“Three?” I asked, confused. “I was carrying twins.”
“You gave birth to the first set of triplets in Fae history. And before you ask, none of them came from me, and I had nothing to do with it. It was all you and your beast. All yours! And as luck would have it, turns out that beast of yours gave you a litter of little fighters,” she chuckled gleefully.
“Okay, I love that you saved me but…” I eyed the door eagerly.
“Go, but be aware that your beast is in for the shock of his life.”
I ran for the door, since I’d tried to sift but couldn’t seem to figure it out and in my hurry, I was too busy to care about figuring out how to use my magic. I ran up through the crowded corridors and no one seemed to be able to see me. I ran to Ryder’s bedroom clumsily, as I felt weightless, and yet I hadn’t sifted. I pushed open his bedroom door and found Darynda sitting next to the crib crying softly, patting one of the babes on their tiny back. .
She gasped and screamed as she saw me, and sifted out.
I ignored her reaction to my presence as I leaned over the crib to look at the tiny little boy. He had beautiful azure eyes and deep, dark hair with midnight highlights in it, like his father’s. I moved to the next crib and found another boy with violet eyes and blonde hair who looked much like Liam. I guessed the rules of them taking after their mother didn’t apply with my mixed DNA. I heard a tiny cry, which tore at my heartstrings and moved on to the next crib.
I gasped; she was beautiful. Her golden eyes looked up at me as if she knew me; her whitish blonde hair was curly and beautiful. I reached down and pulled her up against my chest as I placed a kiss on her tiny little cheek and then her nose.
“No—she’s fucking dead. Get the fuck away from my daughter,” Ryder’s voice growled as he entered the nursery. I felt the moment his men sifted in, sensing me as a threat. I didn’t turn around right away. Instead, I placed another kiss on my daughter’s cheek and placed her back in her crib.
“Step away from—” Ryder continued as I turned to look at him.
“Sweet Jesus,” Adam swore as his eyes took me in.
I looked back at Ryder, who had gone silent, as if he was afraid to believe his eyes. I watched as a single tear slid down his cheek as he replaced his sword in its sheath. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded.
“I’ve only been dead for a little while, I seriously hope you haven’t forgotten me that quickly,” I whispered as I watched him.
“You’re dead. I just came from your body a few moments ago,” he seethed as he watched me closely; as if I’d go for one of the babies.
“Yes, my body is,” I said. “Danu made me a Goddess.”
“Impossible,” he said.
I moved to him and raised my hand but dropped it when he flinched. “Fairy, it’s me. I’m here, just in a new body.”
“You died.”
“I did.”
“You look a little different,” he growled as he tried to puzzle it out. “I felt you die; the mark is gone.”
I hadn’t even considered how I looked, but then I’d been in a hurry to get to my babies. “I was reborn, and I don’t know the hows of it, only that I was.” It was so quiet in the room you could have heard a pin drop.
“Prove it’s you,” he demanded.
“How?” I asked narrowing my eyes on him.
“Do something that my Synthia would never do,” he growled.
I smiled and dropped to my knees in front of him and his men. I placed my palms to the sky and tilted my head. “I give up,” I smiled impishly.
He dropped to his knees and crushed me into his arms. “My girl would never surrender without a fight,” he whispered and then kissed me. When he pulled away from the kiss he looked at me, uncertainty shining in his eyes. “You taste different,” he admitted.
“I’m the same person; my soul is the same, but I think I changed a bit physically with the new body and all,” I whispered. He just watched me, as if he was still afraid to look away. As if he was afraid he’d blink and I’d disappear. I brought up my hands and cupped his face before I leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Ryder—” Eliran said as he entered the room and then stopped. “Uh, Synthia…you’re…” he scratched his head and then shook it. “I swear you’re half cat. The babes look good, and the little lady is improving.”
“That’s great,” I said and then looked to Ryder for answers.
“She had a hard delivery,” he explained.
“I missed it…” I said as I sat back on my heels. “I missed it all. I just remember talking to you…and then nothing.”
“You died,” he said with unshed tears in his eyes. “You said you loved me and our children and then you died.”
Chapter Eleven