Escaping Destiny (7 page)

“Right, well, since you are newly out of
Transition, we need to keep a close eye on your pregnancy. The
first two months are the equivalent to a human’s first trimester of
pregnancy. If you were to miscarry, this would be the time that it
would happen.”

“Any idea why I am throwing up so much now
that I am no longer in a house warded against the Horde?” I asked,
finding myself concerned. I hadn’t wanted to be a mother, hadn’t
even wanted to think about it. I may not have wanted it, but the
thought of losing it brought tears to my eyes.

It was amazing how soon you could become
attached to something you hadn’t wanted. I felt the tears flooding
my eyes and tried to stop them, but failed.

“Synthia, you shouldn’t cry. I promise to do
everything in my power to ensure that you and the baby are both
healthy and fine.”

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” I replied
honestly.

He smiled softly. “It’s the hormones.
Normally they wouldn’t be this bad, as you haven’t been through
your second heat cycle yet. The hormones can be worse in a newly
Transitioned Fae. I tried to explain that to Kier as well, but he
thought it better we not include that. You had enough pressure
already on your slim shoulders. Fae pregnancy in the first heat
cycle is rare, and yet we’d held hope that you would be different.
You are, lucky for us.”

“I thought the plan was for me and Adam to
have a child right away?”

“Plans usually are grand when they start out.
We only hoped you would be able to, Synthia; hope is all we have
left. You are different, though, as you can see. It is very
possible that you could have done exactly as they had planned for
you and young Adam. The only downside is that you are a newborn in
our world and your newly found senses will be overwhelming for a
while.”

“Great, so basically, I’m going to become a
freaking water faucet!” I asked, drying the tears—or trying to.
Poor Eliran patted my hand and made promises to return later. He
looked a little uncomfortable and almost tripped over himself to
get out of the room and away from me, and I didn’t blame him. I
felt unlike myself, and now at least I had a reason for why I felt
the way I did.

I’m not sure how much time had passed when
Ristan came in slowly, as if he were afraid of what he would find.
I looked up with puffy red eyes and started crying again.

“Well shit, Flower. Never took you for the
sissy type,” he said, as he sat beside me on the bed and pulled me
close to his shoulder. His dark blue button down shirt got an
immediate soaking. At least he looked the same; the only thing
different was a gold medallion on a thin chain around his neck that
had the same design that was on the mark Ryder had given to me of
the two dragons on the Celtic cross. This made me cry harder.

“It’s his fault!” I cried.

“Takes two to play
hide the snake in the
cave
,” he replied.

“Hide the snake in the cave!?” I blinked,
before I started laughing.

“That’s my girl,” he said with his shoulders
shaking from suppressed laughter.

“This is crazy, Ristan. I didn’t ask for any
of this. I’m not ready to be a mom,” I said, wiping at my eyes.

“I don’t think anyone is ever ready. You will
be used to the idea when the child comes. He will be very
protected, and cherished.”

“Who says it’s not a girl?” I asked, pulling
away from his shoulder.

“The vision,” he said.

“The one with me having Adam’s baby? Yeah
right, like I’m going to buy that crap. No offense.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Sometimes I
don’t know whether Danu hates me, or if she just likes screwing
with my head. Either way, she’s a bitch. If I got a choice in the
visions, I’d have you married, and in my bed so fast your sexy
little puffy eyes would roll.” He wiggled his eyebrows and kissed
my cheek. “Now, Flower, no more chasing off the boys with tears.
You’re so much more badass than tears, at least send em running
from punches.”

“Ryder didn’t come for me. He said he would
last night,” I replied ignoring his comment.

“He was otherwise busy. He has a lot to do,
now that he is King,” he explained.

“He promised, and Claire said they had plans
together?”

“That’s doubtful since he was with me, and we
were doing Court business that ran much longer than it should have
as far as I am concerned.”

“So Claire can lie?” I asked, wondering why
she could and I couldn’t.

“No, but she’s a lot older and excels at word
play.”

“Is Ryder going to grow tired of me?” I
wasn’t sure why I’d asked, but I had a feeling Ristan wouldn’t lie
to me.

