“Beautifully chosen, my lady,” Darynda whispered as the rest of the handmaidens entered the room.
“I wanted to name her Larissa, but I settled for Kahleena Larissa, princess of the Horde. My friend told me she would be reborn, and I wanted to honor her.”
“It’s perfect,” Adam said from where he leaned against the doorway. “Larissa would have loved it.”
I smiled at Adam, and felt a pang of regret that I couldn’t feel him with me any longer. I walked over to him, smiling at the jingle of sounds I created with the jewelry Ryder had glamoured on.
“You look beautiful, Synthia.”
“Thank you, Adam.”
“So, she said yes?” he asked as he reached for my hand and held it up to get a better look at the beautiful ring.
“She did; she’s to be my wife, soon,” Ryder said as we started out of the nursery to where the other guards were waiting at a distance from the doors.
“This calls for a celebration,” Adam said as he winked and smiled at me wickedly.
“There will be no wedding until the babies’ futures are secured. They are our number one priority right now,” I said, more to Ryder than to Adam, and was relieved when he agreed with me.
“Speak,” Ryder said to the guards, their eyes on us as we approached.
It was amazing how he could change from my Ryder to the ruler of the Horde instantly. As if he wore two faces, and went from being my smiling doting beast, to the elusive yet very deadly Horde King in a blink of an eye.
“You’ll have to see it Sire, it’s not something we can explain,” Aodhan said as he glamoured on his own armor, as did the rest of the men.
“Well, that can’t be good,” I said as they glamoured on their weapons as well.
Ryder sifted me to the throne room and what my eyes beheld was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I gasped, but held all other emotions in check. The room had been enlarged, which was a good thing considering what had been waiting for us here. I felt the tension in Ryder as well, and was glad that he wore his weapons, as well as his men.
Chapter Twenty
The Winter Queen stood as tall as she could, and smiled at me. She’d not only brought her own people back with her, but she’d brought every court, and more. The Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn Elven courts stood together, even though they were like the Unseelie and Seelie of our courts, with both a benevolent and malevolent side.
“I’ve spoken to them of our meeting, Ryder, King to the Horde. They have come to see if I spoke the truth of the changes to our world, and your court. I told them of the fierce woman who stands at your side, and of her promise.”
I remained silent as I took them all in. They were all, at first glance, strong, eerie, and ravishing. The Spring Court was filled with dark and green haired Elves, all of who wore vines and clothing that mirrored spring. Flowers covered naked breasts and skirts looked as if they’d taken leaves and fashioned them into something a model would wear on a catwalk in Paris. The scent of spring waged war with the other seasons, and yet I found myself drawn to it and the promise of flowers that normally blossomed to life in the spring.
The Winter Court all wore outfits similar to their Queen, beautifully crafted garments of ice, and soft blue dresses and cloaks. They stood behind their Queen proudly. I withheld a shiver as a gentle breeze started, and even though I knew it was a test by her people, I refused to shiver even as my body shivered internally.