Danu was with him, but it didn’t look like she was visible to him or his men. I watched as Ryder moved towards me, killing and impaling anything in his way. He dismembered bodies and severed heads as he cut a path, his magic reaching out to those who were out of his physical reach to crush them. He reached me quickly and removed the bolts and chains that held me in place, and then I was dragged into his arms carefully.
“Synthia,” he whispered as he placed his ear against my chest and then looked down into my eyes. He lifted his eyes to look around the room. His men awaited his orders, covered in the blood of the Mages.
I watched as Savlian reached down, hauled up Cailean, and moved his sword up, holding it against the soft column of Cailean’s throat. His deadly intent pulled a numb response from the man, as his eyes met mine in a silent plea.
“No,” I whispered. “He’s friend, not an enemy. He’s wounded because he beat you here to save me,” I whispered, doing my best to ignore the blood that covered my lips.
“Eliran, help us!” Ryder snarled as he shimmered back to his Fae form.
“Here…Oh, shit,” Eliran whispered as he moved closer to where Ryder stood with me in his arms.
I didn’t need him to say it out loud. I could feel death’s rattle working in my chest. “Take me home, and save my babies, Eliran. You have to save them,” I told him with tears slipping from my eyes.
“Fuck that; you save them! All of them!” Ryder demanded.
I watched as Eliran stepped back and away from Ryder, as we sifted as a group to the sterile rooms of Eliran’s medical ward. I was gently placed on a bed, and I watched as Eliran looked at me helplessly.
“Get them out,” I whispered in a pleading tone as Eliran moved to me to see what he could do to try and stop what was going to happen no matter what he did.
I knew I was dying; they didn’t have long to wait. I knew my fate was sealed, but I had to give my children a fighting chance. I felt myself fading away, slipping from consciousness. “Fairy, be good to our children. I love you, I’ve loved you since the moment you walked into my world, and always will,” I whispered as I held his eyes. “Tell them I loved them and how much I wanted to be here for them, Ryder, and how much I love you,” I pleaded as I lifted my hand but missed his.
~Ryder~
I watch helplessly as her eyes glaze over. My mark, our link snaps and I feel pain as it rips through my chest as surely as if someone has removed my heart physically.
“Save her!” I shout at Eliran, but he slumps his shoulders and shakes his head.
“Save the babies, Eliran, it’s what Synthia wanted,” Ristan pleads as he sifts behind Eliran. “You have to save her children.”
I feel cold and dead inside. I move towards Synthia, but my brothers hold me back. I growl in warning but they just hold me, feeling my pain as the bond of blood races through them. “Call for Danu!” I demand, but those around me just stand there, holding me away from the lifeless body of my woman.
I struggle against them to get to her, but I’m numb and even in my grief I know I can’t harm them for guarding the babes. The beast roars, and I shake with the emotions. My heart is bleeding for her; I don’t want to live without her. She’s my fucking everything!
“Save them now!” Ristan orders Eliran, and a moment later Eliran stumbles away from Synthia’s body. His head shakes as he looks from me to the Demon, as if weighing which of us will kill him first.
They’re blocking my view of the body, and Ristan is nowhere to be seen, and then I hear his torn, broken whisper. “I’m so sorry, Flower. I wish you could have held on for us.” I hear the sickening sound of flesh as it meets the sharp edge of a blade as it cuts through. I jump to stop him, but my men are there, holding me back. Zahruk’s mental voice is shouting in my mind, trying to reason with me and the beast. My mind struggles to find the bond I share with Syn but it’s gone. I feel my beast as he struggles to get loose, pushing and tearing at me to get to the surface to get out, to get to Ristan. He’s fighting for total control.
“I’ll fucking kill you, Demon!” I snap, and the room shakes from my anger. My power pulses and begs to be released. In the struggle, the room shifts and I’m able to see her, as Ristan cuts her from one side of her stomach to the other with a scalpel. As I watch them, Eliran moves into action and women come pouring into the room as it comes alive with movement.
One son is pulled out of her lifeless body and given to Eliran, who briefly checks the child before passing it to one of his helpers. The woman takes the babe and with her magic, she pulls, forcing the fluid from his lungs until he lets out a cry of shock and surprise. The other boy is pulled out next and passed to Eliran, and I want nothing to do with them. If I’d never gotten her pregnant, she’d still be alive. It isn’t until Ristan pulls out a third babe that my heart stops cold.