. Sight is granted to me by Danu herself, and she has shown me that this girl is the Heir, and she has shown me her part in fixing our world,” Ristan said, bowing his head to the Light King.
“
You seem rather full of yourself. Are you sure you want to continue?” Dresden taunted silkily.
“
We think you knew that Arianna was one of the Mages puppets,” Ristan said, smiling coldly and losing all pretense of friendliness.
“
Obviously you’re mistaken on interpreting what you see, Demon,” the King said snidely.
“
I didn’t interpret much of this particular vision. It showed me that you willingly sent Arianna to the Dark Fae with emissaries that could lie, because you knew she wasn’t your wife’s child. The vision showed me that Arianna was sent by someone to do harm to the Dark Fae, so you thought that you would let it play out. Two birds with one stone and all that. But then we knew you were up to something. We had heard enough rumors over the years about you searching for her—not to bring her back to her mother, no—you wanted to find her to kill her. Why, after all these years of searching, would you suddenly offer her to us instead of keeping her with her family for a while, or killing her immediately? We decided to watch and wait. Even the botched attempts from the assassins seemed to show they were pulling back and waiting for something. We figured out what that something was when it was discovered that Arianna was just a meat puppet. So, if you want to get into breaking protocol, by all means, let’s take this to the Fae council.”
No comment this time from the Light King, only a slight narrowing of his
baby-blue and lapis eyes.
“
This is outrageous,” the Light Queen interrupted quickly, with a sheltered look in her eyes. “We are not held to the humans’ laws. My husband was within his right to dispose of the child from a union that was not his. I am responsible for this, and, as the mother, I can seek to have the child disposed of.”
The Light King glared openly at Ristan
, whose eyes had begun to swirl in his telling of the story. “You are making some very serious charges. Make your point. I’m low on patience, Demon.”
“
I just did. Kier will take it from here,” Ristan said.
“
This is why you called me here? For this? I am within my rights to kill any illegitimate heir my wife sired from another, if that were the case. I am shocked at these allegations you are making, you
filthy
Demon! There was more than enough evidence to support that Arianna was my wife’s missing daughter when we signed the contract for her to wed the Dark Prince. We were tricked as you were, Kier.”
“
You may not have said she was the Heir—I think Arianna started that nonsense. However, you knew that she was not the missing Light Princess when you offered her to us. You thought she would take us out, giving you full rein on both worlds, because you assholes have been trying to find a way back to the most power since Anise lost the relics,” Ryder growled, finally coming into the fray.
“
I signed a binding contract with you. You also turned out to be not as you appeared. Seems we were both wrong, Kier, so it stands to reason that the contract is no longer binding. Now, let me see this child you claim to be my wife’s daughter. I’d see the new imposter with my own eyes.”
“
She’s under my protection. I suggest you call off the assassins, and remove all thoughts of killing her from your agenda, Dresden. For if one hair is harmed on her pretty little head, I know who to kill,” Ryder growled as he let his power push through the room, raw and electrical.
“
You have a lot of power for someone without a crown. The last time I felt anything close to that much power running through a Fae’s veins, I was standing next to Alazander, the Horde King.” Dresden said, eyeing Ryder cautiously.
“
As you can see, I am not Alazander. I’m also not the Dark Heir, so I’m a free agent who can kill anyone who challenges me, or tries to hurt anyone I’m protecting,” Ryder growled with his lips twisting in the corners. Dresden let out a whoop of laughter that he directed at Ryder.
“
No one would every mistake
you
for the Horde King! Alazander definitely knows how to keep his people in line and respectful!” The Light King chuckled darkly and shot the Dark King a pitying look.
“
As I was saying, she’s mine to protect, and under contract to
me
,” Ryder continued as if the Light King hadn’t just mentioned the freaking Horde King.
“
She will not be harmed here. This meeting was called under truce. I tend to stick to protocol even if others do not,” the Light King turned his head, leveling his blue eyes on Kier.
