“I would like to return to my lands without the threat of what occurred before happening again. I’d also like my wife returned, as she carries the heir to my throne.”
“I’m aware,” Ryder growled as he stared Blane down. “I’m aware that you took her from here, and forced a marriage. I’m willing to overlook it because she thinks you’re worth saving. And because we cannot erase the past, but we can learn from it. I hope you understand what I am saying.”
“I get you,” he growled back.
Ciara closed her eyes before opening them as Ryder spoke again. “I’m also aware that you cannot use glamour, so we have fixed your palace to what it was before the war. Houses are being built in the villages as we speak. There was a problem of Mages inside the castle, using the lower level and tunnels to house weapons. While they have been run off, it doesn’t guarantee that they won’t be back.”
“I didn’t need you to fix my palace,” he snapped.
“No, but your wife didn’t want to give birth in the ashes of the dead. It would have taken your people years to ready it to live in, and I’ve been made aware that they continued to suffer from moving to place to place in an environment not productive to your growth and health. You are your own king, so I don’t expect you to answer to me. Every caste of Fae has their own laws; you will be allowed to as well, as long as they don’t trespass on ours or endanger life. You’ve been gone a long time, and a lot has happened since then. We no longer enforce castes, nor do we take from them for our own means. We supply those who have been wronged with food and other necessities as they grow and flourish under my reign. I am sorry for what my father ordered, but I promise you this, Dragon King, I harmed no woman or child that day, nor did any man still alive. I murdered my father and then my brothers who had joined him in slaughtering the innocent lives. Your death wish didn’t include my brothers. I fought warriors on a field of battle to protect her, your queen, because she was who he threatened me with. Had I refused, Ciara would have died before my eyes. He would have fed her to the Horde and forced us to watch as she was raped and murdered. She’s immortal, and I’m sure you can imagine what that entails. I chose her, I have protected her from the moment I was strong enough to, and you will not punish her for a crime she did not commit.”
“Ryder,” she whispered, not wanting Blane to know she was the reason he’d killed them that day so long ago. He had told everyone else it could have been his brothers, but it hadn’t been. Alazander had dragged her out by the scruff of her neck and held her up in front of Ryder as he’d refused to wipe out an entire population of dragons.
“It’s his right to know why I did it, Ciara. It’s my right to explain my actions.”
“Call a truce,” she whispered through clenched teeth.
“We’re not finished.”
“Call a truce!” she growled forcefully.
“Truce, Dragon King?” Ryder asked.
“Ciara?” Blane asked.
“Call a fucking truce!” she snapped.
“Truce.”
“Ahh,” she screamed as she dropped to the floor, as water rushed from her body.
“Bloody hell!” Blane growled as he rushed to her, bumping into Ryder as he did so. “She’s my wife!”
“She’s my fucking sister!”
“You jackasses,” Synthia snorted as she pushed past them and kneeled beside Ciara, glowing golden as she placed a hand on her belly, relieving the pain. “How long have you been in labor?”
“I’m not in labor, I can’t be yet,” she whispered as she placed her head against the floor.
“How long have you had back pain for?” she amended.
“All day, it just didn’t stop,” she admitted.
“Fetch Eliran now; Ryder, bring Blane to the medical facilities. Zahruk, please see that the others are brought as well, so they do not worry about their king.”
“Loren, go to the army and tell them the queen is to give birth and I will be delayed. They’re not to move or make a move. Make sure the others watch Kerrigan to ensure he doesn’t try anything.”
Synthia materialized with a screaming Ciara in the medical facilities. Eliran dropped the metal tray he’d been holding and rushed to her. “It’s too soon,” he said.
Ristan and Olivia sifted in, along with Sinjinn and Asrian, who glared at Blane as Ryder sifted him in. The moment Ciara screamed again, everyone shut up and stared at her as she bent over, holding her stomach.
