“You really are a Queen,” Madisyn said softly. “He is yours; may he protect your children as fiercely as he protected my daughter.”
The knock sounded again and this time the door opened and Ristan stuck his head inside. “It’s time for the Blood King and Queen to take their places, so we can begin the proceedings.”
“Thank you, Ristan,” I said as I smiled at my parents. Danu may be my actual mother, but Madisyn had grieved for my loss and had done what only a true mother could have. She sacrificed me for the greater good, and she’d taken my loss to heart. She loved me, and I could feel it.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryder had taken his Horde King form and was seated on his throne as the assembly watched him. It was as if they looked for a sign of weakness, which was common with the Fae, but it upset me that we had deal with treachery on a daily basis from his own people.
Like Claire.
She was seated in the front as if she was a guest of honor. I watched, cloaked in invisibility glamour, as she smiled seductively at Ryder. The woman had absolutely no brains. If I’d faced the Horde King after trying to kill his offspring, I’d be suspicious of why he’d invited me to the presentation of his children.
Not her; she wore a bright red dress which barely contained her breasts, and was smiling at Ryder, who was ignoring her. The old adage of wearing a red dress to a funeral popped into my mind and I wondered if she thought that she could just sex Ryder up and he would forget about what she had done. Zahruk was at Ryder’s side, as was custom as Ryder’s second-in-command, and the crowd was growing restless as they waited to see what was going to happen.
I looked around the crowd from my vantage point, and spotted the Dark King and Queen, along with Adam and his brothers and sister, all seated in the front row, right beside my own family. The Light King and Queen were seated on the other side, with some of their own offspring in attendance as well. Ciara was beside them, with a few of Ryder’s own family, including his mother, who was mentally unaware of what was going on. I was planning on getting through to her, and had asked Ryder to bring her out of the pavilion for this. She needed to see us, and it was time she came back from where she was hidden inside her mind. She’d been seated at the far end of the aisle, in case something set her off; so that Aodhan could easily get her out if he needed to.
Alannah, Ristan’s mother, had come as well. I figured she was here for the show, and while Ryder didn’t really trust her, I knew Ristan would stop her if she tried anything. She had wanted revenge on Alazander in the worst way for too many years and, to me, had seemed content with his demise and appeared to understand that Ryder was not the monster that his father had been; he was his own man, and a better one at that. He fought for his people, not against them.
The babies would be presented to the world soon enough, and I feared it. They were so tiny and defenseless. These were creatures that would use them for gain, and an example would have to be made. It was a slippery slope we were climbing right now as the Fae tended to prize ambition and ‘stacking the deck in their favor,’ however the actions of a few went beyond ambition and we would have to show them that any attempts to harm our children would be punishable by death.
I watched as Ryder stood and called Claire to the throne. She smiled and swayed her hips seductively.
“Claire, you were a part in actions that have led me to believe you would do anything to have what you want. What do you have to say for yourself?” Ryder’s voice echoed through the entire hall.