“I’m not that five year old, she was helpless. I will never be like that again,” I choked, fighting back tears. I hated that he could read me like an open book, as if he had a window into my very soul. I could feel him inside of me, touching, opening up pages and reading me easily.
“No Syn, you’re a beautifully skilled killer. One who shows no emotion and yet you wear your bleeding heart on your sleeve. Everyone else just failed to see it. But I do. I see you.”
I was about to tell him off when howls erupted around us coming from the Fae close to the stage, the female announcer was back. She was wearing some kind of cloak. The only thing visible was her ringlets of brown hair and ruby red lips.
“It’s time to hunt my beautiful brethren. We honor the Horde King and give him strength tonight, in hopes of his swift return back to us,” when the last word came out the room erupted into a mass of guttural screams.
I shook as the room began spinning around me with the realization of what was happening. I knew Ryder was watching as everything fell into place inside my head. I should have known, should have been smarter and shouldn’t have let him distract me. I was in a room filled with several different castes of Fae.
“The Wild Hunt,” I whispered breathlessly afraid to be right, afraid that if he said yes, then I’d been brought here by him to be hunted and claimed as his prize in a fucking contest filled with skilled hunters.
His head tipped slightly as his smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth, he removed his hands from me and started undoing his cuffs before removing the jacket and deftly worked the buttons of his crisp white shirt to reveal his wide span of sinewy muscles with his brands pulsing on his skin.
I shook my head in disbelief, this wasn’t happening to me. “He’s missing, why honor him?” I offered hoping it would stop this, but knowing it wouldn’t.
“Why indeed Syn,” with his shirt undone, he shook easily out of it and handed it to Zahruk who had come up behind him right on cue as always. The other men from his group once again circled us, but Ryder didn’t stay. “Have her ready and make sure she knows the rules gentlemen.”
I watched him walk away as his men closed in around me. I was shaking from the mere rumors of this event. I was so stupid, how could I have missed it? A club of Fae, on Samhain! How fucking stupid was I?
Zahruk handed off the dress suit jacket and the shirt along with it. He nodded at Dristan who left and returned swiftly carrying a glass of red liquid, “Drink Synthia, it will help steady your nerves.”
“Get me drunk and then make me run?” I asked through chattering teeth.
He smiled, “Trust me, it will help you.”
Dristan handed me the glass, his eyes roving over me from head to toe before he walked around and lifted my hair, his fingers grazing my skin as he removed the necklace Ryder had given me for protection. “Run fast, he isn’t marking you for death Syn. He’s earning the right to claim you as our ancestors have done for many millennia. When he catches you—and he will, you will have to decide.”
“Decide what?” I howled shivering as Zahruk and the rest of the men smiled coldly.
“If he is worthy to have what he has caught. If not he will release you for the next hunter to claim. Just remember, not all follow the honor code Ryder does, some won’t care if you scream no.”
“There’s a flag right? If I make it to the flag I don’t have to choose,” I seethed as anger from what was about to happen set in.
“Not quite,” Zahruk said crinkling his forehead, “If you make it to the white flag, you get the hunter who won last year in your bower.”
I raised an eyebrow in question, “And who won last year?”
Zahruk smiled impishly. The others were laughing and snickering around us. I closed my eyes and counted to twenty, hoping I’d wake up in my bed and this would all be a twisted nightmare. No such luck. I took the drink from Sevrin that Dristan had handed off before removing the necklace and gulped it in one drink, much to his boisterous amusement.
“Sevrin, go get her one more,” Dristan said carefully.
“I need to tell you the rules Synthia,” Zahruk continued, “They’re going to open a portal into the enchanted forest and you will get a short head start. Don’t touch anything, no flowers— they’re poisonous. If anything calls to you—stay the fuck away from it. Only death calls to you inside Faery. The hounds will scare you at first, but they are trained to find and protect until their rider gets to you. They have been given your scent already. They follow a hunter, only a few can tame the hounds. Nod if you understand what I am telling you.”