“Get her into the room, now,” Eliran ordered as he shouted for his staff to prepare for the delivery. “How far apart are her contractions?” Eliran asked.
Blane stood in the doorway, unsure what to do as he watched her. “Get in here fucker, you did this to me!” she snapped. He moved without hesitation. He grabbed her arm, slipping his hand into hers as he kissed her forehead.
“You’re brave, you’re strong, and you can do this little fighter,” he murmured and then remembered where he was, straightening.
Synthia was glowing, which seemed to catch his eye as Ciara watched him. He slowly dropped his gaze to look at her and then flinched when he saw the anger in her eyes. If he tried anything here, she’d kill him. “I’ve never seen one before,” he murmured.
“She makes the Horde look like fluffy fucking puppies, remember that,” she uttered before she sat up screaming in pain.
Synthia’s hand touched Ciara’s arm absently, taking the pain away to a bearable level. She watched as Eliran’s team entered the room and closed the door, sealing her brothers and Olivia outside.
“He trusts me with you?” Blane asked of Synthia.
“I’m a Goddess, Blane, and besides, I’ve seen your dick before, and you lived. Don’t worry; if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. I want you to live. I want to see dragons flying in the skies again. I want Ryder to forgive himself for what he was forced to do. But most of all, I want you not to hurt her, so I don’t have to rip that glorious dick of yours off. It would be a shame and one hell of a waste.”
“Get your legs up, Ciara,” Eliran ordered.
She lifted them as Blane held her hand, touching her belly as he stared down into her eyes. She was terrified, mostly because she didn’t know what to expect from this or how he would react if the babe came out with brands and glowing eyes.
“Gods, what the hell were you doing?” Eliran demanded as he pushed on her pelvis.
“Did I ruin him?” she whispered through clench teeth.
“No, but you almost had him on the fucking floor, sister mine,” he growled as he insisted she push.
It felt like hours had gone by. She pushed and nothing happened; her body contracted and ached, but Synthia and Blane never left her side. Sweat poured down her back, her hair clung to her face, and yet she never stopped trying to birth her son into this world. They bickered, he encouraged her, and she called him everything under the stars that wasn’t any good. Her head dropped against the pillow as and her eyes closed as exhaustion rushed through her.
“Is this normal?” Blane demanded as he paced beside her as his hands lifted behind his head. “Should it take this long? It’s killing her.”
“Aye, it’s her first babe. Settle down, she’s doing great,” Eliran stated as he sat back and held his hands up in front of him. “It can take hours, days for some. Unless you’re this one,” he said, nodding towards Synthia. “Then someone just cuts them out, and she dies. Then a few hours later, she’s back.”
“That was an extreme case,” Synthia mumbled. “My brother tried to rape me and murder me while I was in labor so that the Mages could sacrifice my children. Then they tried to cut them out of me while I still lived,” she explained.
“And then you were reborn a Goddess,” Blane said softly. “I bet Ryder was crazed over that.”
“Well yeah, he lost me and gained t
hree screaming, dying infants. They failed to thrive, and our daughter was very sickly. She was tiny, born early, and we feared she would die.”
“Guys, not the conversation to have while I’m giving birth.” Another contraction hit, and she leaned forward with Blane’s support and then the most fantastic sound ever filled the room. Sobs rocked her body as she struggled to stay up as Eliran rushed her babe to the warmer.
“You have a lot of human instruments here,” Blane pointed out as he remained with Ciara. Ciara watched as Eliran swaddled her babe and brought him over.
“He’s perfect,” he murmured as he handed him to her.
“Hello, Fury,” she whispered through her tears. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”
“Fury?” Blane asked as he stared down at her with a small smile.
“You weren’t here when I was picking names. I think it fits, you don’t like it? I mean, we can change it, I only called him it for a little while.”
“It’s perfect, just as he is,” he said.
