I couldn’t get a break, nor could I get away from my family to see if Ryder was here to save me. I wanted to cry and scream at the unfairness of it all. But what good would it do? McKenna’s had pride, and it might be my downfall, but I’d get through this somehow. Ryder would make it; had promised he would get me out of this. For the first time in my life, I felt like a damsel in distress waiting for her prince Charming.
If Prince Charming didn’t come, I was probably going to kill the Horde King, or die trying…I was leaning toward the whole ‘die trying’ part.
Chapter Forty Three
I was dressed in an elegant light blue gown; one that had a slit to the waist, and a crisscross bodice that sat low enough to show off the top cleavage of my breasts. My mother wept while she brushed my hair for the last time. She continued to brush it until it looked as if it was made from the same silky soft material of the dress. Silver torques of royalty had been placed on my biceps, while one with a blood-red ruby in the center was secured to my neck as the other was removed. I was asked to hold still so that the painter could paint the outlines of my brands with the small paintbrush that had crimson colored paint on the tip.
“She will paint them, so he knows who you are, and of what blood you were born of,” my mother explained.
It took over an hour of being prepared, before my mother had me slip on the small flat sandals that tied up to my calves. No one spoke as the time grew closer. Everyone in the room was acting more like this was a mourning procession than a gifting ceremony…whatever the hell that was. It wasn’t until a translucent veil was placed over my hair, and the silver circlet secured over the veil on my head that I allowed myself to exhale a shuddering breath.
“The room, please. I’d have a word with my daughter alone before she goes to the Horde,” my mother said, while keeping her eyes to the floor. When everyone was gone, she pulled out a small silver dagger. “This was blessed by Danu, for the protection of the princesses of the realm. It is said to be the only thing that can kill the Horde…that can kill him,” she whispered in a hushed tone as if the Horde King was lurking behind the door.
“What the hell is this supposed to do? Pick his teeth after he eats my bones?” I asked, holding the small thin wisp of a dagger up. It was tiny! I’d seen toothpicks that were more impressive than this thing was. I raised my eyes to hers and caught her frowning.
“It’s small, Synthia, but it is enchanted. You only need to pierce his heart with it.”
“Do we even know if he has a heart?” I gave her a small smile, but it failed to help the seriousness of the situation. She helped me to tuck it away in the bodice of the dress.
“I should have gone to him when he offered for me. If I had, you wouldn’t be in this situation,” she said wiping angrily at the tears that formed in her eyes.
“I’m not some weak untrained warrior. If he tries to hurt me, I will find a way to kill him,” I replied guardedly. “We can’t undo the past…mother,” I hesitated calling her it, but the tears that fell freely made it easier. She was my mother. This woman had worried about me and my well-being the entire time I had been gone, and she had never given up on me. “We can only move forward. If I can find a way to come back to you, I will.”
She hesitated as she moved closer, but I once again held my arms open for her. I allowed her to hug me because right now, I needed it as much as she did. When she pulled away, her hand came up to cup my cheek before she pulled the veil over my face.
“You are stronger than anything I could have wished for in a child. You are a beautiful person, Synthia. Most would have tried to escape from us. You owe us nothing, and yet you still give us this. You deserve so much more and have endured too much for someone of your tender years. I wish I had more to give you, but know this, my daughter—I never stopped loving you; even when I was told you were lost to us forever. Deep in my heart, I knew that you would find your way home to me when the time was right.”
“Well, technically, I didn’t find you. If it hadn’t been for Cailean, Faolán probably would have killed me. Faolán might be your son, but he’s not on your side anymore. I know you don’t think him capable of it, but I’ve met him. I know it’s hard to think of your child doing something like this, but I can describe everything about him. He lives inside my nightmares and haunts me. He has since I was five years old.”
“I believe you, Synthia. He will be brought home to pay for his transgression.”
“Mother,” Caera said, coming into the room. “It’s time. The Horde and his retinue will be here soon.”