I left Adam at the door to his room, which was only three doors down from mine. He’d been told to ready himself for dinner and that he would escort me himself tonight.
I was so happy the Fae actually ate food, and some of it was incredible. The fruit that Ryder had fed me was amazing, but then, it could have been because he was feeding it to me and my senses had gone all haywire. I was standing with Darynda inside the room when Ryder stuck his head in.
“There is a dinner tonight for the Dark Princeling…Syn needs to be dressed in something red to symbolize the Blood Caste.” He was gone as soon as the last word was said.
I was fighting the nausea again, but the meds were helping. It sucked that being Fae didn’t cancel out the bad parts of pregnancy. I had asked Darynda for an actual bath, and was pleased when she had conjured water into the huge tub.
She’d also brought bath oils and towels, which was nice since I couldn’t for the life of me glamour fabric onto my ass. I was starting to think it had something to do with the necklace Ryder refused to remove.
Dinner had been casual, and I had been informed that there would be a huge feast and celebration very soon for the crowning of the Horde King, since he had skipped the formalities in his haste to get to me.
I enjoyed seeing Ryder and Adam interacting with each other now that Adam and I were in on the secrets. When Kier had taken Adam away from the presentation, evidently Ryder had given him permission in those parting words to let Adam in on everything. The first thing Adam had wanted to do after finding out the truth was kick his ass for scaring the crap out of everyone. The second thing he wanted to do was kick his father’s ass for tricking him into thinking Ryder was his brother.
It was a relief knowing that Adam was here, and that I could go to him when I needed to. I was sure that had been why Ryder had brought him here, and for whatever reason he had done it, I was happy he did.
It was refreshing to have Adam close by. It was also a subtle reminder of how many people I had left in the world. Ristan was slowly making his way to my heart. He was a hard one not to like. Ryder had been a little distant, but then he had a lot on his plate right now.
He had ascended, and with it, came everything he had put off to find me and help the Dark King retrieve his missing heir. He was running a kingdom now, and we were both trying to figure it out as we went through it.
I was grateful for the time it gave me to think, but also afraid that if I thought too much, I would want to run. I had nowhere to go now. My house was gone. The apartment wasn’t an option; not after what had occurred there. Adam was now with his father, and it was where he belonged.
I just needed time to figure out where I belonged, and time to wear Ryder down, and make him see that I was worth fighting for. There would be no running from this; not now that I was pregnant. I couldn’t leave a world to die either; not when the child I carried could be the cure.
No, I just needed to find my place and make sure it was beside Ryder. Even after everything I’d gone through with him, I was willing to fight to keep him. I just needed to give myself some time to adjust to the different culture, and the new world I’d found myself living in.
It was both thrilling, and terrifying. Change always was, though. The part that scared me most was having no control over my own life. If I stayed, I’d be giving most of the control to Ryder, but wouldn’t loving him, and being with him also give him full control?
Ristan’s advice helped me, and I was appreciative for it. The idea of being placed in the pavilion, and left there bothered me the most. I wasn’t sure if he would do that, but it was still there in the back of my mind that he could do it, and easily.
I was inside my room before I thought to look for Ryder’s mark, and I found it on my lower back, right above my left cheek. I could have thrown a fit over it, but it looked sexy, and Ryder would be expecting a fight. I could easily give it to him, but I wanted to be unexpected. I wanted to make him wait for it, and he would. He loved it when I gave him attitude, but the truth was, if I was ever taken—I wanted him to find me.
For now, I’d let him think he’d won.
Make him wonder why I was so accepting this time.
He needed to feel as if he had control over me, and I understood that he wanted to keep the unborn babe safe as well. Strangely, this gave me a level of warmth and pleasure knowing he’d go out of his way to protect us both.
Ryder would be a fierce father, and protector of our child. This was the safest place to have our child, and I wasn’t an idiot. I needed to be here where they could help save my child if anything went wrong. I was right where I needed to be. For now.
Chapter Seventeen