“Because, I don’t have you. Why won’t you let me see beyond your shields if I have you? You think I can’t see that you’re holding me at arm’s length? I’m not an idiot. I know you have secrets that you don’t allow anyone else to see. I know you think you’re good at hiding them, but eventually all secrets come to light, and we all have skeletons in our closet. The only difference between yours and mine is that you forced mine onto the table, and you don’t trust me enough to let me see yours.”
“Careful, Syn,” he warned.
“Careful, my ass. You keep taking from me, and in return I get owned! I’m not a dog that you can just chain up like a fucking pet. Eventually, I’m going to be done with the contract, and you’re going to see me walk away.”
“And if I let you in, and show you all my secrets? What if I’m the exact thing you hate most? What if my past is bathed in blood and my deeds are so evil that you end up hating me; what then?”
“It’s in the past, unless you are still doing it. Whatever it is you did, it’s in the past as far as I’m concerned. It’s what we do with the future that matters. If you plan on continuing to do whatever it is…you know what? This is stupid, because I don’t even know what the hell it is you did. I’m not asking for marriage. I’m just saying I won’t be owned. You want me, ask me. Stop demanding it, expecting it, or eliminating the competition.”
“You’re thinking like a human again. Fae take what we want and always look to see how we can stack the odds in our favor.”
“So, I should club you over the head and drag you to my room and chain you? Ya know, since I turned all Fae cavewoman and shit.”
He smiled. “Interesting idea, Pet.”
I snorted and shook my head. The man was impossible, but that was the problem. He wasn’t a human and I kept expecting him to act like one. “Can I borrow your club?” I asked, smirking up at him.
“I don’t need a club,” he replied.
“Of course not, you just write up a contract and I end up signing it. I guess I’ll have to put my new brain to use and figure out a riddle that ends with me owning you this time.”
“Is that so?” he growled smiling.
“It is.”
“You couldn’t handle me,” he challenged.
“Is that so?” I shot back at him.
He growled throatily.
I licked my small fangs and rolled my eyes. “Any news on the group that are killing Fae?” I changed the subject. Yes, it was chicken shit of me, but it was getting way too deep, too fast.
“Not that you need to know about,” he said, searching my face. “You need to concentrate on figuring out how to sift and what powers, if any, you acquired. I’ll handle what’s going on with my men.”
“People are dying, Ryder. I’m not going to sit on my fucking thumbs while they do so. I’m not that girl.”
“You really are the most infuriating woman on this entire fucking planet!”
“And you’re the most annoying fucking Fairy on this planet,” I shot back with a twisted smile on my lips.
“I think I should chain you and give you another example of just how well I can fuck,” he purred.
The elevator doors slide open as it stopped. I quickly ducked beneath his arms and practically ran down the hallway and headed to the short stairway that led to the club below. Obviously not fast enough, since I could hear his boots close behind me as they padded on the floor. I stiffened my spine and took the steps that lit up beneath my feet as I stepped onto them.
At the bottom of the steps, I paused, wondering how everyone would react to my new appearance. I couldn't pretend to be anything but Fae, with the telltale glowing eyes and fangs I was now sporting. I gasped as Adam came into view.
He was beautiful. His vivid green eyes met and held mine. They were now the emerald and lime green double iris I had seen before and held the same thin obsidian black circles around the iris as mine did. His hair was a little longer, as was mine now from Transition, and it was the same dark brown it had always been. He was taller and wider in the chest area. His t-shirt showed his own brands pulsing; like mine were beneath the sleeves of the shirt I wore to hide them.
He smiled with perfect white teeth; no fangs though. I stepped closer to him, but he was faster. He could sift now, and, before I'd even placed my foot on the floor, he had me in his arms, crushed me against his massive chest. “Stop thinking that I could ever hate what you are. You know better than that,” he whispered roughly against my ear.
“Adam,” I cried and wrapped my arms around him.
“I remember what I did to you, Syn. I'm so sorry. I was afraid you’d hate me for it,” he whispered.
