“Faolán is lost to us, then,” he whispered as he pulled me against his chest and surprised me with a bone crushing hug. “I’ll kill him myself for what he’s done to you and our family.”
“No, not yet, Liam,” I whispered with a reassuring smile. “He’s a big part of this, and yes, he helped them kill me as they tried to steal my babies…”
“Babies! Oh gosh, I almost forgot about them,” Madisyn whispered with huge eyes. “Oh,” she said softly as she deflated. She eyed Lasair, who just watched her.
“It’s true that he tried to kill me and steal the babes, but they are fine for now. I need you all to keep my secret until we face the Mages. They cannot know I was reborn a Goddess. Liam, you will become the new Blood Heir. You are the strongest of the Blood Fae right now according to Danu, and you’re her choice for the Heir. I fear if the knowledge of it gets to Faolán he will change his game and come after you. He’s no longer the child you once knew; he’s cold and calculating. In his mind, he believes that the Mages can change who the Heir is, and I’m not actually sure if they can or not, or if it’s just how they are keeping him on their side of the fight. He is bringing them everything about our defenses, and he can get around Faery to places they can’t get into, but they will soon if he keeps feeding them information.”
“We can do that, and will support your husband. I do hope he has made you his Queen for supplying him heirs,” Lasair said as he stood to his full height.
“He asked; I said no,” I spit out as I continued on, but when Lasair guffawed with laughter at Ryder’s expense, I held my breath as I watched his eyes slip from gold to black. “I should explain that better,” I said out loud. “He was there when I died, and it was a shock. I died less than a day ago and it was just too soon. I want him forever, and he knows it. I also want him to ask me when the time is right. I know it sounds selfish, but when he does ask me, I want it to be him and not the grief asking me.”
“Smart girl,” Liam said with a mischievous smile on his lips. “Make him work for it,” he finished with a roguish wink.
“Madisyn, I have something to ask of you,” I said as someone knocked on the door.
“Yes?” she asked and I could see she was internally struggling with what I’d just told her.
“Danu is my mother, but she can’t interfere or help me to physically protect my children. I am a part of her, but you, you’re my mother. Or at least I hope you still consider me as your daughter. You’ve held me in your heart and even though I’m not of your blood, I was hoping you’d still be my mother.”
“Oh. Of course,” she wiped at her eyes and hugged me again, and I smiled at her effort to hide the emotion.
“My children need a grandmother who can interfere and be there when they need them. One who can show them love and help us to direct them on the right path. I have no idea what it means to raise a child, and I have three of them now.”
“Three?” she asked, pulling back to look at me.
“Two boys and a girl,” I smiled at her bewildered look.
“That’s unheard of!” She gasped and then smiled. “Lasair, we have three more grandchildren!”
Lasair didn’t share in the joy. I could see him calculating the chances of all three being accepted by the land.
“That’s another thing,” I said as I read his mind accidentally. “We have to unite the Fae to help us take our babies to the Tree, and Danu will need to draw on all of your powers to bless them and, if they survive, they should begin the healing process for other babies in this world, and also help to heal the damage the Mages and Faolán have done.”
“You have my oath as your father and as the Blood King that we will do whatever is needed to save our grandchildren, and that Faolán is forever banned from my Kingdom.”
“There’s one more thing I need to ask you about,” I said softly.
“Yes?” Lasair asked.
“Cailean, why does he still protect me?” I asked wanting to know exactly what part this man had played in my life.
“Cailean was part of Faolán’s guard before he brought you to us; however he has not been seen since you left the Blood Kingdom so he was not able to be reassigned. If he has been protecting you, you will have to ask him. What I can tell you is that he is devoted to you; that much was apparent when he brought you back to us, and he is the type of man who’d willingly lay down his life to protect those he chooses to guard.”
“He almost did; he was there fighting for me when Faolán and the Mages tried cutting me open to take my babies. I want him; I want him to protect my children as fiercely as he fought for me. He should be rewarded for what he has done and I’d like your permission to give it to him.”
“You really are a Queen,” Madisyn said softly. “He is yours; may he protect your children as fiercely as he protected my daughter.”
The knock sounded again and this time the door opened and Ristan stuck his head inside. “It’s time for the Blood King and Queen to take their places, so we can begin the proceedings.”
“Thank you, Ristan,” I said as I smiled at my parents. Danu may be my actual mother, but Madisyn had grieved for my loss and had done what only a true mother could have. She sacrificed me for the greater good, and she’d taken my loss to heart. She loved me, and I could feel it.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryder had taken his Horde King form and was seated on his throne as the assembly watched him. It was as if they looked for a sign of weakness, which was common with the Fae, but it upset me that we had deal with treachery on a daily basis from his own people.
Like Claire.
She was seated in the front as if she was a guest of honor. I watched, cloaked in invisibility glamour, as she smiled seductively at Ryder. The woman had absolutely no brains. If I’d faced the Horde King after trying to kill his offspring, I’d be suspicious of why he’d invited me to the presentation of his children.
