“The room, please. I’d have a word with my daughter alone before she goes to the Horde,” my mother said, while keeping her eyes to the floor. When everyone was gone, she pulled out a small silver dagger. “This was blessed by Danu, for the protection of the princesses of the realm. It is said to be the only thing that can kill the Horde…that can kill him,” she whispered in a hushed tone as if the Horde King was lurking behind the door.
“What the hell is this supposed to do? Pick his teeth after he eats my bones?” I asked, holding the small thin wisp of a dagger up. It was tiny! I’d seen toothpicks that were more impressive than this thing was. I raised my eyes to hers and caught her frowning.
“It’s small, Synthia, but it is enchanted. You only need to pierce his heart with it.”
“Do we even know if he has a heart?” I gave her a small smile, but it failed to help the seriousness of the situation. She helped me to tuck it away in the bodice of the dress.
“I should have gone to him when he offered for me. If I had, you wouldn’t be in this situation,” she said wiping angrily at the tears that formed in her eyes.
“I’m not some weak untrained warrior. If he tries to hurt me, I will find a way to kill him,” I replied guardedly. “We can’t undo the past…mother,” I hesitated calling her it, but the tears that fell freely made it easier. She was my mother. This woman had worried about me and my well-being the entire time I had been gone, and she had never given up on me. “We can only move forward. If I can find a way to come back to you, I will.”
She hesitated as she moved closer, but I once again held my arms open for her. I allowed her to hug me because right now, I needed it as much as she did. When she pulled away, her hand came up to cup my cheek before she pulled the veil over my face.
“You are stronger than anything I could have wished for in a child. You are a beautiful person, Synthia. Most would have tried to escape from us. You owe us nothing, and yet you still give us this. You deserve so much more and have endured too much for someone of your tender years. I wish I had more to give you, but know this, my daughter—I never stopped loving you; even when I was told you were lost to us forever. Deep in my heart, I knew that you would find your way home to me when the time was right.”
“Well, technically, I didn’t find you. If it hadn’t been for Cailean, Faolán probably would have killed me. Faolán might be your son, but he’s not on your side anymore. I know you don’t think him capable of it, but I’ve met him. I know it’s hard to think of your child doing something like this, but I can describe everything about him. He lives inside my nightmares and haunts me. He has since I was five years old.”
“I believe you, Synthia. He will be brought home to pay for his transgression.”
“Mother,” Caera said, coming into the room. “It’s time. The Horde and his retinue will be here soon.”
I chewed my bottom lip nervously. Where the hell was Ryder? He was a little late for scaling the damn walls. I turned and looked at my sister as she kept her eyes to the floor. She was afraid to look at me. I could sense it in her posture. “Caera, it was very nice to meet you.”
Well, that was about the lamest thing I could have said.
“I wish you well, I also wish you luck in what you are about to do, Sister,” she said, finally lifting her eyes to meet mine. Anger shone from her eyes. I smiled. Good, she hated this as much as I did.
“Don’t need luck, just need him to think he’s the better monster,” I replied with more bravado than I was really feeling.
The door behind us opened to reveal The Blood King. He smiled, but it failed to touch his eyes. Behind him were my brothers, and they were all dressed in suits. It still sort of freaked me out how human they looked, when dressed that way. “Ladies, we have to move to the hall where he will meet us.” My father and brothers were all stoic and resolute with what was about to happen. I could feel the undercurrent of anger and outrage with what they were being forced into. We walked slowly down the hall. No one spoke or made a sound. Not even the children as they clung to their mothers hands in fear of the arrival of the horrid Horde King.
I was supposed to kill the mythical Horde King, but the problem was, he would be on alert for treachery while here in the Blood realm. There was no chance in hell that I’d be able to take him out here, in front of his entire retinue of his people. I’d be slaughtered along with everyone else who stood inside the hall to bear witness to the gifting ceremony.