Chapter Eleven
I walked around in the nursery, slowly taking in the toys and empty cribs. My heart felt like it was splitting apart; my duty to the realm and my children were supposed to be one and the same, and yet to save one, I had to send other away.
“Synthia.” Liam’s voice startled me as he materialized inside the room.
“How did you sift in here?” I demanded, my hand covering my wildly beating heart.
“Ryder gave us specific marks to be able to do it; he wanted to surprise you today since Madisyn is coming to help with the wedding plans.”
Oh yeah, today I was being fitted for the dress. The one I would walk down the aisle in, and pledge my life to my King and Kingdom.
“I’m surprised.” I frowned, trying not to sound disappointed that he hadn’t brought my children with him.
“No, I’m not the surprise,” he laughed, his tri-colored eyes smiling as I frowned deeper. “It’s in here.” He turned the knob to the other door that opened up into the nursery playroom.
I watched as it opened and the beautiful sound of babies playing greeted me. I moved inside, finding Ryder already on the floor with our daughter in his lap. He looked up at me and grinned. I exhaled and slowly sank to the floor in front of him as I accepted Cade from Sinjinn, who beamed with a knowing smile.
“I thought you could use a reminder of why we are fighting so hard to save this world,” Ryder murmured as he kissed Kahleena’s platinum curls. They’d grown, and as I watched, Kahleena stood and took a wobbly step towards me with her hands extended.
“She can walk?” I swallowed.
“She’s starting to,” Ryder remarked as he turned to watch Zander crawling to us. “They’ve grown a little since they’ve been away.”
“We missed her first steps, their first steps?” I asked as I felt my throat tighten. “What else did we miss?” I looked at Liam as he sat beside me, the scar on his face tightening as he smiled. I watched as his smile faded as tears misted in my eyes.
“They say a few words now, mostly ‘momma’ when we glamour your image for them. They say ‘Fairy’ when we show them Ryder’s, which I assume is because you call him that,” Liam said proudly. “They’re smart. Mother says they are smarter than most of the babies she’s ever seen, and I’m pretty sure they can sift already. Kahleena is making the most progress. She’s very smart and determined. She seems to be in charge and the others follow her lead.”
I grinned; I’d warned them that my daughter would be in charge of her brothers. Her tiny fingers touched my face and I smiled as shining amber eyes searched my face and she made a soft cooing noise that tugged at my heart. I’d known they may grow a little, but we’d missed so much in the short time they’d been away from us.
“Momma,” she cooed and then laughed excitedly.
“You’re so big now,” I whispered as I leaned over and kissed her nose and forehead. “I’ve missed you all so much.”
“She’s just like you,” Ryder snorted as he held his hand out for Zander, who tried to show off his mad skills with walking and ended up falling on his butt after a moment. His little lip stuck out as he pouted, but Ryder held out his finger for Zander’s tiny hand to grasp, and helped him up so he could walk the short distance to his father. “Hey, Zander,” Ryder whispered as he pulled him close and kissed his dark head.
“Gods save us if they’re anything like you, Fairy,” I laughed as I smiled at him over the top of Kahleena’s head.
“Fairy,” Cade said in a tiny voice that made me throw back my head and bark with laughter.
“You’re incorrigible,” he growled as he leveled his gaze with Cade’s and said ‘daddy’ several times.
“Da-da,” he said watching Ryder, his purplish-blue eyes lighting with accomplishment as he repeated it.
There was a knock at the door and scuffling as Ristan and Olivia entered, the others close on their heels. One by one the Elite Guard piled in and moved close to the walls, until we were all sitting together with the children in the middle.
“We’re going to need more room soon,” Ryder grumbled playfully. Children weren’t exactly plentiful in Faery, so each child was considered a joy and a blessing. Even with this understanding, I knew in my heart that his brothers adored our children above and beyond what the average Fae felt for the young of this world, and we’d never stop them from visiting with the children, since we knew they missed them as much as we did.
“Yes, we are,” I agreed with a grin. I watched as Kahleena homed in on Ristan and stood up, causing him to let out a soft curse as she started her clumsy trek towards him.
“She walks?” he whispered, probably to keep from startling her as she wobbled towards him. “She couldn’t even really crawl when she left.” He gasped when she almost fell. I watched Olivia as she watched Ristan; every time Kahleena almost fell, he’d lurch a little closer. I could see the effort for which it took him not to move to her, to actually allow my daughter to make it to him.
“Ristan,” she cooed as she finally reached him. His jaw dropped and I grinned; yeah, she was pretty badass for a toddler. She leaned against him and rested her head on his chest as she plugged her thumb into her mouth and watched me.
“She just said my name,” he laughed nervously. “It’s only been a few days.”
“They have grown a lot,” Liam explained as Sinjinn nodded his agreement.
“They have begun to display magic, which is very rare at this age. We have seen them bring objects to themselves when they want something. Two days ago, Zander’s teddy bear seemed to come to life and was talking,” Sinjinn added. “They’re busy, but when they sense it becoming overwhelming for us to handle, they reel it in and calm down. It’s as if they can feel our emotions. There have been some signs that they have been sifting, but no one has actually caught them doing it and I am not sure if I have ever heard of any Fae that has ever sifted as an infant.”
“They’re not infants,” I pointed out and watched as Ryder absorbed what was being said. “Besides, I pulled Adam to me. He was my familiar and I remember my foster mother telling me about the magic I did as an infant.”
“You are a true child of Danu and you have her blood, Pet. You were also half Fae, so it stands to reason that you would be more powerful,” he reasoned as he tried to cradle Zander, who was having no part of it. I watched as he settled in his father’s lap and grinned at me.
“Your mother is downstairs,” Olivia spoke softly. “You have cake to taste and dresses to look at today. We’ll stay with the babies until you are finished,” she offered sheepishly as her cheeks pinked with embarrassment. “I think I need the practice.”
“They just got here,” I frowned. “Can’t it wait?”
“Madisyn is excited for your big day.” Liam laughed as he stood and held his arms out to take Cade. “I hear that the handfasting celebration Kier and Mari hosted for you will pale in comparison to the grandeur of the celebration our mother has planned for you.”
“Not sure why she is planning on such a huge celebration. The last few didn’t seem to go very well…” Ristan groused softly as Olivia gave him a curious glance. “The last one was almost the death of me.”
I gave Ristan a sour look as I hugged Cade and kissed his chubby cheek before handing him to my brother.
“We will make sure to give you some time with them before we go home,” Liam assured me.
I stood and dusted off my butt as I watched Ryder hand off Zander and turn to face me. I didn’t want to plan my wedding; I wanted to cuddle with the babies and sleep to the sound of their sweet noises.
“Come on, Pet,” Ryder said as he reached for my hand and sifted us out of the nursery rooms.