“Would you rather I lied to her? She needs to know the truth, no matter how bad it might be!” Ristan shouted over the glowering looks Ryder and Eliran were throwing at him.
“I need the truth. I want the truth. I can handle the truth. What I can’t handle is allowing anything to happen to this child. Do you understand?” I asked, looking up at Ryder and Eliran, and then over at Ristan.
“Syn, just because—”
I grabbed the Demon by his shirt and pulled him closer until we were nose to nose, the tips touching. “The truth. It’s all I want. You saw me hand Adam a son. Was he alive, did he move at all?”
Ristan swallowed slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I have to assume he was based on what I saw. I just do not know if he makes it to Transition. I also do not know if that is the child you are carrying now. Based on the severity of how fast our world is dying and what Danu has shown me, I have to assume he is. Those are two big educated assumptions.” I slowly released his shirt, letting him sit back a little.
Okay, this was a little better that I had thought at first, but still not good enough. Ryder trusted him—a lot, and Ryder said that Ristan was never wrong. It was just some things had to be interpreted. It was plausible he’d seen me handing my child to Adam, because well, I’d want my best friend to see my son. I’d want him to hold him.
“You’re sure it was me, and that it wasn’t the real Light Heir who was handing him her son?”
Ristan looked uncomfortable as he answered. “I saw you, Synthia. I’m sure that it was you in the vision with Adam and you were both smiling. From all of the visions I have had, I do know that you, the Blood Princess, will give Ryder a child, and I am sure that child is the start of the cure to this world. That Danu is pushing and pulling your fate where she can is another thing I am sure of, because not even you can deny the odds of you taking the job from the Guild, and ending up inside of Faery. You found your way back here, Flower. Through all of this, you were brought back to our world for a reason,” he finished with his hands in his lap and a steady look in his eyes.
“Maybe Danu hates me. Ever consider that?” I asked, feeling the nausea rise again, even though I’d taken the meds. My heart was hammering wildly, and it wasn’t helping that I was really starting to wonder why Danu thought I was so freaking important.
“Synthia, you need to rest. You need to allow the medicine to help you,” Eliran said, taking in my shaken pallor.
“I can’t lose this baby,” I whispered as my chest burned with fear and unshed tears.
“Syn, no one in hell will touch our child, including the sickness. Not even if we have to take him to your world to save him,” Ryder said, scanning my face tenderly.
“Get Alden here, and Adrian and Vlad. Adam is on his way. When they get here, we go Mage hunting,” I said, fighting off more nausea.
“You are not going hunting,” Ryder argued.
“Who the hell is going to stop me? They are the ones causing this sickness in the children. So I say we catch one and torture the prickless bastard until he tells us how they are doing it. Then we stop it. We make this world safe for our child, Ryder.”
“I have men out searching for them,” he continued to argue.
“Yet, they attacked the Shifters. Which means they are attacking the smaller creatures of the Horde, the one’s they stand a chance of fighting. Something drew them here, and there’s a reason they are attacking the smaller clans. We just need to catch one of them and figure it out when we do.”
“You get some rest. I’ll send out a notice that we need one of the Mages alive. It’s the best I can do for right now, Pet. I need to get the Horde under a bit more control before I can leave for any length of time. I’m under constant challenges right now, and I’m needed here.”
“I need you here, with me,” I whispered. I needed his warmth and the comfort of his arms right now more than anything. I was handling everything this world was throwing at me, but he was a big part of why I was handling it so well.
He might not say the words I wanted to hear. He may not have broken the contract. But I could tell he was trying and he truly cared about me. And right now, that meant everything.
Chapter Sixteen
Adam was waiting for me in a formal receiving room, wearing jeans and a loose fitting black silk shirt when I saw him. I wasted no time in running to him and throwing my arms around his body in a bear hug. His arms wrapped around mine, and we stood together like that for a while.
“I thought I had lost you,” he whispered.
“I thought I was going to have to kill the Horde King!” I pulled back and studied his handsome face. He looked well; he looked really well. I put a little distance between us, and smiled. “Wow, you got buff,” I observed. His lime and emerald eyes were brighter now, the black line that surrounded them more defined.