“Cadeyrn, you have twelve brothers and a sister. All of your brothers carry the title of ‘Dark Prince’.” My father looked amused with himself as he watched me absorb the implications. I shook my head. No fucking way. I turn and look at Ryder who’s also watching me with a cocky-ass smile on his face. This had to be a fucking joke; he was not my brother.
“Adam, it’s best for you to go home right now. You have a lot to catch up on, and I have a job to do here beyond just finding you. The Light Fae are not what they appear to be, and we can’t just accuse them outright. They are denying they knew what Arianna was. Everything points to them being a bunch of self-absorbed pricks that are helping the Mages. I plan to eradicate the Mages once and for all, Adam, so I suggest you get in line with me, or stay the fuck out of my way. I don’t care which one you choose, but you had better do one or the other soon.” Ryder’s tone is becoming increasingly angrier, and his eyes are starting to glow.
“And Syn? Where the fuck does she fit in? Or is she just something you plan on using until she's served her purpose. Brother, or until you have had enough of her?” I growl back.
“What I do with her is none of your fucking business. She can be yours when I have had my fill of her. Until then, stay the fuck out of my way. She's mine by contract. She breaks it, and I will own her for eternity. She's immortal now, so I'd be careful what you say to her.”
“She's nothing more than a toy to you. She is so much fucking more, Ryder, so much more, and you don’t deserve her if you can't see that.”
“I don't answer to you, Cadeyrn. She's a way to pass the time in this cesspool. I have made her no promises, beyond training and protection. When I have had my fill of her, I’ll let her go. Until then, I suggest you stay the fuck out of my business, boy.”
“Did you tell her that, or better yet, why don't you tell her that you had Adrian killed so you could fuck her!?” I shout, tired of playing word games with this overbearing prick.
~~~~*Synthia~~~~*
I gasped as my hand flew over my mouth, and I leaned heavily against the wall to keep myself from falling over. Ryder was an asshole, and I was still reeling about him and Adam being brothers. I turned, heading back to the room as fast as my feet would go, and silently closed the door with shaking hands. I had to get away from him.
I don't know what I had expected from him, but I wasn't his to use as he saw fit. This was taking things too far, and I was tired of it; tired of everything. Adam wasn't even named Adam! Seriously! It was like waking up with someone else's life, and no matter how much I wanted it to change, it wouldn’t.
Ryder had killed Adrian, or at least he'd had a part in it. More than likely, he ordered it and Vlad carried it out. Either way, I was done with Ryder the second I was finished with Transition. I couldn't trust him. He was up to something, and it wasn't as if he planned on sticking around, other than to finish his business and head back inside Faery.
“You shouldn’t be eavesdropping, Flower,” Ristan said, startling me. Damn Demon was just lying around on my bed and making himself at home.
“People should just tell the fucking truth around here then,” I snapped, frustrated with the entire situation.
“Why can't I see your future?” Ristan sighed, swinging his feet off the bed to sit on the edge.
“No clue. What’s Ryder’s assignment in this world?” I tossed a question back at him.
“He will tell you sooner or later. Tell me, my little Flower, what do you remember of the men who broke in and murdered your foster parents?”
“Parents; It takes more than sperm and an egg to become parents. They raised me,” I said, seething with anger. After what I had witnessed with Ryder and Adam, this questioning had me off balance, and there was a Demon that was gonna get his ass kicked if he wasn’t careful.
“Touché. Tell me what you remember of the men who killed your parents then,” he repeated as his eyes took me in slowly.
“You saw everything I remember with Z's little 'regression therapy' session. I don't want to remember that shit,” I snapped.
“Ah, but I think you do. I’ll bet that’s why you got the tattoos on your arms. You spelled them so you would never forget what happened.”
“Why did Ryder keep from me that he was Adam’s brother?” I ignored his question and asked another.
“I don’t think that was intentional. We suspected that Adam was the Dark Heir when he broke out of Transition early, and the Heir brands formed. The Dark King came here today to confirm Adam’s identity, as every Fae father is linked with his child. For some reason, Adam’s link was not working as it should, and I suspect it has something to do with your tattooing. Now, what else do you remember? It might help us solve the mystery of who you are—or were, before.”