Now that I had him, and knew what and who he was, I wasn’t sure where that left us. I wasn’t about to become his just because he could keep me here by sheer force. The night he’d taken me beside the pool had been amazing, but he’d only come to feed once since then.
He was busy being the Horde King, and I knew that wasn’t going to get easier for a while. He’d spoken of being challenged by his own people, and the other Castes of Fae; ones that his own father had tormented.
“You keep glaring like that, and the water might turn to ice,” Darynda said, sitting beside me.
“Sorry, just thinking about things,” I mumbled and pushed off the side of the pool. The water was shockingly cold and a gasp left my lips unexpectedly. “Shit, that is cold!”
Darynda laughed but made no move to jump in. She’d glamoured on a swimsuit as well, now that she knew what one was. “Mind if I leave for a few minutes? There’s someone I’d like to go see really fast.”
I shook my head. “Go ahead. I’m going to get used to the water and just do a few laps.” I wondered if it was to see someone or some male—hey, I knew enough about how things worked around here, and I understood that my girls had to feed, too.
As soon as she was gone, I started to run in place, letting my body get accustomed to the chill of the pool. I turned my head and stared at the closed door, wondering if my guards were just outside, or if they had moved onto somewhere else.
I felt a ripple tear through the air around the pool, and before I could do more than turn around—Liam appeared.
“Sister,” he said with coolness to his tone.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, moving closer to the side of the pool he stood on.
“I’ve come up with a plan to get you out of here,” he said, kneeling down as he shook his blonde hair from his face. His blue and purple gaze looked a little too cocky.
“Um, what?” I asked, not sure if I wanted his answer, but curious enough to ask all the same.
“News has traveled to the Blood Realm that the Horde King has a child on the way,” he answered as his eyes scanned the door and came back to rest on mine.
“So I’ve heard,” I whispered, wondering where the hell he was going with that line.
“I plan to kidnap her and ransom her for your own release. If he even thinks this child could be his Heir, he’d void out the contract father made.”
“By kidnapping the concubine that is pregnant?” I asked for clarification.
“Yes, I need you to help me, though. I need you to sneak me inside the pavilion, and point out which one is pregnant.”
Oh the irony!
“You know that the pavilion is full of guards…right?”
“Synthia, I don’t have much time. This is the only way I can get you out of here. I can’t just take you from here; you are bound by the contract. She, however, isn’t. Not if I take her with me.”
“So, let me get this straight,” I said, watching him scan the room and the door. “You steal the Horde King’s concubine, and you exchange her, for me. Then what? You think he wouldn’t come after the Blood Fae over this?”
“He is a new king, Sister. He will be bombarded by challenges, and trying to rein in the Horde for months,” he said, holding out his hand to help me up from the pool.
I accepted it and exited the pool silently.
“You will need to cause a scene, something that will make the guards go after you. Can you do that?”
I blinked and shook my head. I knew how much it had taken him to come back here. He’d been tortured here, his hands cut from his body. He’d endured more than any one person should ever live through. And he’d come back to this place, for me.
“Liam, we can’t do this. I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“We can, and we will. Right now the Horde King is out checking the borders. He won’t be back for a while,” Liam said, standing up to his full height.
“Liam, I am the pregnant concubine,” I whispered, meeting his eyes that were so much like my own.
I watched as he shook his head and did the math inside his head. “Look, if you want to be his whore, you can just say it!” He growled, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Ryder is the Horde King. He’s the same one who brought me back inside Faery; the one who accidently undid the protection spell on my skin. He was playing a part, and since the Dark King was his uncle, and had adopted him—he played that part well. I had no idea that he was the Horde King, or that it was him when I was being gifted to him. But this plan? It won’t work, because I’m pregnant with his child,” I said, watching as his features fell from the news.
“Fuck!” he whispered vehemently.
“I’m okay here,” I assured him, but his eyes were now wild and when I reached out to touch him, he recoiled from my touch.
“I have to go. I’ll find a way to save you Sister. I will,” he said, and sifted out.
Chapter Eighteen