Not her; she wore a bright red dress which barely contained her breasts, and was smiling at Ryder, who was ignoring her. The old adage of wearing a red dress to a funeral popped into my mind and I wondered if she thought that she could just sex Ryder up and he would forget about what she had done. Zahruk was at Ryder’s side, as was custom as Ryder’s second-in-command, and the crowd was growing restless as they waited to see what was going to happen.
I looked around the crowd from my vantage point, and spotted the Dark King and Queen, along with Adam and his brothers and sister, all seated in the front row, right beside my own family. The Light King and Queen were seated on the other side, with some of their own offspring in attendance as well. Ciara was beside them, with a few of Ryder’s own family, including his mother, who was mentally unaware of what was going on. I was planning on getting through to her, and had asked Ryder to bring her out of the pavilion for this. She needed to see us, and it was time she came back from where she was hidden inside her mind. She’d been seated at the far end of the aisle, in case something set her off; so that Aodhan could easily get her out if he needed to.
Alannah, Ristan’s mother, had come as well. I figured she was here for the show, and while Ryder didn’t really trust her, I knew Ristan would stop her if she tried anything. She had wanted revenge on Alazander in the worst way for too many years and, to me, had seemed content with his demise and appeared to understand that Ryder was not the monster that his father had been; he was his own man, and a better one at that. He fought for his people, not against them.
The babies would be presented to the world soon enough, and I feared it. They were so tiny and defenseless. These were creatures that would use them for gain, and an example would have to be made. It was a slippery slope we were climbing right now as the Fae tended to prize ambition and ‘stacking the deck in their favor,’ however the actions of a few went beyond ambition and we would have to show them that any attempts
to harm our children would be punishable by death.
I watched as Ryder stood and called Claire to the throne. She smiled and swayed her hips seductively.
“Claire, you were a part in actions that have led me to believe you would do anything to have what you want. What do you have to say for yourself?” Ryder’s voice echoed through the entire hall.
I’d thought her treachery was just for me, but it went beyond it to my children. She wasn’t just insane, she was delusional. While I had been with Danu, Claire had been treated to one of Ryder’s little nap sessions and would never remember the interrogation she had gone through with Ryder and Zahruk. Just as Ryder had done not too long ago with me, he and Zahruk had gone rummaging around in her mind so she was fully unaware that her dreams and plans of treachery had been ferreted out and documented. She now held no secrets, and she had no clue of it.
“I’m a woman who desires you, yes, my King,” she said saucily. I could only see her back, but even I could tell from the smacking of her lips that she was laying the lust on thick.
“Is that all?” Ryder asked with his body held stiffly, unmoved by her declaration.
“I’ve served you well, many times, and plan to do so now that the Blood Princess is no longer in attendance to serve my liege’s many needs. I’ll even watch over your children and love them as my own,” Claire continued.
“Is that so?” Ryder asked coldly.
“I’d do anything for you, and anything to have you. I have never hidden my desire for you, and I’ve done everything to please you,” she went down to one knee. “My sister failed to draw your lust, but I’ve had it many times. I can give you what you need and crave unlike Abiageal,” she said with full confidence. “And unlike the Blood Princess who fought you and thought to betray you. I would never turn you from my bed, Sire.”
I’d never betrayed him. Kept shit from him and omitted the truth out of fear of him wanting me for power, sure. That I was guilty of, but it hadn’t been a betrayal.
“What part did you play in the treachery that occurred in my castle?” he asked and I watched as her spine stiffened and she grew nervous.
“I…I don’t wish to speak of it, for I know I overstepped in my ambitions, but the end result is as I wished it, Sire. I have you and I hear you have obtained your children.”
“Was it your intention for me to find them at all? Or were they supposed to die with their mother?” he continued and even I could see the anger burning in his eyes from my vantage point.
“Ryder—”
“I am your King, Claire. You do not address me as anything but my rightful title as the Horde King,” he sneered.
“My King, I only wished for her to go away and didn’t care how it happened,” she said in a soft voice, as if she was hoping he’d understand.
“You gave her to the enemy while she was heavily pregnant with my children, and you hoped that by doing so, they all would perish and that in my grief I’d come to you to feed.”
“She’s gone. I see no reason to speak of this now,” she responded defensively.
I smiled and started down the aisle, shedding my glamour as I went. I heard the inner thoughts of her as I did so, wondering if this was one of the gifts Danu had mentioned I’d be plagued with. To me, it was a valuable asset; I just needed to figure out how to turn it on and not just have random thoughts coming to me out of nowhere.
“Why does he even care? I gave his bitch away to be killed, and her brats should have died too! They promised me they’d all die. That I would have the King in his grief, even Dyson said he’d be forced to feed and I was the only one left who he would take from the pavilion. I’d kill his whore myself if the bitch was here!” Claire was talking shit in her head when I approached her. She’d planned the murder of me and my children in hopes that she could replace me and give him more babies.