“As if.” I smiled to reassure him, and winced as his eyes grew huge.
“You have fangs,” he laughed uncomfortably.
“Baby ones. Ryder, said they'll go away,” I replied self-consciously.
“You plan on hoarding her all to yourself?” Alden asked from behind Adam.
I pulled away from Adam and looked at Alden, and waited for his disgust to show on his face. It didn’t come. Instead, he smiled and held his hands out, which I accepted and allowed him to spin me around once. “You look beautiful, Synthia. You shouldn’t fear what we think, and before you start telling me you’re not that girl, remember, I raised you. You’re still that same girl inside, and that is what matters to us.”
“Thanks, I—” The lie I meant to say— ‘don't feel any different,’ —froze on my tongue. I did feel different, and I felt a pull to Adam that hadn't been there before, as well. I could hear every heart that beat, as well as the blood that flowed inside of every person in the room. This was an in-your-face reminder that the Fae really can't lie—even over stupid things, and another reminder as to why they were masters at manipulation.
He smiled as if he knew I’d tried to tell a lie, but didn't comment on it. “Glad to see you're okay. I wasn't expecting you to accept it so easily.” He smiled sadly.
“Who says I accept it? I'm still me. I may be Fae, but I'm still an enforcer by blood, trained by the best Guild in the Nation. Changing into something else hasn't made me forget my priorities, or what I was taught.”
“You’re royal Fae, Synthia—this whole time you’ve been under my nose—you and Adam here are both royal Fae. This is something I should have noticed. I failed the Guild in that aspect, and I have a feeling that there will be hell to pay for it.”
“I’m always here for you, Alden,” I mumbled.
“I know that. I raised you to be a proud woman. I also made sure you would be able to handle anything life threw at you. I couldn’t be more proud of you,” he said, his eyes misted with tears as he smiled.
“If you ever need me, you only have to ask.”
“Thanks, but I can handle this, Synthia. You focus on what you need to, and stop whoever is killing the Fae. That's what's important right now. So far, no more Witches or Fae have turned up dead over the past few days, and I think I can handle the Guild for now.” He smiled as he patted me on the back and then headed back to his seat at the bar.
“Nice fangs, Fancy Face. Sexy as fuck,” Adrian said, stepping closer.
I smiled and wrinkled my nose. “Mine will go away.”
“That's too bad. They really are fun.” He smiled, showing off his own.
I blinked at his words and shivered as the whole room faded to nothing. I was once again back inside the candle-lit room with Ryder, biting him for the first time. I blushed profusely at the memory, and swung my eyes back to his, where he stood behind Adrian. His mouth turned into a sexy smirk as if he knew exactly what had just flashed through my mind.
“I'm glad you made it through Transition in one piece,” Adrian finished, Vlad moving in beside him and the tension built inside the room.
I tilted my head, listening as Ryder's heart rate increased and the brands started to pulse violently across my arms and chest. “It's the call of the blood,” Vlad said from beside Adrian.
“
What?” I asked, feeling Adam's hand slip inside mine.
“The blood flowing through the veins of those in the room. The hearts beating to a tempo. You hear it all—use it. You will always know when someone is lying, or scared of you.”
I blinked at Vlad. “That's creepy.”
He laughed, wickedly. “It comes in handy. Trust me.”
Chapter Thirteen
We spent some time with Ryder, Z, and Ristan, going over what Adam and I should and shouldn't be able to do, while the rest of Ryder’s men sat around us listening. I had to laugh when Ryder gave us the snippet of Fae advice, ‘just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should.’ Most of the Fae adopted a ‘don’t use magic unless absolutely necessary in the human world’ attitude to help cut down on a lot of the suspicion and hate that the Fae were encountering from some of the more right-winged and prejudiced groups that had been cropping up. All the information was daunting, but I could manage it.
