“Yes, they do normally, but it isn’t exactly easy since often the vision is the path that we need to take to get to the solution. Sometimes, what is shown, gets us to the solution; just not the way we thought we would get there.”
“How so?” Demon lingo was making my brain itch with more questions than I had intended to ask. He didn’t seem to have a simple answer.
“Well, most recently, I had a vision of you and your friends in a late morning setting, in front of a crowd of dancers in a courthouse. You saw Arianna there and became violently ill at whatever you had witnessed. That vision fast forwarded, and I could only see a flash of the newspaper headline of the Guild being cleared in the attack on the club. I could not see what you did at that moment, but I knew that, even though we did not understand what the Light Fae end-game was with Arianna, the vision told me that I had to free you from the mansion, so that we could get to the bottom of what it was. I also had hoped to do so before Ryder tore the Guild down seeking revenge.” Ristan closed his eyes and did a little mock-shudder. “When I saw her on the ballroom floor after you used her for target practice, I knew what the vision meant. Before that one, I had a vision of the newspaper announcing that Ryder offered a marriage contract to the recently recovered Light Heir who had been named Arianna. Then the vision flipped, fast forwarding a short time frame later, and showed Ryder and Kier together in the foyer of the mansion. He had an expression of wonder on his face as he felt the paternal-bond clicking into place when the true Dark Heir was returned to him. I knew our goals, and I knew that Ryder wasn’t the Dark Heir, and I knew that the only missing Light Princess was named Caitlín. So when the Light Fae approached Kier and offered him the missing princess, who was going by her adoptive name of Arianna—well, you know what we did after that. I never saw Adam in the vision with Kier and Ryder, and you and I both know that it happened just as I described it, Flower.”
“What would you have done if you were wrong, if you’d misinterpreted the vision?” I couldn’t help but ask since it was my life that was now riding on his visions.
“Fortunately for Ryder, some Fae engagements can last a really long time. The visions always led us to where we are supposed to be. It’s the journey that can get challenging and often times it takes a while before we understand Danu’s overall plan. I know we are asking you to put your faith in something that is really outside of your comfort zone and frame of reference, but this can’t continue, and you know deep down that this is the right thing to do. You’re a gentle soul, even if you do bite sometimes, Flower. We already know that you do the right thing here, because I’ve seen it.”
I glared at him before sighing. He was right, this couldn’t go on. I was smart enough to understand that what I was seeing was the truth. Faery was dying, and with it, so too would the human world when they made the jump. They fed from us...err, humans. It was a no brainer to guess what would happen when that came to pass. “And the relics Ryder needed?”
“We still need them. Ryder was hoping you’d help us find them before your marriage to Adam, but time is short. Your womb clock is ticking. The Dark King will demand you go to him, so that you can be prepped for your role in our world. Ryder will no doubt be able to work a deal with him as to your involvement in helping us find the lost relics. Adam will be needed as well.”
“Take me back to Ryder, please.”
Ristan’s projection faded, and we found Ryder sitting on the bed beside us, his head resting in his hands. He looked up as we came back to ourselves and our surroundings. Pain was carving out my chest, making the path ready for my heart to be ripped out with the decision I would make. I’d lose him; my beautiful golden-eyed Fairy. “Leave us please, Ristan,” I whispered.
Ryder lifted his tortured gaze up to meet mine from where I sat next to him. He swallowed and tried to look away, as if the sight of me brought him pain. “You saw it. What is your decision?”
“You,” I whispered brokenly. “My choice will always be you, Ryder.” I sat up and captured his face between my hands, forcing him to look at me.
“Synthia, sometimes what we want, and what we have to do just don’t align, and we have to do what is right. I have been doing my best to stay on my path, and follow the fucking rules, except with you. When it came to you, I couldn’t leave it alone. Couldn’t do what was right and just fucking walk away. You weren’t something I could have ever prepared for. Your sassy mouth.” His eyes locked with mine as his arms pulled me closer. “Your devotion to those you love, Pet. You are the most selfless person I have ever met. Your soul, while it may be stained, is pure and beautiful.”
“Did you fall for me, Ryder? The sassy mouthed little Witch, who drove you crazy?” I joked, but his eyes held no humor.