His eyes scanned my face, and I realized with perfect clarity that Ryder was the only thing keeping me protected in this place of monsters. He could read my expression, if his eyes softening were anything to go off. I watched as he lowered his gaze to my midsection, which was perfectly flat. They came back up to meet mine, filled with triumph and heat that I hadn’t expected to see in them while standing in front of the entire assembly.
The women stood, and music filled the room. Men moved about, bowing to females. It was as if I was watching an ancient scene of nobility play out before my eyes. There were wicked smiles on the faces of all of those present. I swallowed the urge to run, as men’s eyes turned toward us, in lust. As if the entire room expected Ryder to take me right in front of them. I narrowed my eyes on them. That shit was so not happening.
“You feel good in my lap, Pet,” Ryder whispered softly against my ear. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, turning to lean my head against his cheek.
He jerked his face away from me and spoke low and sharply in my ear. “I can’t afford to show a weakness, Synthia. It might look safe here, but there are those who would use you to get to me if they thought I was emotionally attached to you.” I stared at him, stunned. Talk about sending mixed signals!
“Sometimes I wonder why you fight so hard to save this place. Why fight for something that isn’t safe? You fight to fix the world, but yet you can’t even trust those within your own walls?”
“There are few I trust with my life. I fight because I love Faery; it’s my home. If something was happening to your world, Synthia, you would fight for it. You are a born warrior; we are more alike than you know.”
I fell silent, considering his words. He was right. I’d fight to save the earth, and everyone in it. I turned my head to find Claire glaring at us from across the room. She hated me, and it ran deep and ugly inside of her. She was a problem I needed to fix before I got too fat to do so.
~~*
We were dismissed from the throne room just a little while later, and Ryder went to a room just off to the side, behind the dais where his throne was. It must have been an office or meeting room as Zahruk and Ristan followed him. I was invited to the pavilion by Claire, but I skipped it and walked back to the room I’d been given. There was no way in hell that I was going to sit with Ryder’s harem and have lunch. It didn’t even make sense why they would have a lunch since Fae fed from emotions…not food. Maybe she planned on trying to make me miserable and feed off that.
I’d been so lost in my own thoughts, that I hadn’t even noticed the five handmaidens following me back to my room. Why hadn’t they gone to eat like the rest of the sheep in this place? I turned and eyed them, none of them looked happy with my decision to skip the meal. Sinjinn, Aodhan, and Dristan were following close behind the handmaidens.
“You guys don’t eat the food?” I asked.
“We serve you. Where you go, we go,” Darynda explained.
“So if I jump off a bridge, you’d join me?” Sheep…line up for the slaughter.
“A bridge?” she asked with a confused look on her face.
“A bridge,” I said, and when it didn’t seem to register on her face, I explained it.
“Why would you wish to jump from a bridge?” she questioned, still confused.
“Never mind,” I said, and started walking down the hall in the direction of the room I was staying in.
They continued to follow me down the hallway and up the long winding staircase, and even though Sinjinn had offered to sift me up, I needed the exercise. I’d gotten little to none since coming here, and even though I was pregnant, I was staying in shape.
“I wanted to be alone,” I said over my shoulder as I took the steps beside Sinjinn, and the women who were behind didn’t fall back, instead they rushed to keep up with me.
“That we cannot do Princess. It is our duty to see you are well and cared for,” Darynda said calmly with a pointed look. When I refused to comment she crossed her arms and continued to follow me. I was pretty sure that she’d tap her foot impatiently, if she wasn’t walking at a brisk pace just to keep up with me.
“You want me fine? Leave me alone for a minute. In the last few weeks I have watched my best friend be murdered right in front of me, I found out I wasn’t human, I have been stabbed by Zahruk, almost blown up, given to the Dark Heir as his fiancée, kidnapped, met my fairy fucking family, and now I’m a whore for the fucking Horde King! You want me to be okay? Then get the fuck back for five minutes!” I was shaking, which only made me increase my speed as I fisted my hands at my sides.
The horrified looks on their faces made me feel like an ass, but I just needed a moment to breathe—alone. I needed to make a plan, and to do that, I needed to be alone. They didn’t leave; they stayed right freaking behind me.
“I’m sorry you have been through so much, but we did not do this to you. We are here to serve you, to make this easier on you,” she whispered.