“Fuck!” Ristan shouted as he tried to sit up but fell back down. His eyes landed on me, and he closed them with noted relief.
“Demon,” I cried as tears ran down my face. My heart gave a happy lurch and I smiled at him and tilted my head in a way which wasn’t human at all. I’d seen Ryder do it a million times before.
“I was given a vision of you dying…” Ristan growled, covering his face with his hands. “Fuck,” he said again as he scrubbed his face and looked back at me. He looked at my new brands and smiled sardonically as he shook his head slightly. “That bitch,” he said softly. “I told you, she gets her way, fucks with my head, and still she abides by the rules.” He turned his head and looked at Eliran, and then Alannah.
“Mother?” he questioned, and I blinked, startled. Alannah tousled his hair like a little boy and laughed at him.
“Remember our talks about seeing the future?” Danu said to me gently. “So many choices that could lead to many different outcomes. One future was of you dying by the same spell and all we have done would have easily been lost. Another possibility would have been me sending him a vision that stopped the Mages before they ever attacked. That one would have saved him from the spell, and the pain of it, but then you would not have embraced your destiny until it was too late to save your children, Ryder, or yourself. You are loyal to your friends and those you love. You go a little crazy and use anything you can when they are being hurt. I just gave him the first vision of a possible future, and he reacted exactly how I wanted him to.” She shrugged like it was no big thing.
I needed to remind myself that the Fae were not so easily killed. Seeing Ristan harmed had made me lose it. She was correct in that, but she was wrong. I wasn’t crazy; I’d held it together until the enemies had been dispatched.
I felt sick and totally understood why Ristan had issues with this lady. She was sadistic and relentless in her ways.
Ryder pulled me against him as the men helped Ristan to his feet. Danu moved to stand beside me. I glanced at her briefly and wondered what the reaction of those present would think if they knew their Goddess was in their midst.
The moment Ristan was up, I threw myself into his arms and shook with visible relief.
“Wow, Flower,” he said with a small laugh as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I watched you die, which means I get to hug you, Demon,” I muttered against his chest. He squeezed me tight, and then released me but held me at arm’s length.
“The spell they used would have killed you,” he smiled softly. “It was a choice, and an easy one at that. Now that you have come into your own, you will be a lot tougher to kill.” He winked as he reached out to touch my new brands.
“Ryder,” Cornelius said, coming up to stand close to us with his eyes angry and narrowed on me. “We have a traitor in our midst,” he accused with those yellow and green eyes still firmly on me. “Those were Blood Fae attacking our people!”
“Cornelius, I’d be very careful with what you say next. Synthia is and has been under my protection since the moment I laid eyes on her. I know exactly who was leading those warriors and I will be having words with the Blood King about this soon enough. Moreover, I think we need to talk about the contract you and my father made. I’d like for you to meet with me tomorrow.
“Why do we need to wait until tomorrow? I am here right now,” he argued.
“Because I said that is when we will talk. You will meet with me tomorrow in my office, and until then you can stay in one of the guest chambers.”
“I’d rather we do it tonight,” Cornelius pressed.
“I suggest you heed my words, and leave it until tomorrow! Do you want to argue the matter, and challenge me?” he demanded.
“No,” Cornelius answered quickly.
“Good. Synthia, come with me,” he growled and didn’t wait for me. Instead, he sifted to me and smiled as his hands touched my skin. We sifted out of the chaos, leaving it for the men to take care of. He took us to his chambers, and pulled me close against his body, still in the Horde King form, his wings comforting me with their heated touch. “You scared the fuck out of me,” he growled softly, “I am going to eradicate the Mages and Faolán from this world, and any other one that they are occupying.”
“Good,” I whispered against the warmth of his body.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ryder stared at me for a few moments before he sat me on the bed and moved away. He had been quiet, as if he was mulling over a puzzle.
“What the hell are you, Synthia?” he growled softly, as he ran his hands through his hair and his wings rustled behind him as they rose a bit higher.
“I’m still Fae. I’m still me, Fairy,” I whispered through the lump now forming in my throat at the thought of his rejection.
“No, Synthia, there has to be more to this. You came into your Heir brands tonight and instead of an emblem like the rest of the Heirs, you have the markings for all four Castes on you. The red glow in your eyes tonight, when you came into your powers, I half expected. That would have been normal for the Blood Heir. Your father does the same in anger. But the rest, no. No one has ever in the history of the Fae possessed more than one brand. This,” he ran a finger down my brands on my arm. “Horde brands are normally black, gold is the Caste color for the Horde, this is something very different. Did Danu speak to you and let you know what was going on?” His tone was taking on more of a frustrated growl, like I was holding out on him or something. Like I was the one keeping secrets. I shook my head solemnly.
“She didn’t say why she did this. She was here tonight, though. She told me that if I didn’t accept her, our children would die. She said you could die as well, if I didn’t accept her and embrace what I was. She warned me tonight, and egged me on, encouraging me to accept her and then Ristan—shit I thought he was dead and she played me, Ryder. She said she’s been the one setting events into motion from the start of this. My parents—everything. She said I couldn’t become what she needed me to be here in Faery,” I replied sadly. His features softened a little as he absorbed and considered what I had told him.
