Danu pressed her lips together tightly and looked at me with a faraway look in her eyes before she exhaled. “They will have to meet us at the Tree in no more than two weeks. Any longer and the results could be dire. I will start the preparations on my side, and do what I can to strengthen myself—and the land—for the blessing. I am here for you, daughter; you need only call for me. If anything goes wrong with the children, I need to know. I won’t be in the dark where they are concerned, not as I was with you,” she said softly.
I swallowed hard at her unspoken words and warning, and nodded in acknowledgment. “I understand. Thank you, for saving me. Can you please get rid of the body while I go and ‘talk’ to my King? Oh, and one more thing,” I said as I leveled her with an uncertainty in my heart.
“Yes?” she asked.
“If I am like you now, what does that mean for us?” I asked as I tightened my hold on Ryder’s hand. “Can we still be together?”
“Of course, Synthia,” she said with a soft smile. “I knew you wouldn’t stay away from him even if the Gods had decreed it. By being together and bringing forth life, you had bound your selves together before your rebirth. That’s something not even the Gods would mess with. Love has its own rules. Ryder is immortal, so you don’t have to worry about outliving him either. Now, I need to go get rid of the body.”
I stood up and moved to hug her, and whispered against her ear. “Thank you, mother,” I said as I kissed her cheek and watched as she looked at me uncomfortably. I was willing to bet that she didn’t get affection very often. That was about to change now that she had grandchildren. I would make sure of it.
*~*~*
With the babies securely tucked in their cribs and being watched over by Keeley and Meriel, we stepped into Ryder’s adjoining room and it was awkwardly silent between the two of us. I watched as he walked to the bed, and sat down on it. His body language was stiff, and when he finally looked up at me, his expression was unreadable.
“You died,” he repeated. He shook his head as if dispelling the knowledge from it. “I couldn’t breathe without you in my world.”
I stepped closer to the bed and kneeled at his feet. “It hurt you, and I’m sorry for it. But honestly, Ryder, that’s how I feel when I think of you leaving me, asking me to leave because you’re tired of me, or not loving me back. I love you so much it scares me.” I whispered as I raised my eyes to his. “It hurts to feel something so much and to have the other person not know or be unwilling to return those feelings. That’s what I feel for you; that’s love. And yes, at times it hurts like a bitch, Fairy. But I didn’t leave you willingly; I’m still here and even death couldn’t take me away from you in the end.”
He smiled and it took my breath away. His eyes grew heated, and wickedness took root in them as he pulled me up into his arms. He tossed me onto the bed and crawled up my body until he straddled my hips. “You wanted my love, Pet, well, you have it. The only question is; can you handle it now that you’ve unleashed it.”
“Oh, I think I can handle it, Fairy,” I replied.
He lowered his mouth and kissed my forehead and then my cheek, slowly, his teeth pulled at my earlobe as he growled. “You sure about that?” he asked as he sifted over and lowered his teeth to nibble at my bottom lip.
“Better than that, I love you back. I absolutely, unwaveringly love you.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked as he pulled at the white silk dress I wore. “Then marry me, Synthia, fucking marry me and make me yours as I want to make you mine. Forever,” he whispered breathlessly.