I nodded while sipping the red liquid down slowly.
“Nothing is safe inside Faery, nothing. Ryder will find you Syn and he will protect you.” He said again.
I snorted enjoying the heat of the alcohol as it rushed through my system. The room had stopped spinning, but my heart hadn’t stopped pounding yet. I swallowed yet another drink before meeting Z’s level gaze. “If Adrian joins the hunt, what happens if I go with him?” I asked letting curiosity get the better of the situation.
The men around us growled with disapproval, but not Zahruk, he was calm, his face showing no signs of anger or disappointment. “If you choose the pup, Ryder will kill him. Inside the hunt he won’t care who he takes out Syn, human rules don’t apply inside Faery. Don’t be stupid. Don’t make him do something he will regret later. With his mind consumed by the need to hunt, he won’t be himself.”
“So I go to him, no matter what,” I stated, when he nodded I continued, “Why didn’t you just start with that?” Dristan smiled charmingly in reply as if he’d already told Z that. The rest seemed to not care either way.
Zahruk narrowed his eyes and shook his head before smiling, “And to think, Ryder said you would be fighting us every step of the way until we got you inside Faery.”
“I know when to fight, just like I know when I’m fucked. Right now it would be futile to argue or fight. Either way I do this, ends up with me inside of Faery with Ryder hunting me down. I could kick and scream if it would make you feel better?” I smirked as he shook his head.
His lips broke into a smile, “Nah, you have balls Syn, you might just have enough to give Ryder a run for his money.”
I flinched as the woman started up again, her voice flowing over the noise of the crowd easily. “Are we ready to hunt?”
Shrieks and howls once again erupted as I bent down to undo the heels that laced around my ankles. When I stood back up I handed them over to Zahruk. Metallica’s Of Wolf and Man came on, as the wall across the room shimmered to reveal a portal into Faery.
Twenty Seven
The room around us vibrated with powerful magic, it took a very powerful Fae to call open a portal this big. It also meant there was a leyline directly beneath Ryder’s club. It was wide open, drawing from this planet and Faery alike to open it.
Wind rushed through as the hole opened, a wide meadow with a forest bordering at the edge of it stood where the wall had once been. I looked around trying to see through the wall of men that surrounded me.
“He isn’t inside the club anymore Syn, he opened the portal,” Zahruk said noting my quickly measured scan as he held the heels awkwardly as if he had never held a pair before.
“Here,” Dristan said handing me a white cloak, “You’re the white stag,” he mumbled as he met my stare, “Put it on before you go through the portal.”
I accepted it slowly. The material was soft and cool against my fingers as I unfolded it and shook it out. I inhaled and let it out slowly as I hung it over my shoulders lifting my face in time to watch Adrian push his way through the wall of men around me.
He swallowed and nodded at Zahruk who nodded back and the wall of men turned as one giving us their backs to allow us privacy. “Tell me to fight him Syn and I will.”
“He would kill you Adrian,” I murmured as my hand went up to stroke his cold face softly.
“I’d die for you Syn, I did it once. I’d
do it again,” he smiled impishly.
“I told you Adrian, I don’t need saving.”
“He’s going to—”
“Stop,” I cut him off not needing it drawn out on paper for me. “I know exactly what he will do Adrian, I’ll be okay,” I replied barely above a whisper knowing the wall was listening.
“It won’t change, if it happens…it won’t change how, or what I feel for you Syn,” Adrian growled hoarsely.
“You have to let me go Adrian, just let me go,” I rasped, as women started moving in the direction of the portal laughing. They had no sense self-preservation inside of them. They smiled and laughed taunting the hunters with hot looks, or sashaying their hips. “I get it now, Adrian. I get why you sacrificed yourself for us. You did it because I would have done it for you.”
He smiled and nodded sadly, “I would again, in a fucking heartbeat baby.”