Eliran finished cleaning her up and covering her before he opened the door and her brothers ceased pacing and rushed in. They crooned and doted over him as Blane frowned from beside her. Ryder smiled, touching Fury’s cheek and then leaning over to kiss Ciara on the head.
“Knew you could do this, Ciara,” he uttered. “You’re built for surviving. You’re going to be an amazing mother and protector for this little warrior.”
“Oh shit…I’m a mom,” she frowned as she stared down into oceanic eyes that peered up at her curiously. “I’m your mom,” she choked out through tears. “I am so sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” Blane asked.
“He’s stuck with me,” she replied, staring up at him.
“He’s the luckiest boy alive,” he returned. “He’s got the most beautiful momma in the world, and she’s a badass on top of it. A boy couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“But I don’t mom, I didn’t really have a mom. I had a Ristan. I don’t even know what to do or even how to pretend to be a mom. I can’t do this; I don’t want to ruin him.”
“First off, neither did I and I have yet to lose a child. They tend to vanish and then return, but that isn’t on me. They’re magical little monsters. But you don’t start out knowing anything, you just learn it. I mean, there’s a ton of shit that you’re going to fuck up on, and that’s okay; as long as you don’t drop him, you’ll be fine.” Synthia grinned reassuringly as she finished.
“Did you drop them?” she asked.
“No, but Zander did sift mid-diaper-change and landed on Ryder’s chest, but I fail to see that as a fail and more of a haha, you?”
“It wasn’t funny, he got shit all over me, and he doesn’t even need to shit, he’s Fae,” he groaned as one eyebrow lifted.
“And God, they’re all little Gods,” Ciara added.
“More reason not to, and yet they tend to shit so much you’d think they were humans.”
“Hey, am I intruding?” Adam asked from the doorway as he leaned part way in. Ciara beamed as he walked over and looked down at her sleeping child. “The fuck, Ci, I thought we were going to get married, fuck and pop out some babies?”
“Right, as if,” she laughed as she lifted her cheek to him. “How’s your kingdom, Dark Prince?”
“Overrun with fucking wild things coming through the portal,” he admitted. “Someone said you were giving birth; I called bullshit, now I owe them a favor. How did you get pregnant?”
She stared into his green eyes and laughed. “I got stolen by a dragon king, and he knocked me up, and we’re married.”
Adam opened his mouth and closed it a few times as he stared at her. “I leave for a few fucking weeks and wait, you got stolen? Like someone came in and took you? I need to meet him.” Ciara nodded towards the corner where Blane stood, and Adam held out his hand. “Dark Prince, Adam, and you are?” he asked, waiting with his hand out.
Blane nodded and shook his hand. “Blane, Dragon King.”
“Nuh-uh, dragons exist?” he asked with a boyish grin on his sexy lips.
“We do,” he mumbled as he reached down, running his thumb over his sons cheek.
“Can you guys give us a few minutes?” she asked of the room.
“I’ll get your bedroom ready while the others go get drunk,” Synthia said as Olivia’s curls bounced as she agreed to help.
Once the room was cleared and it was only the three of them in the room, she sat up and held her arms out. “Hold him,” she whispered. She’d seen his brands, tiny little things but there. He had the mark of the dragon his chest and was mixed with both of their DNA. She needed to see how he reacted to it. He stepped closer, staring down at his son with an uneasy look. He had dark wispy curls, and ocean blue eyes that watched his father as his tiny fist sat in his mouth. He sucked it loudly, eyeing his father with curiosity.
Blane reached down, accepting his son as he sat beside her in the bed. He pushed the blanket away from his chest, tracing the mark of the dragon. “He’s marked by the dragon,” he smiled. “And the Fae, he has brands?”
She swallowed. “He’s royal Fae; sometimes they are born with them. Is that a problem?” she queried nervously. He turned his heavy stare at her and frowned.
“He’s half of me and half of you,” he replied. “He’s perfect.”
She exhaled and smiled at them. Her guys, her family.
