As a strong person, it was painful to know that I needed him, and that I wanted him. I still held the belief that if I ever left him, I would be on my hands and knees crawling away from this magnificent man and beast who’d claimed me, body and soul. I was his, as he’d repeatedly told me from day one. He’d claimed me as his plaything, in more ways than I’d ever thought possible.
I never thought that I would become this needy female who had to have a man, but Ryder was so much more. He’d pierced my heart and when I needed him to be strong so I could be weak, he was. When I thought I would go boneless with worry, he became the bones which held me up. It was hard to admit it, but I wasn’t the same girl I’d once been. I was no longer an Enforcer; I was his light, and he was my darkness.
Dristan and Sinjinn were on guard duty this evening. Although they tried to make it seem as if they were just hanging out with me—yes, hanging out with little ol’ me; the entire concept of me hanging out with the Fae was still sometimes comical, considering how much I’d hated them once upon a time. We had settled into another round of Monopoly to pass the never ending hours. Yes, they’d secured a few board games, because Adrian had mentioned how much I liked to play them—and Darynda was starting to get the hang of them; however, seeing as she had never been to my world, some of the concepts like Go to Jail were a little out there for her.
Dristan had just begun to roll for his turn when the faint sound of music reached my ears. I hefted myself up and walked to the window to see where it was coming from. Off in the distance was the sight of exploding prisms of color, flashing out of what looked like fireworks? I pointed to where it was, which seemed to grab Dristan’s attention.
“What is that?” I asked as my eyes shined with the colors that continued in the distance. He pushed away from the table they had set up for the game and ambled over, peering over my shoulder. “It doesn’t look like someone’s attacking, unless they’re very patriotic about it. It looks like it’s in the fields,” I continued.
“Looks like the Demon started a party. That must mean he’s done with the Guild for now, or back to check on things here,” Dristan said softly, close to my ear. “Something must have bothered him enough that he needed to work it out, and he seems to be doing it with the lesser Fae.”
“It looks like fun,” I said. Fun was a thing you really didn’t get to have when preparing for war. “Can we go down there? Just for a little while? It would be nice to get out of this room even if only for a few moments.” I was tired of being cooped up. I was starting to understand why Rapunzel had grown her hair so long.
I watched as the men eyed one another warily as they considered it for a moment and then Zahruk sifted in, which caused Darynda to stiffen up and close off as she moved to stand beside me.
“It’s not safe down there, Princess,” Zahruk grumbled as his eyes quickly skimmed over Darynda. “You of all people should know that.”
“Are you saying you can’t keep me safe?” I taunted him. Zahruk and I had this love-hate thing going on. He’d stabbed me, and I hadn’t let him forget it. “I’m not saying we stay ‘til they‘re done with the gathering, but surely a few moments can’t hurt, right?”
I smiled with victory as Zahruk held out his arm, his features taking on a look of annoyance. Once I grasped it, he sifted us down to the field. We were just outside of the walls of the keep, and protected on either side from the overflow of armies who’d come to serve their new King. We waited until the others had sifted in behind us before moving closer to the entertainment.
The early evening air was warm and the moons were rising as we moved to where the lights and music were coming from. It was strange seeing two moons instead of one; it was another reminder of just how different this world was from the one I grew up in.
Strains of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida seemed to be coming from the Demon’s body as well as the air as he danced, oblivious to us.
The smaller of the Fae that looked like fireflies had flocked to this area and were dancing with him as though he was some sort of deranged conductor. On every down-stroke or change to the music, colors or fireworks would shoot around the dancers. The energy was palatable and I noticed others joining the dance. Dwarves and Far Darrig stood by, jeering at the dancers, while Nymphs and Fauns jumped into the game. I even saw those of the Sluagh creeping around to see what was happening.