“Sometimes I think you were created to be my perfect drug,” he growled from deep in his chest as his arms reached out and pulled me close until I was pressed hard against his burning skin. “I can’t stay away from you, and I’m drawn to you like a fucking addict.” His mouth lowered even as his hands came up to hold my face up, locked in their sheer dominance.
I moaned against his mouth as he ground his erection against me. He pulled his mouth away from mine, and turned me around, pressing me against the wall with my face pressed against it. He removed the dress, leaving me only in a thin pair of soft pink lace panties.
“I often wonder why I couldn’t walk away from you when I first set eyes on you,” he whispered, as his magic pulsed over me, removing the up-do. My hair cascaded down my naked back freely. His hand came up to rest on my neck, as the other one played with my hair. He lifted it up, and kissed the back of my neck tenderly. His free hand came around and held my face with his fingers on one side, and his thumb easily pressed against the other side.
“I plan on fucking you, Pet; slow, hard, and for hours on end. Think you can handle it?” he purred against my ear as his mouth sent heated breath fanning against my neck.
“Yes,” I replied as I ground my ass into him, seeking his cock.
“Good, get on your knees,” he urged as I turned toward him as his hands allowed it.
“Ryder—”
“Chain of command, Synthia. I say it. You do it. End of chain, am I clear?” he growled as his wings expanded behind him.
“Yes,” I said as I lowered myself to my knees without breaking eye contact.
“Good girl,” he replied even as he glamoured his clothes off, and waited for me to do as I had been told.
My hand went up to grab his cock, and I stroked it softly as I licked my lips with anticipation. I realized as my lips slid over his silky smooth skin,
that I’d been starving until I’d met him. For his taste, for the one thing only he could give me. He’s my drug of choice, and I don’t think there’s a rehab for it. There’s only the addiction, one so strong that without it, I’d die.
“Fuck,” he growled as I started moving my mouth against him, pulling him further into my throat as his hips moved forward and back. I moaned against him, using my tongue to stroke the thick vein on the underside of his massive cock. “I love the feel of your lips upon my skin.” He gripped my hair and held it in place as he continued to move his cock deeper. And then he pushed me again.
“Get on the bed, now,” he ordered as his hand came down and stroked his throbbing cock.
I got up from the floor and moved to the bed, crawling on top of the enormous mattress and then turning back around to face him as I lay against the pillows. He moved onto the bed slowly as he began to change back to his more familiar Fae form. His wings were the last to vanish as his eyes burned into me.
“Turn over, and get on your knees with your ass in the air, Synthia, now. I want you to slowly remove your panties, and show me everything that’s mine.”
“Yours?” I asked, raising a delicate brow at him.
He moved fast, stretching himself on top of me as he pushed my hands over my head with one hand and his other firmly planted between my legs on what he was claiming as his own. “It may be between your legs, Pet, but make no mistake, this belongs to me. Understand?”
“Yes,” I whispered, meeting his gold eyes which had begun to glow with hunger.
“Good girl; now do as I told you. Show me what is mine, and make me want to fuck it,” he growled before his head lowered and his teeth slid over my flesh at the side of my neck, making my skin tingle in their wake.
I turned over easily, and lifted my ass seductively in the air. I spread my legs until I heard him growl with approval. I placed my head on the bed, turning it to the side and then used my hands to undo the two small bows on either side of the panties, and enjoyed the hiss of air he gave, as I exposed myself to his growing hunger.
“Tell me what you want,” he ordered.
“You; I want you to fuck me,” I replied in a voice thick from lust.
I loved when he played with me, when he took control and became the master of the bedroom. He was a natural Dom, without needing to say it, or demand obedience. He had it without trying. “I’ve been craving you all day. I wanted it to end, just so I could fuck that sweet haven,” he purred.
“Why are you still talking?” I demanded, as I swayed my ass invitingly to him.
I was ready for him to enter me. I was soaked already. I wasn’t, however, ready for the slap that landed on my cheek from behind, or the one he issued to the other side. “That’s for scaring the shit out of me.”
“Ouch,” I said playfully. “Oomph!” I cried as his magic entered me, filling my core until I could take no more.
“Fuck, you’re tight,” he ground out as his magic penetrated me, and started to move.
“Mmm,” I moaned as he flipped me over and held my legs apart. I looked to where his eyes were locked. I could feel his need burning in his golden eyes, even as he licked his lips.
“Good girls get special kisses. Do you want to be kissed?” he murmured softly.
“Yes,” I whimpered as the orgasm built hot and fierce inside of me with the movement of his magic alone.
He lowered his mouth and claimed my clit with his lips, and then licked from one end to the other. His magic swept over me, until my entire body tingled from it. His breath was hot as it fanned my sensitive skin. He pulled up and looked at me. “You want to come, don’t you?”
“I need to,” I begged.
