Chapter Twenty
We moved through the corridors soundlessly, everyone watching our every move. The Horde was already looking for any sign of weakness within our ranks. Any sign of blood, and they’d try to figure out a way to crown a new King before I could get Ryder back here and back on his throne. I’d be damned if I showed them any sign of weakness. The King wasn’t dead; he was just misplaced for the moment. Besides, no one held his beast, and that was normally what decided the new King here.
Yes, I wanted to fall down and curl into a ball, but I wouldn’t. I would keep my head held high, erect my defenses, and straighten my tilted crown. They may have thrown the first punch, but I’d make sure I got the last hit in and I would watch them fall.
“We will get him back,” Ristan murmured gently as he stopped me in the throne room as Zahruk ushered people out of it. I waited for them to clear the room as Ristan watched me carefully. “Remember, you can show no fear in there. Inside that council room we need the Guild Enforcer. You will be Ryder’s proxy, his surrogate, and if they smell a single whiff of fear in that room, this thing doesn’t work.”
“I have no fear of what I have to do, Demon.” I turned and gave him a determined glare. “If I have to destroy the Guild to get him back, I won’t think twice about it. I will be sure to send a clear, decisive message to them. I will make it so clear that they never even think to try something like this again. If they fight us, or refuse to give him back, they will die.” I looked between Ristan and Zahruk and strengthened my resolve. “No one can be allowed to think Faery is weak, or we will have more than just the Mages at our gates. If I have to become the monster they claim us to be, so be it, I will become it. I will do anything it takes to end up with Ryder back here, at my side.”
“You’re sure you can do that?” Ristan questioned, and when I gave a stiff nod, he continued. “The Horde, they are going to push you, question your ability to lead them.”
“I won’t give them a chance; should they argue, I will respond in a language they know all too well. The Guild hit us hard. We have to hit back harder. I need the Horde behind us when we do, so they cannot question my right to lead until he is returned to his throne.”
“It’s the Horde,” Zahruk interjected. “They are bipolar at best on a good day. Today they’ve heard the rumors that the King was taken by our enemies. That he wasn’t strong enough to fight off those who invaded, and whatever the people are whispering about is filling their heads with idiotic ideas. They won’t be easy to tame alone.”
“I won’t be alone.” I patted his shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll have you guys at my side. You will be my eyes and ears, and lead me in the right direction here. I wasn’t born of the Horde, but you are the leaders of the Elite Guard. They will at least think twice about fucking with us with you two next to me.”
“We need to get on with this,” Ristan nodded. “Daylight is wasting.”
“Indeed, are you ready, Goddess?” Zahruk extended his elbow to me as his piercing blue eyes held mine with a confidence I wasn’t sure I deserved yet. I hadn’t pulled it off, and my stomach was tied in knots at the mere idea of facing this war council—and the Horde.
“I’m ready,” I affirmed as I slipped my arm through his as Ristan opened the door to reveal a room full of people. I’d sat in on the council before, but at that time it had been at Ryder’s side, and only with the Elite Guard present. Now Keir, my father, and the heads of the smaller castes and clans sat around the table with their guards at their backs. I moved into the room, forcing myself to pretend that everything was okay.
Once I reached the chair reserved for Ryder, I paused, which Zahruk was ready for. He pulled out the chair and calmly placed his hand on my shoulder for support. It felt like the floor was crumbling beneath my feet as I stared at the chair reserved for the King. My King, my love, was gone.
“Thank you for coming,” I said without a trace of weakness. Adam and Adrian watched me as I pulled strength from them. “We need to finish having people sweep the castle and remove the remaining wards left behind by our enemies. We need to fix the damage to the castle and find stonemasons who can start rebuilding the walls immediately. I’d prefer Fae stonemasons who can rebuild with magic, if possible, as time is of the essence here. The bodies need to be burned, or taken home to be buried, but they cannot remain in the courtyard. Their presence is causing those who live and remain in the castle to be weak, and weakness is not something we need right now. If any do not stand with us during this time, they are to be banned from this kingdom. The Guild has Ryder, therefore we will go in and we will get him back. We will destroy any who stand in our way. Once we have him back, we will level the Guild to the ground and raze the rubble that remains. The message will be clear to anyone who tries to fuck with us: We stand united, and we won’t be played with. Is there anyone who would like to voice a concern?” I was proud that I wasn’t visibly trembling, and my voice had somehow remained cold and calculated. I was falling apart inside, but on the outside, I was in control.
“What happens if they have killed him?” Liam spoke up; my father laid his hand on Liam’s arm in a gentle reminder for caution.
“That’s not a possibility,” I replied without showing how much that thought frightened me. The Guild didn’t know what could kill the Horde King, few did, but it didn’t mean they wouldn’t try to achieve that goal. My worry was that I knew how resourceful they were, and if there was a way to do it that we didn’t know about, they would quickly try to find it. “The Guild does nothing by chance. They took him because they want something. Something only he has.”
There was a knock at the door and we all paused as Aodhan opened it. I watched as Alden and Lucian stepped in, followed by a few of Lucian’s men. My eyes scanned them as they took in the sight of me, covered in blood, in the King’s place at the war council. I hadn’t wanted Alden here for this.
“Anything else?” I asked as confidently as I could, while Liam watched me carefully.
“But what if he is dead, Synthia. You have to consider that possibility. You can’t lead the Horde, and they will expect a King to replace him. If Ryder is dead, there will be challenges for the throne if Danu doesn’t choose another as Heir to the Horde right away. The Horde isn’t run by blood, it’s run by strength.”