“You secured peace even though you were free of me,” he mused. “Why? Why get peace if you didn’t intend to come back to me, to us?”
“I came for peace, but also because I had to warn my family. You placed me in the middle of this, and I need you as much as I need them. You want revenge, but now you’ve seen them. You’ve seen the monsters that you’ve spent your entire life preparing to kill, and you know it’s wrong. Now they’re real and not just faceless monsters to you. You tell me, do monsters coo over newborn babes?”
“Ciara,” he warned.
“If you intend to wage war against them, leave and don’t come back. If you want me and your son, then let’s go home. Let’s go to his home, to yours. But don’t take me back so you can lie to me and pretend you are over what happened. We are all nothing but pawns of the Gods, and if you attack, people will die. My family will die. I will never forgive you for that. Choose me, choose us. Let us be a family and let the old wounds heal.”
“I won’t wage war now, but I can’t promise forever,” he whispered as he handed her the babe back. “I can’t do that without first consulting the council, but I am taking you home as is my right. You gave me a son, Ciara, an heir. By right, you’re mine and so is he.”
“And if I say no?” she asked.
“You have a few hours to say goodbye to your family. After that, we will start the trek home. Our people are hidden close by; we cannot leave them out there too long. I’ll be waiting outside for you.”
“Fine, but if you hide your plans from me and intend to kill my family, you will lose me; you will lose us. Remember that. I will not forgive you a second time. I can easily leave you at any time, and it won’t be here I return to.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ciara stood with help from Ryder, her body ached from giving birth and yet it had already begun to heal with her immortality. She cradled Fury in her arms, unable to tear her stare from his beauty. She’d created life, a child that she’d grown with her own body.
“He’s strong,” Ryder said as they entered the hallway.
Remy and Fyra stood up, staring at the tiny bundle with unease. Zahruk pushed off the wall, intending to move towards his sister, but Fyra blocked him, body checking him as her hand went to her blade.
“Don’t draw it unless you intend to use it, sweetheart,” Zahruk warned coolly. His sapphire eyes trailed down her body with a hea
ted stare that made the temperature in the medical facility rise a few degrees. He paused every now and then, taking in her weapons and assets as he made his way down to her booted feet.
She returned the favor, hiking a brow as she admired his weaponry. “I doubt you can handle me,” she challenged.
“You willing to find out, little dragon?” he purred thickly.
“And that’s enough of that,” Ciara chimed in. “Fyra, meet my brother and second in command to the king of the Horde. Zahruk, meet Fyra, Blane’s badass sidekick.”
“Weapon master,” she corrected. “There’s no weapon I can’t handle or master.”
“I bet I have one you couldn’t handle,” he challenged.
She smirked as her eyes heated before she brought her shoulders up and dropped them. “I doubt it, fairy boy. I’m built for war.”
“I bet you are.”
“Well, obviously you two have a lot in common, swords and all, but there’s an army camped outside that’s surrounded by the Horde, and I for one don’t relish the idea of a war. So, let’s make our way to them, shall we?”
They continued staring at each other in open challenge until Remy and Ryder stood in front of each one, blocking whatever the hell was happening. They started towards the main hall, swarmed by her brothers’ mates. Olivia offered to carry Fury, and Ciara agreed, if not hesitantly to hand him off. Not because she didn’t trust Olivia one hundred percent, but because he was delicate, tiny, and she was afraid he would break.
“He won’t break, Ciara. He has your hair and your brands and is as perfect as his mother when she was born. I remember you at that age. I touched your hand, and you wrapped your fingers around one of mine and held on as if you knew you needed me. I made a vow that day to always protect you, and I failed. First with our father and then when you were taken,” Ryder muttered close to her ear as he hooked his arm through hers. “I won’t fail you again, and I mean it. If you are unhappy, say the word and we will bring you home, no matter the cost. You have an army standing behind you and four castes of Fae who will go to war with you should the need arise.”
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