“Then come for me,” he encouraged as his magic increased its speed inside of me, and his mouth continued to kiss my exposed flesh. My entire body trembled and shook as the orgasm exploded. I screamed from the sheer turbulence of it, as he lapped at it, sucking and kissing until I thought I would shatter. He pulled his mouth up and licked his lips. “Little girl, who taught you to come like that?” he grinned wickedly.
“You did,” I whispered through the hoarseness in my throat.
“Good answer,” he replied as he held my legs apart and slid inside. “I love the way you take me into your body. I love the way your sweet pussy sucks my cock off while I fuck you. The way your nipples harden when I invade and conquer you. You are my perfect drug, Synthia. Your body is mine, as well as your soul,” he whispered as he rocked his hips and increased the pace. I came again, violently, as he rode my body.
“I didn’t say you could come again,” he growled and flipped me over until I was on my stomach, and my legs were lifted from behind me in his hands. He spread them until he fit between my legs. He rammed himself home and buried his throbbing need to the hilt. I cried out with the intense pleasure from it. “Take it,” he growled as he increased speed and held my legs up further, giving him further depth as he fucked me. “So fucking good. So mine,” he growled.
He exploded, and I felt my body feeding from him, right up until we both collapsed on the bed. “You have five minutes before I turn you over and fuck you again. I suggest you use it wisely.”
“Is that so?” I asked as I fought to catch my breath.
“It’s so,” he said, smiling as he lowered himself down beside me. “You are mine now, and nothing will change that. I won’t let anything stand in my way.”
“Mmm,” I said with a smile on my lips and waited expectantly.
“Three minutes,” he whispered as his eyes locked with mine.
I felt my heart stutter, and my stomach flutter.
He didn’t say anything more as he ticked off the minutes until he entered me again. We slept in the same bed, but my heart was heavy. I’d expected more. I wasn’t sure why, since he’d said he wanted to renegotiate the contract with Cornelius. I had just thought that if he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way, he’d ask to marry me.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
*~*Ryder*~*
I walk in the direction of my office, considering what I have to do. I want Synthia. It’s as simple as that. She’s mine, and soon she will become the mother of my children. I can’t make her just another concubine. She won’t allow it, and even if she would, I couldn’t do that to her.
My mind brings back the events of last night. How Syn’s eyes changed from blood red to blue and purple after the heat of battle had passed. Her brands remained as representation of all four Castes in one beautiful package. It’s best to leave the knowledge of what she said between us. No one else needs to know how important she might be to this world—not yet anyway.
Cornelius will concede to what I am going to offer; he has to. I am the fucking King. I could easily become the tyrant my father had been. Easily. Abiageal deserves better. Why these assholes throw their daughters at us—fuck it, it’s disturbing. I respect the Blood King. He was the only one who refused to cave until we gave him no choice.
His daughter is a lot like him, strong of mind and pure of will. She’s everything I want, and need. Marrying Abiageal could undo what we have, and I refuse to lose Syn. Not when I have the power to take care of this easily. I push through the door of the wide office and head for the old oak desk that my father used.
It’s the third time I have used his office since I took his head. The beast stirs as I approach the polished desk and pull back the wide chair that is big enough for wings when I take that form. He likes this room; he likes what happens here. He likes the power that is exerted here. Even now, he is pushing and prodding me to take the form of the Horde King. He wants me to frighten Cornelius, cow him into submission. I scan the shelves of scrolls. My father had many contracts. It’s filled with them. Scrolls created on the skins of traitors. Syn would hate seeing this place. She would hate what has happened in here.
A knock sounds at the door and I growl. “Come in.”
I sit behind the desk, settling into the chair as Cornelius walks in li
ke a fucking peacock ruffling his feathers. I don’t respect him. He’s loose with his words and thinks he’s entitled. He sent Claire to us like a fucking gift basket.
He smiles when he sees me behind the desk and closes the door. “Your father would be proud of you, at what you have become,” he says, attempting to remind me that he was close with my father. If he thinks that, he wasn’t as close as he believes he was.
“Would he? Would he be proud that I took his head as well?” I remind him that I killed my father. His eyes narrow.
“Your father was a complicated being,” he replies easily. I hold my tongue as he seats himself in the chair that is strategically placed on my left. It makes those who sit in it feel safe. They forget that when I am in the form of the Horde King, that my wing span could easily kill them from where I sit. “Now, let’s talk about your marriage to my daughter. I want the Blood Heir removed from this kingdom. She is a threat to my daughter.”
“Synthia is not a threat to anyone who doesn’t fuck with her first,” I reply with a calculated look. He has a plan. I’m curious what he thinks he has that I want. I want Syn, period. He can’t give her to me, so anything he thinks he has is worthless.
“By marrying my daughter you will gain my alliance,” he points out.
“Do I not have your alliance now?” I ask. He knows this question is loaded. He’s smart, but not smart enough to fuck with me.
“Of course, but Abiageal’s dowry comes with forty thousand troops.”
“I want you to consider other options for your daughter and the contract you and my father negotiated,” I say, and watch as his face turns red with rage.
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