Ristan turned to look at me closely. “Is that
what you think? He went fucking crazy when you were taken. He went
berserk and took the throne when we could have easily gotten you
away from the Blood Realm, but he couldn’t wait to get you back. He
wouldn’t even give us a day to make a plan and see it out. You
really think he’s going to just lock you in the pavilion and take
someone else?”

“He was ready to take his throne, anyway. You
guys were coming back here to do just that. I’m blonde, Ristan, not
an idiot.”

“You’re smart, Flower. Never said you
weren’t. Ryder’s been putting off claiming that throne for more
than twenty years. No, once he knew where you were, he called the
full assembly of the Horde and marched right up to the throne. He
manifested the crown of the Horde King and announced that Alazander
was dead. We plan on something more formal down the road, but he
was in too much of a hurry to do more than an announcement right
then. Alazander was a bastard. This isn’t something he wanted to
do, ever. Keep that in mind for the next few weeks. He has a hard
road to walk right now. Everyone will be challenging his right to
take the throne, even with him being the Heir of the Horde. It is
one of the reasons for the “shock and awe” display yesterday. We
couldn’t give them any time to think for one moment that he wasn’t
Alazander. As it was, your brother was figuring it out when Ryder
decided it was time to leave the party. If for one moment your
father thought that the Horde King wasn’t Alazander. It would have
been all over, and our departure would have been far bloodier.”

“Does Ryder look that much like
Alazander?”

“In Fae form, not really, but in the Horde
King form they look very similar to one another. Over the last few
centuries, Alazander was rarely
not
in the form of the Horde
King. Those that had been up close and personal with him would be
able to see the differences, but not many lived to tell of it.”

“Seriously, you think they would have
challenged him?” I asked, unsure how I would have felt about it
since I’d thought he was Alazander at the time, too.

“Absolutely. Alazander terrified this world,
but one of his sons would be another matter entirely. Any Fae Lord
worth his salt would be compelled to test him, much less your
father who had been battling Alazander for centuries.”

“Ryder would kick ass while chewing
bubblegum, Ristan. I’ve never met anyone with a head made of rocks
like his. Shit, he could probably just head-butt them with that box
of rocks he has and be just fine.”

“Oh he would, but some things are worth a
good ass kicking,” Ristan said with an evil smirk on his face.

“He’d kick your ass, Demon.”

“But it would be so worth it,” Ristan smiled
and winked at me.

Ristan wiggled his finger, and the entire
room grew thick with magic as he turned it from blue, to more
appealing shades. Turquoise sheets now matched the beds canopy, and
a white couch with matching turquoise pillows lined the far wall.
There was a huge claw footed tub that dominated one corner of the
room. No dressers here, not when you could glamour on clothing…not
that I could do it well yet.

“That’s better; the other was too depressing.
Come with me, there’s someone I want you to meet. She was much like
you when she came here,” he said, getting up and pulling me out
from under the warm covers. He stopped and looked at my silk robe
for a moment. He smiled slyly, and pantomimed his fingers into a
finger gun, took aim, and as he said “Pow,” the robe changed to a
red silky top and pant set with soft leather slippers that matched
in color. He blew on his fingers as I laughed at him and his crazy
antics.

“Thanks.” I grinned at him.

“Don’t thank me. I wanted the naughty little
school girl outfit, but this is more appropriate.” He smirked and
held out his hand. I took it, and we sifted into the pavilion.

We walked through the pavilion and Ristan
pointed out anything he thought I might like to explore, like
gardens and pools. There was a bustle of activity here and so many
creatures that I had never seen before. Dryads, sprites—all female,
and the Demon seemed to know every one of them as he had to keep
stopping to give a little kiss or some sort of affection to the
giggling women as we walked. At one point, a faun with dainty
hooved feet and fur up to her small waist and nothing covering her
chest, kept pace with us. She batted big brown eyes at Ristan
invitingly, before running her finger over her lips seductively.
Her breasts were lush and hardened as she made an inhuman noise at
him before she turned and scampered away.