“Here’s your chance,” I said as I stood behind her. “Make a move, Claire. Please,” I growled and watched as she spun around, white as a ghost.
“You’re dead! They promised me you wouldn’t live through it!” she whispered shakily.
“They lied because they could. You, on the other hand are guilty of trying to kill an Heir and her unborn children,” I seethed the words out but kept my anger in check. I knew she could feel the hum of my power, as it was much like Ryder’s, and I could see her hair starting to rise with static from the magnitude of it.
“I…I…Ryder, please,” she spun around and fell to her knees at his feet. “I just wanted to be with you! You must understand that I did it for us, so we could finally be together!”
“I don’t think Synthia agrees, and your actions will not go unpunished. Treachery is punishable by years of the Traitor’s Punishment. Your smooth skin should make beautiful parchment,” he rumbled harshly.
I felt my own skin crawl as I remembered signing the skin parchment at Ryder’s club after he’d dragged me there to force my hand into signing his contract. It meant she’d be locked up, and skinned until he decided to release her.
“No, please, I’ll serve you! I’ll do anything for you!” she cried.
“Have some dignity, Claire,” I said as I stepped around her crumpled form to stand beside Ryder.
“Claire, I sentence you to the Traitor’s Punishment for the next ten thousand…”
“No,” I stopped Ryder and reached for his hand. “No,” I repeated louder and watched as light flickered in Claire’s eyes and she drew herself up to stand in front of us. Hatred shone from within her, and I could still hear her inner thoughts.
She thought me weak and too tenderhearted to allow her harm. Boy was she wrong.
“Then what shall my punishment be, Blood Princess,” she hissed angrily, not even bothering to hide her smug smile.
“Death,” I smiled coldly. “You committed treason against my King. That alone I could overlook and award you the punishment my King has chosen for you. However, you tried to kill my children, innocent babies who had done you no harm. For that you will die,” I spoke loudly so those in the assembly could hear.
“No!” Cornelius screamed as he sputtered to his daughter. “You have no proof!”
“On the contrary; we have enough proof to kill both of you if Synthia so wishes it,” Ryder growled and moved closer to me. “We know your daughter was under your instructions to kill Synthia, and you sent the Skin Walker, Dyson, to your daughter. He committed crimes against the Horde Kingdom in the belief that his sister would be returned, but Faolán’s already killed her. You knew that; you told Claire as much. You were working with your daughter to secure her place by my side and on the Queen’s throne. You are the one who promised her that she’d be my second choice, and why? I never led you to believe I was interested in your daughter, not beyond the need for sustenance.”
“You have no right!” Cornelius screamed as spittle left his mouth.
“I am your King! I have every right. Danu granted me the right when she chose me as Heir to the Horde. You, Cornelius, are guilty of high treason and I sentence you to the Traitor’s Punishment to begin tonight. You will be stripped of your lands, which shall be granted to your daughter Abiageal,” Ryder’s voice boomed out loudly, the hair on my neck stood up as he dished out the sentencing. “I concur with my consort’s recommendation and your daughter Claire, as foolish as she is for following, will pay for it with her life, here and now. I will not tolerate treachery from my own people, nor will we tolerate any attempt on our children’s lives. Claire, you are sentence to die by my blade,” he said as he pulled out a sword and looked to me for my agreement.
I stepped back and nodded as he stepped closer.
“You should have been satisfied with the life my men offered you. By your own deeds, you forfeited your life; may the Goddess forgive you,” he said and looked at me.
Highly doubtful!
He swung in a wide arch, and I refused to flinch as her head was severed from her shoulders.
“Bring forth Cailean,” Ryder growled as some of the lower guards moved to remove the body of the selfish Fae who’d sealed her own fate. Zahruk made a quick motion of his hand and every trace of blood disappeared. I felt like a horrible person, because I felt relief that she was dead, and could no longer do harm to those I loved.
Cornelius didn’t pause to grieve for the daughter he’d lost, instead he shouted orders to his men who only stood by and watched his feeble attempt to start a riot. I watched him as he continued to froth at the mouth as his only daughter watched him with anger burning in her eyes. Tears had slipped from her eyes as she mourned her sister. Another group of the lower guards pushed through and took a screaming and struggling Cornelius away to his punishment.
“Abiageal,” I whispered but it was enough to force her eyes from her bitter father’s form. “These are not your sins, nor will we judge you for them. You will join us in a treaty, and I’d like it if you stayed here with the protection of the Horde for a few weeks.”
“My lady,” she mouthed. “I have wronged you, because my family has,” she said as her shoulders slumped. “I should be thrown to the far corners of Faery and our lands should be given to the crown.”
“No; the deeds of the father are not that of the child. Alazander was a bastard, and yet his son is just. Your father misled your sister and walked her down a very dark path and she chose to walk beside him. You did not. You were innocent of these crimes and you shall retain your father’s holdings. You will make a great ruler of his lands. One I am counting on to help us when the time comes.”
Seducing Destiny Page 11