fight this war on our own.”
“She invited creatures into our home. Synthia refuses to become part of this world, straddling the line between both. She has to be forced to choose one, Ryder. The human world doesn’t want her or need her anymore. Faery is screaming for her the only way it can, with the blood of the fae drenching the soil. That pain she feels? It will go away the moment she finally accepts this world as her home and stops grasping on to the one that refuses to let her go.”
“Do it, set the trap and bait the pest. Don’t get fucking caught. I don’t need to tell you what a shit show it will be if that happens.”
“And if I get caught?”
“Then we handle it, nothing changes. It can’t. Too much depends on ending the threat within our walls.”
“It’s your funeral.”
Chapter Fourteen
Synthia
The shadows swirled, becoming the silhouette of a goddess. I surveyed her warily, allowing my gaze to slowly dip to the dress she wore, brushing over her delicate ankles. Midnight ringlets bounced over her shoulders as she stepped out of the shadows and entered my private bedchambers.
Ryder was somewhere else in the stronghold, occupied with the coming war. Her long, slender hands pushed the shadows away from her frame as her blood-red painted fingertips dusted off the stubborn shadows remaining on her bare shoulders that refused to release her.
“You were supposed to be here days ago.” I spoke low and clear, anger lacing my words.
“It wasn’t easy to get the potion without the other gods noticing me. I’m here now,” she said in a bored, breathy voice.
Between her fingers was a vial of glowing blue liquid. The bottle was small, easily pinched between her fingertips. I didn’t reach for it, studying her face silently, and she watched me for any signs of weakness. After a few moments, she snorted.
“I thought you wanted it?”
“I do,” I admitted, carefully. “You were supposed to be here to take my children to the City of the Gods. Yet you have not asked where they are, why?” I scrutinized the woman before me as I waited for her to respond.
“I cannot take them yet,” she confessed, frowning. “I need to arrange a secure place to hold them where they can thrive instead of being smothered. I’m sure you understand the need for secrecy, and I don’t think you want the other gods and goddesses to know your offspring are within their world.” At my silence and continued glare, she went on, “I will take them, but I need a little more time. They’re safe for now.”
“And the potion, it will turn Ryder into a god?” I asked, watching for any sign that she was lying.
“It will, Synthia. I promise you it will make him into a god, but of what, I cannot be certain. You should administer it as soon as possible. He will head south within a matter of days to cut off the mages and troops marching toward us, and you’ll want him here as he goes through the change. Have your children here tomorrow morning. I will be back for them.”
“That’s rather short notice,” I mused, tapping my chin with my finger. “I need four days to hide the fact that it will be you picking them up instead of Destiny. Ryder will also be in transition, and won’t be present for the handoff. I need your assurance this potion won’t harm Ryder, and that you will protect my children with your life.”
“I’ve given you my word,” she mumbled. “I will do everything I have promised. I will ensure your children are within the City of the Gods, and your beast changes into what you wish him to be, like you. Synthia, you need to know that once you do this, it cannot ever be undone. Be sure you can live with your choices, because you may lose him.”
“I can live without him. I cannot live without him in this world. Thanatos is here, and we both know