I turned my eyes to Ristan and shook my head.
“Is there anything you won’t do, Demon? She has freaking
hooves!”

“Hey, a Demon has to catch his dinner
somehow, and don’t let her fur deter you. She’s a wild cat in the
sack,” he teased good naturedly.

I held up my hands and shook my head. “Oh
please, no details! Keep it to yourself,” I joked.

“Hey, I get it where the getting is good.” He
wiggled his brows as he laughed. “Dacey and I were just playing
with you; however you can’t judge anything around here. Most of the
ladies have other shapes that they take.” His face saddened for a
moment. “This is such a different place than what it used to be.”
He sighed.

“How so?” I asked, wondering what it could
have been like to put that hurt in his eyes.

“Flower, when Alazander ruled this world,
this was a place of sheer terror. We have done what we can to fix
the damage, but some hurts will never heal,” he said quietly, with
a distant look of melancholy.

“You’re speaking of the Gifts?” I wasn’t sure
how much I wanted to know about what had happened here.

He nodded slowly in answer. “The Gifts,
wives, and his concubines. Ryder released them all upon Alazander’s
death; however many could not return to their homes. Some because
of the fear of how their families would treat them and some because
of the relationships they had found here. This is a sanctuary as
much as anything else these days. Please keep this in mind when you
think of this place. It’s more than a harem as you have called it,
Synthia. To these women, being removed would crush them more than
they already are.” His swirling eyes begged for understanding. In
all of my imaginings of the harem, this was the last thing I had
expected.

Ristan stopped inside one of the brightly lit
rooms and motioned for me to follow him in. There was a beautiful
petite woman with long, inky black hair seated on the bed. It
looked like she had been reading and her silver and black patterned
eyes narrowed on me when I stepped through the door to stand beside
Ristan. She and Ristan shared a strong resemblance, minus the
missing brands on her arms.

“Alannah,” Ristan nodded to the woman.

“Hello,” I said, not sure of what was
expected from me.

“Who is this lovely being, Ristan?”

“This is my Flower; isn’t she beautiful?” he
asked the woman.

“Very. She’s Blood Fae, though; very touchy
that bunch.”

“Syn is very touchy,” Ristan said, wiggling
his brows at me.

“Stuff it, Demon,” I grumbled and smiled as
the woman broke into a beautiful smile that made her face look even
younger.

“She’s witty. Will you marry her?” Alannah
teased lightly.

“You know I can’t, and I think she might take
offense to me offering,” he said and moved to shoo me from the
room.

“She would be your equal,” Alannah said with
a look of mischief in her eyes.

“She is new to the Horde Kingdom. I thought
she should meet you.”

“Is that so? No, I don’t think so,” she said,
lifting her eyes back to me. “You brought her here to smooth her
transition from the human world, into the pavilion. If you wish for
her to become accustomed to this place, keep that snake from her
nest. Claire is itching for power, and she isn’t going to stop
being a thorn,” Alannah said softly with a knowing look.

“Alannah, Synthia is skilled in warfare and
would wipe the floor with Claire’s pretty face. She shouldn’t be
worried on that front. She needs friends, and you would make a
great ally.”

“Is that so? And why not bring this
blossoming beauty to Ciara?”

“Because she’s a bad influence on everyone,”
Ristan said as he ran his hand over his face. “That girl is not
sane.”

We stayed and chatted for about a half an
hour about inconsequential things, and with a new friend firmly in
place, we left the pavilion. I had to admit that the Demon was
trying his best to cheer me up and help me feel more comfortable in
this new world I had landed in. A Demoness in the pavilion had me
curious in light of all that I had seen today.

“Was she brought here for you?” I blurted
softly, not sure how he would respond with this place’s history. He
started laughing.

“Not intentionally,” he chuckled.

“Ristan, dating from inside of the harem?” I
quipped, but continued. “Shock me with that deviant behavior,
Demon,” I joked.

He snorted and shook his head. “Don’t go
making matches for me, Flower. I’m too busy with Danu inside my
head to make any attachments; I like playing
catch and
release
for now.”