What a relief! Food was still on the board for us, as it turned out the Fae can and do eat; it just didn’t have the same nutritional properties that the emotional feeding gave the Fae. Zahruk let us know that the old stories about humans eating the food of the Fae and becoming bound to the Fae who tricked them was very true, as this was the old way that the Fae used to lock humans into staying with them forever. I had to raise an eyebrow at Ryder for this revelation, as the giant fink had fed me in Faery, and I had forgotten that little tidbit of Hades-Persephone-esque lore of the Celts. A little smirk from Ryder confirmed my suspicion that he had indeed fed me ‘food of the Fae’. I rolled my eyes at his sneaky attempt. That this was one more way he had tried to lock me into being his pet while I was still human.
Ryder had insisted that no one else would teach me how to sift, since it could create an appetite. It was part of Transition, so he was within the agreement of the contract to demand it, just like he did everything else.
Ryder insisted we all retire to the mansion as soon as our little class-Fae 101—was done for today. There was still a lot more to learn, and a great deal more that they were hiding from us. Adam and I were hanging out in the room I’d been in the last time I’d stayed with Ryder—he may have assigned the room to me again, but I wasn’t staying here long term. The minute I could, I was going home.
“You don't think it's weird that Ryder isn't a little more pissed that Arianna wasn't the Light Heir?” Adam asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Arianna had been a Witch who’d ended up killed by Joseph, and used against the Fae in a deadly game of cat and mouse. We’d discovered she’d been nothing more than pieces from several victims, sewn into one body.
“I find it weird that he's pretending to be something he isn't. I also think there's more going on around here than we can see, or what they are telling us. Ryder isn't the type to let something like being engaged to a fake heir go unpunished, and I have a feeling we're going to end up in the middle of a flipping war.”
“You actually think the Light Fae were in on the deal with Arianna and the Mages?” Adam narrowed his eyes as I smiled in reply.
“I can’t help but think they were. It’s the only way she could have gotten close to the Dark Prince, and both castes seemed really eager for an alliance of the Dark and Light Heirs. I think these guys are messing with each other, because, Adam, some of what I have seen and heard doesn’t add up. I don’t think Ryder is the Dark Heir—I think he’s something else.”
“No, I am not the Dark Heir, but Adam is,” Ryder said from the doorway making us both jump like naughty children with their hands in the cookie jar.
“What?” I asked, hiding my shaking hands.
“Adam, I need you to come downstairs.” Ryder ignored me as I came off the bed wide-eyed.
“Okay, give me a minute, unless Syn is allowed out of her room?” Adam asked with a mischievous smirk.
“It's better if she stays up here for right now.” Adam nodded to Ryder and kissed my cheek, before walking out of the room. “Stay put, Syn, unless you need to feed. If that's the case…” Ryder let his words trail off as his lips curled into a dangerous smile.
“I'm good. Why did you say Adam was the Dark Heir?”
“Let it be for now, Pet—I'm sure he will tell you when he is ready to.”
I shook my head as a sick feeling engulfed me. “He's my family.”
Ryder nodded, but his face showed no emotion. “He had one before you claimed him as your familiar. Try to remember they lost him so that you could have him when you needed him.”
I swallowed the retort that sat on my tongue. “I'm going home tonight. End of story.”
“You stay with me until you're able to sift home. Besides, Gabe wants to meet you in person and clothed preferably.”
“Gabe?” I asked, before sitting back down on the edge of the bed.
“Your dog would like to meet you. If you'd like to go out for fresh air later, I will arrange it. Other than that, you're stuck here. I'll be leaving in an hour to take care of something that needs my attention. Ristan is staying to keep you busy.”
“You mean to babysit me? I don't need a fucking babysitter, and what if I get hungry?” I asked with a devious glint in my eyes that I allowed him to see.
“Ristan will let me know if you need my assistance. Or, we could take care of it right now and solve the issue before it becomes a problem for you.”
“Nice try. I'm sure I'll be fine with my sitter. You better be teaching me how to sift tomorrow so I can go sleep in my own bed.”
“I like you in my bed, Pet.”