Zahruk spoke low, but clear over the noise inside the room, “Synthia, it’s time.”
I exhaled and squared my shoulders, shook off the tremor that threatened to come and stepped forward, pressing a soft kiss to Adrian’s forehead. “I got this Adrian, I agreed to come. I can handle this.”
I scanned his face as I placed it between my hands to say goodbye but I let them drop as I felt the power ripple through the club. Electrifying and intensely powerful dark magic. My mouth went dry with whatever words I’d been about to say still inside.
I didn’t need to turn around to know he was there. I could feel his power caressing my skin, his intense stare searing into my soul. I could smell his scent wafting thickly in the air, wild and untamed, sending my senses into overdrive. He’d opened the portal and had come back to openly taunt me.
“Run fast,” he whispered, as he stepped beside me to look down at me with a roguish grin that promised he’d catch me—and fast.
I didn’t reply, not because I couldn’t think of more than one hundred different ways for him to shove that smile up his ass, but because I was smart enough not to goad my soon to be chaser. Nope, I was his fucking rabbit today. He was the wolf and if I was lucky I’d make it out of this with some shred of dignity. “You shouldn’t have done this Ryder,” I whispered meeting his piercing stare with one of my own.
“I suggest you stay away from the other females,” he tilted his head drilling his challenge in as his eyes warned of what he meant, “And the other hunters—for their own protection.”
Legends of the Wild Hunt hinted that not all of the women here would make it out alive, I turned my head looking at the women and wondering if they knew the truth if they would panic. Run, or scream maybe. I couldn’t save them and from the smile and defiance in some of the women’s eyes, I could tell some were well aware of what was at stake.
“Do they know?” I asked in a small voice, as my eyes came back to rest on his. His eyes grew somber, as his smile grew tense.
He bowed his head, his voice harsh as he spoke, “Are you sure you want the answer Syn? You should be more concerned with what I plan to do with you once I have you at my mercy.”
I wasn’t worried with what he would do to me, I already knew. Surprisingly I wanted him to catch me. I wanted to feel his touch on my skin, his mouth seducing my mind. I wanted him and it burned inside of me like a fire out of control. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, a need so primitive and wild that it consumed me from within.
The brunette made her way through the crowd, her full ruby lips smiling as she walked to the front of the portal. “You have a head start, I would use it wisely. When the hunters are released, the portal will close,” she smiled coldly, “Locking you all in. You can only return with whichever hunter you succumb to. You may pass now.” She moved to the side as women took off running in every direction.
I stood watching the others run as if their very lives depended on it, which for some it did. I watched them with a calmness I shouldn’t have felt. Well I was calm until every eye in the place turned in my direction because I had yet to exit through the portal. I smiled and turned back to Ryder. “Good hunting.”
His mouth opened and closed, as if he couldn’t believe I’d just wished him luck hunting my own ass down. His smile was brilliant when it flowed onto his face. “Better fun fast and hard Pet, I suggest you start now.”
“Bring it Fairy,” I smiled before walking off barefooted into the Realm of Faery.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It felt as if I had been wandering around for only a few minutes, but time had no bearing inside Faery. Worse than that, I had no idea how they calculated it. I’d passed the flowers Zahruk had been talking about—with women laying around them doing things to themselves best left unsaid.
The forest was growing denser and my feet were screaming with every step I took. I’d considered stopping and just waiting for him to find me, but he didn’t deserve an easy catch. He deserved a punch in the nose, or worse.
I jumped as a ripple tore through the air, the green leaves shuddering from the force a moment before the air grew thicker, tainted with a growing disturbance. I turned and ran forward as fast as my battered feet would take me. I could hear hounds howling and snarling in the distance as I moved further into the wooded area.
Adrenaline kicked into overdrive, my mind screaming. I calmed the overwhelming urge to panic, pushing away the sound of the hounds as they howled in warning of the approaching hunter. Water beat against rocks to the west. I turned and ran towards it hoping to cover my scent from the hounds.