“
Synthia,” Ryder said, and his men stepped away, letting me move through the now empty space to stand beside Ryder and Kier.
The Light Fae gasped.
Even the Queen stepped closer and held her hand up to her mouth to stifle a cry that would have escaped otherwise. I met the eyes of the Light King and held my ground.
“
Tatiana, come here,” Dresden growled from low in his chest. Anger was pushing off of him in palpable waves. I met the lilac and azure eyes of my mother and felt nothing; no connection. For all intents and purposes, she was just someone who looked a lot like me. “Is it your child?” he asked barely above a whisper.
“
I feel a slight connection. Yes,” she said never taking her eyes from me.
I had a feeling that
she’d not been an active participant in the death of her child. She’d been given no choice in the matter. She looked as scared as I was and afraid of my reaction to her.
“
The Blood Prince? Which one was it that sired this…female? I’d have his name to confirm it.” Dresden barely contained the anger as he spoke to his Queen.
“
No name; he was only at our palace for a week, and I asked him no name,” she whispered, hiding her face in shame, but it looked practiced at best.
“
You have no name for this…for this illegitimate child’s sire?”
“
No, Husband, you had taken to feeding from others. I only sought to sustain a meal from him. The Blood Fae are known for—”
“
I know what they are known for, woman! Describe him to me,” he demanded.
“
He was a royal Prince. His eyes were the same as mine, and had the royal banding. His hair was midnight black. He made a feast for me, which I could not refuse.”
I fucking hated the Fae
right now, more than I had before. Games, these creatures loved playing games. He’d starved his queen, so she’d taken food from where it had been available. He was messing around and mad because she was messing around as well. I had a mother, and a father, and they were
nothing
like my adoptive parents.
“
Was he the only Blood Fae you fucked?” he asked crudely.
“
No, I took two others within the same month, Husband,” she replied honestly, letting her eyes slide down my frame. They came back up with a touch of pride in them that went right through me as she didn’t seem to find me lacking as many Fae did before my Transition.
“
The nurse who was charged with your care disappeared when you did and never returned to us. I’d know which caste of Fae kept you alive, child,” Dresden said with venom dripping from his lips.
“
Humans,” I said to more surprised looks, and gasps from those who came with the King and Queen.
“
Impossible!” he argued.
“
No. It seems not everyone bows down to your orders. Maybe the nurse who was supposed to
kill
me, gave me to the humans instead. I was hidden with ink, and taken in by the Guild. I trained as a Witch and became an enforcer for the Guild to keep the Fae in line. Seems fate has a wicked sense of humor.”
“She comes with us!” the Light King demanded.
“
No. She stays with me for now,” Ryder said, moving in front of me protectively.
“
She’s my wife’s child. Therefore, I can claim her as my own. I am claiming her now.”
“
Then I challenge you for the right to become her guardian, Dresden. Right here, right fucking now,” Ryder said with a tone that brooked no argument. The Light Fae stepped away from him as if they were afraid of him, and I blinked as I peered around his shoulder. I guess I could mark the Light Fae down as not being
complete
idiots. They were trying to set it up so I’d have to go with them, I could see the calculating gleam in the Light King’s eyes as he was trying to figure out the best way to out-maneuver Ryder and Kier, and get me under his control so he could kill me.
Ryder’s head lowered as he met my eyes and held my gaze. He told me with those expressive eyes that he wou
ldn’t let me go without a fight, and that he’d kill the Light King if it came down to it. I had no question in my mind which of them would win in a fight between the two Fae.
Ryder was hard, cold
, and lethal. The man oozed it from his pores as much as he exuded fuck-me-vibes. A warrior who fought for what he believed in with everything he had. He was bred to fight, and win. In any battle, I’d choose Ryder to stand at my side. I knew with every fiber of my being that he would not let anything or anyone hurt me. The Light King was thin, and elegant; more suited for womanizing, and dancing. I smiled up into Ryder’s eyes with my own, showing him I trusted him to protect me.