*~*~*~*~*Adam*~*~*~*~*
I have a father. I have an entire family. And Syn had been right. Ryder wasn't the Dark Heir—I am. As if it wasn’t fucking bad enough that I’m Fae, now I’m royal, as in ruling family fucking Fae. I can’t function with the things going on in my mind. I can’t get her out of my fucking head. I'd almost raped her, and she'd selflessly forgiven me.
She should hate me; would hate me if she knew how I was imagining bending her over and fucking her until I couldn't feel her anymore. Larissa would hate us if she was around. She'd hate me. I fed gluttonously without a thought of her. I'd wanted to spend my entire life with her, and not once had I thought of her—only Syn.
This is fucking ridiculous! I can't get her out of my head. Her emotions run through me. I'm a fucking filter. She's my world, and I filter her shit and, yet, I can't blame her, because we’re linked. Like a fucking machine. She's my other half, and without her there is no balance.
“Cadeyrn, you need to come with us. You belong with us in Faery,” the stranger before me said, not for the first time. He is at least as tall as I am, with the same frame I now have. His sky-blue and sapphire eyes seem to snap at me with restrained humor. He has hair that’s so black, it has blue highlights; sort of like Ryder’s, only shoulder length like mine. Just barely visible above his collar is a detailed Celtic cross brand on the side of his neck that is similar to the one on my back. If the familiarity of his features isn’t enough, there’s also the feeling like something settled into the depths of me and clicked into place—a puzzle piece that had been missing from me for a long time. This man is definitely my father.
“My name is Adam,” I growl, not really able to deal with this new round of shit, when Syn is upset just upstairs.
“Your name is Cadeyrn, the Heir to the throne of the Dark Fae. You are needed at home, Son.” My father’s eyes seem to be searching my face for some sign of recognition, his frown showing the only sign of emotion on his face.
“I belong here now,” I argue.
“Your mother has yet to recover from your disappearance, and you have a sister and brothers who also miss you. You have a responsibility to the Dark Fae, and we need you to come home. Ryder has been searching for you, in addition to his other responsibilities.” His voice waivered briefly, showing a twinge of fear, and sadness in his tone.
“I really don't care. I'm staying here. I have a life here and responsibilities.”
>
“Adam, Syn will be okay without you,” Ryder said, throwing in his two cents as if anyone fucking wants it, or needs it.
“She's mine,” I snarl, hating the fact that he's had her. She is falling for him, and she's as oblivious to it as he is. I can feel it though, and it worries me.
“You think she is. You balance her out, Adam, but you don't want her—you feel the need to please her because you can taste her emotions. She's inside of you, Adam, and everything you think you feel for her is only because you are connected. It isn't real. You don’t want to do anything other than be there for her. You are as much a part of her as your hand is a part of yourself.”
“Thanks for the education, but if I'm the Dark Heir, Ryder, then who the fuck are you?”
“Cadeyrn, you have twelve brothers and a sister. All of your brothers carry the title of ‘Dark Prince’.” My father looked amused with himself as he watched me absorb the implications. I shook my head. No fucking way. I turn and look at Ryder who’s also watching me with a cocky-ass smile on his face. This had to be a fucking joke; he was not my brother.
“Adam, it’s best for you to go home right now. You have a lot to catch up on, and I have a job to do here beyond just finding you. The Light Fae are not what they appear to be, and we can’t just accuse them outright. They are denying they knew what Arianna was. Everything points to them being a bunch of self-absorbed pricks that are helping the Mages. I plan to eradicate the Mages once and for all, Adam, so I suggest you get in line with me, or stay the fuck out of my way. I don’t care which one you choose, but you had better do one or the other soon.” Ryder’s tone is becoming increasingly angrier, and his eyes are starting to glow.
“And Syn? Where the fuck does she fit in? Or is she just something you plan on using until she's served her purpose. Brother, or until you have had enough of her?” I growl back.
“What I do with her is none of your fucking business. She can be yours when I have had my fill of her. Until then, stay the fuck out of my way. She's mine by contract. She breaks it, and I will own her for eternity. She's immortal now, so I'd be careful what you say to her.”