I ran over grass and branches and came to a skidding halt on the edge of a cliff. I peeked over the edge and scanned for a simpler way down, I looked back over my shoulder as the beating of hooves grew closer. The hounds and a hunter were growing closer, I swallowed and turned completely around waiting, watching.
I’m not sure how I knew it was Ryder that approached, maybe it was the pulsing of power radiating from his body incredibly stronger here, where it was dampened inside my world. He sat atop a beautiful stallion, the horse stomping on the ground as it fought the rider for control to run freely. Its black sleek body shining in the sun’s burning light, as its wild red eyes searched frantically for more open field to run through.
The hounds broke from the bushes and circled the horse, heads low with ears drawn back as they watched me closely. I stepped back as I lifted my eyes to Ryder who had found me faster than I thought he would. He was incredibly beautiful atop his mount. His eyes glowing from within the cloak gave him away.
He looked like something from another age long past, or a battle scene depicted in a museum. A heavy long cloak with a hood was drawn over his head in a heavy obsidian fabric that looked as if it could absorb light. Under this he wore a tunic and trousers of the same fabric. Thick black straps studded with onyx jewels set in dulled silver crisscrossed his chest and held a variety of wicked looking blades as if he was expecting a fight.
I licked my dry lips and stepped even further back and had to work to keep my balance as rocks fell from the cliffs edge. When I was back on solid ground, I flung my eyes back towards the Dark Prince. His eyes swirling with the adrenaline from the hunt, his wild electrical current wickedly abundant here sizzling over my flesh, kissing it.
“Careful Syn,” he whispered as he lifted his hand to remove his hood exposing his face. He was even more beautiful in full Fae form. His face was lit up with his brands, his chest showing them as well from where his cloak was open enough to show it enticingly.
I said nothing, just watched him as he did the same to me. I looked down once more judging the distance between the top of the cliff and the enchanting pool below it, a waterfall pounded into the pond from the other side relentlessly. It was beautiful and serene so unlike the emotions and adrenaline pulsing through me now.
He narrowed his eyes as he figured out what I was planning, “Don’t you even fucking—”
I spun around and jumped.
A few things go through your mind when you do something stupid. Like, oh hell thi
s was stupid, along with that moment of perfect clarity of this might be the last stupid thing you ever do. I’d just swan-dived off a cliff without any knowledge of how deep the water was, or if it held the Lochness Monster in its watery depths.
I didn’t have long to wait before I hit the water smoothly and luckily it was deep enough to dive into. I turned my body around and pushed off the rock’s slime covered tops and crested the water’s surface effortlessly. I scanned the top of the cliffs for Ryder, but he was no longer there. I turned towards the shore and kicked my legs sending my body in the correct direction. When my feet were able to touch I walked up and sat on a rock to catch my breath.
“That was stupid,” Adrian said from behind me.
I spun around and took him in, he was wearing a cloak similar to Ryder’s but Adrian’s was crimson instead of onyx. I backed away from him, my feet once again in the watery pool. “Adrian,” I warned as he lifted his blood red eyes that matched his cloak to me. Looks like Ryder wasn’t the only one who looked different inside of Faery.
“I won’t fight him Syn, but I damn sure not leaving you unprotected in this Fairy cesspool. Don’t ask me to,” he said taking the place where I had been sitting on the rock.
I stood in the pools cool embrace, letting the soreness from running wash away with the crisp cool water. “What’s it like Adrian?” I asked lifting my eyes to meet his.
“Don’t ask me if I sparkle, so fucking tired of being asked that,” he smiled but it wasn’t the same as he had when we were together, he now had fangs that took away from it and left it cold, “It’s different, I was able to keep the connection I had to you though. I should have let it go, but I couldn’t bring myself to since it would have been felt by the coven. Didn’t want you coming to look for me, wasn’t safe.”
Fighting Destiny Page 24