"It's them, they were controlling her somehow. How the hell did they find me?" I whispered shocked by what the child had said. Was it possible the killer knew, or was working with the Fae who had killed my parents?
"We're leaving, now," Ryder growled but Vlad stopped him with his other hand as the child sat up and started to whimper.
I watched her small green eyes meet and hold mine. She was afraid, she'd been through hell and I knew she'd seen horrible things just by the sheer panic I could read in her young eyes. I pushed from Ryder's hold and went to my knees again. "I'm Synthia, you’re safe here."
She said nothing, but giant tears rolled down her cheeks as I held out my hand for her to take, which she did with trembling hands. She was the only link we had between the killers and their victims. Something inside of her had been worth stealing or using and we needed to know what it was that had attracted them to her.
"Synthia," Ryder and Adrian said in unison.
"She's been through hell," I said not moving since she was terrified of us already.
"They entered through her to get that message to you baby, they could do it again," Adrian said as Ryder growled at his term 'baby'.
"She isn't yours anymore. She is mine for now," Ryder growled not helping the situation we were in at all.
"You guys can compare dick sizes later. Right now we need to get medical help because I would think that the only way to take over another Fae is by implanting some very painful devices or powerful magic. So if you're done fighting over someone, who by the way, belongs to neither of you, we need to get her to medical facility specializing in Fae."
Ryder was the first to respond, "We have a small medical facility inside the mansion and you are mine under contract."
"Syn's not Fae, she's not obligated to consider the contract binding," Adrian growled but Vlad stepped in placing his hand on Adrian's shoulder as his eyes flickered to Ryder in fear.
"He's young sire, please excuse him."
"Sire?" I asked carefully. Why the hell would Vlad call Ryder sire? Unless the Vampires had decided to team up and become controlled by the Dark Fae, but if the Horde King ever came out of hiding it wouldn’t bode well for either of them since we had heard that the Horde King was the alpha among the entire Fae race and the other was the reclusive Blood King.
I jumped as a small hand folded into my other hand and then was thrown on my ass when she crumbled into my arms. "It's okay, you're safe. I won't let them use you again little one."
I looked up to catch Ryder giving me a weird look, as if I was a mystery which wasn’t the case. The fact that she'd been around the men who had killed my parents wasn’t comforting. They had been evil to their core and she'd made it out alive. The vamps wanted me here thinking this had to do with the serial killer, but the child was talking about the Fae who killed my parents—how could these killers be connected?
"They're afraid of you," the child whispered as she pulled herself up to look down at me.
"What makes you say that?" I asked narrowing my eyes.
"You are the only one who can stop them," she replied before placing her silk hair back in my face as she held on as if I would disappear from beneath her at any moment.
"They won't get to me. I have the Dark Fae helping me find them. See that scary man standing there?" I asked her flicking my eyes to Ryder so she knew who I was referring to, "He's the Prince of the Dark Fae and do you know what that means?"
She sniffled and shook her head. "He's scary," she mumbled while sniffling more.
"Yes, but it means they have to get past him to get to me," I said hoping she would understand it. I held Ryder's eyes briefly, for the first time since signing his stupid contract I was glad I had. He was deadly and he was under contract to protect me as I was to serve him.
I heard Adrian cuss as he understood what I was saying. I was giving Ryder the right to protect me and my coven while telling him that I was his verbally. I couldn’t put this on the Guild, Alden was under lock and key and unless I wanted the same fate I had no choice but to truly give in and trust Ryder.
He was deadly, as were his men and I had just had a pretty red bull's-eye tatted on my rear end by some sort of supernatural Jack The Ripper serial killer or the Fae who killed my parents—or they were they one and the same? I had my coven to consider and the child who was now sobbing into the vinyl lace up top I wore. I met Adrian's eyes briefly and walked out of the club with the child in my arms.
Twenty One
The ride back to the mansion had been wrapped in uncomfortable silence. I could see the tension and anger riding inside Ryder's golden eyes. Adam and Larissa held onto each other as if at any moment the sky would fall. Adrian had demanded to come back with us but Ryder had stepped in and thankfully stopped it from happening.