“He isn’t dead, Liam,” I growled.
“So, say he isn’t, and we go in and slaughter the Guild, and send that message,” he continued as my eyes met Alden’s and I saw the color draining from his face. “Then we have yet another enemy at our doors.”
“They have already proven they are our enemy. Adam, Adrian, and I recognized their calling cards all over the place after the attack, and if we hesitate they will come again. We go in, and if they oppose us, we destroy them all. There is no other option.”
“We can’t go in there to get him back and then not give them a show of strength they will never forget, because the moment we get there, they will attempt to destroy him, and then they will try and march on the rest of Faery,” Ristan added.
“What would they want from him?” I wondered, staring at Alden. “Why come for the Horde King?”
“Because if you’re going to show strength, Synthia, you walk in and you take the biggest motherfucker the other side has,” Lucian said.
My eyes moved from Alden to Lucian, and back to Alden. “Why him, why take the strongest of the Fae?”
“Because they would want the one thing which could kill Fae, his beast,” Alden said. “They used to speak of rumors, ones that said the beast could be removed from the host. The Guild is desperate; they had to be if they came here. Something happened that set them off; we find out what that is, and we will find them.”
“They’d need a host, how would they try to find one?” I wondered. It didn’t work like that, but then again, they didn’t know that. They didn’t know dick.
“They’d try to make one,” Alden countered.
“Not an easy thing. The beast doesn’t separate like that,” I advised. “The Heir or host is chosen by Danu, not by power.”
“They don’t know that. They’re blind. Desperation makes them sloppy, and they know very little about the Horde. They assume if they find a powerful enough host, they will control the beast.” Alden’s voice was tired. These were his peers at one time, and I was sure it wasn’t sitting well with him that he would have to help us find a way to defeat the people he had once considered his associates and friends.
“Who would have planned something this big?” I asked.
“Mages who exist among the Elders inside the Guild; somebody formulated a plan, and someone else helped them find the way to carry it out.”
“Not enough knowledge to pull this off without someone on the inside,” I stated, chewing my lip before I released it with a frown. “They were here, inside the castle. They had to be cloaked in glamour. Wards take time to place; they would have had to have been here. Who would they go to for help?”
“Some Changelings can use glamour, as can some Paladins. Even Druids were rumored to be able to use glamour,” Alden offered. “If I wanted to send a clear message to the Fae, I’d take the one thing they fear. I’d come for the beast and try to make him mine.”
“The beast can’t be removed; it doesn’t work like that,” I insisted.
“That may be, but they don’t know that. I didn’t know that until you told me just now. The Guild knows next to nothing about the Horde, other than that the beast rules them by brutal strength and fear. Control the beast, control the Horde. It’s a mindset.”
“But not a fact. Who is strong enough to guard the Guild against us?” I asked.
“Witches will guard the Guild, but the Elders will call Paladins in if they feel threatened,” he shrugged and frowned. “You go to Seattle, Synthia, and you will have to shed blood to get him back.”
“I’d spill enough to fill the oceans, Alden. Vast oceans and endless seas to get him back. They took him from me, and they’ve taken enough. I won’t walk away from this. You won’t ask me to, because you, more than anyone else here, knows I can’t. I’m done losing those I love to a mindless, faceless, cowardly enemy. This will end here for the Guild. I will take him by force; if they fight, they will fall. It is a choice. They took my man, and I won’t hesitate to do what is needed to get him back. Out of everything they could have done, they shouldn’t have come here. Not today, not ever.”
“You took their Witch and Guild, so they retaliated by taking your King. You started this, kid. You shook their world up, and you expected them to just walk away. It doesn’t work like that and you know it. They want your attention and now they have it. You want to get someone’s attention, you walk in and you cause a scene, you shake it up in a way that will leave a lasting impression. But if you want to get a point across that you’re not afraid, you walk in and you take the biggest one down, point made. Ryder is the strongest of the Fae, and he’s yours. The Fae weren’t the target here, Synthia. You were.”
“I got the message, but they fucked up. They miscalculated, and that’s going to cost them,” I snapped.
“You can’t kill them all. Not all of them are Mages.”
“I’m going in there, Alden, and I am getting him back no matter the cost. They killed children at the Spokane Guild and again today. That isn’t part of the Guild’s mission statement. They are not the same Guild anymore. Not with monsters helping to run it—and there is no way right now for us to separate the wheat from the chaff. They chose to become murderers when they placed a bomb inside that hall, knowing there were innocent lives that would be harmed. They could have done this cleanly, you and I both know that. They chose poorly, and for that, if they fight me, they will fall. The Guild will not take from me. Never again. I didn’t start this, or choose to do this. They did this. If you can’t back me or this is too hard for you, I understand. Don’t think you can stop me, though. He’s the father of my children and the love of my life. I will do anything I have to in order to get him back. I’m not asking for your help because I know this will put you in a difficult position, but my loyalty is no longer to the Guild.”
I took a deep breath and leveled my steadfast gaze on every person assembled in the council room. My voice rang out with my determined resolve. “I’m Synthia, Goddess of Faery and the Queen of the Horde. I will reign down blood and fire to get my King back, and if I have to do it without you, so be it. I will not fall. I will not bow. I will become the monster they accuse us of being if they wish it. You can either stand with me in solidarity, or stay the hell out of my way. The choice is yours. I expect a decision and a response from all of you within the next few hours. I suggest you think it over and consider your decision carefully.”