Embracing Destiny Read online

  “I’m Stanislav,” he snorted. “Is she for real? Sweet ass comes on in here claiming to be a goddess and shit. I’d hire her for the balls of that claim alone.” He snickered, turning to study Alden, then dropped his smile and frowned at Alden’s lifted a brow and crossed arms.

  “Adrik Stanislav, meet Synthia McKenna, Goddess of the Fae, Queen of the Horde, and my niece,” Alden chuckled as he watched the color drained from Stanislav’s face.

  “Fuck me,” he muttered, scrubbing his hand over his mouth, taking me in once more.

  “Well, Stanislav, at least we know you got some balls on you. What breed are you?”

  “Hybrid wolf, born from a long line of hybrids in Russia,” he announced, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I don’t know how to address you correctly. Should I bow?”

  “Hell, no,” I laughed outright. “I’m here as one of your potential bosses. Basically, if you prove worthy, you work for me, Alden, Adam, and Adrian. I will be behind the scenes, and Alden will work beside you.” I spit out all the ‘A’ names and considered changing a few to something cool, like a codename.

  “And if we get into trouble, we’re just fucked and left on our own?” a feminine voice asked. I observed the young woman as she strolled out in front of me, twirling cherry colored hair around her dainty finger. She popped a bubble between her matching red lips as I took in her appearance, noting the multitude of weapons she concealed. Slowly, I peered up into her glowing blue eyes that watched me with the gaze of a predator.

  “Then you get your fucking ass out of it,” I shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not your crutch. We’re hiring warriors, not damsels in need of saving. Be the dragon that eats the prick and leaves nothing but bones when she’s finished. If you can’t do that, then get the fuck out because this world will eat you up, strawberry lips and all, sweetheart.” I was brutally honest, but we didn’t have time to hold anyone’s hands. The world needed people out hunting for demons now. Not tomorrow. Not next week.

  The young woman chuckled before tilting her pretty head to the left. “So, you’re nothing but a threat that we whisper to our enemies? We get in trouble, and they take our fucking heads before we can spit out your name.”

  “I cannot intervene, but I have friends in every dark corner and every shadow that can rain down hell on whoever thinks to fuck with my people. Make no mistake; you will be my people if you make the cut. I will protect you to the best of my ability. The thing is, if you’re good enough, I shouldn’t fucking have to save your asses. I never needed to be saved when I worked here as a witch. Strive to do the same…?” I raised my brow in question, allowing the young woman the opportunity to share her name.

  “Ivory Henderson. I’m a born witch and bitten shifter,” she shrugged nonchalantly, mimicking me. “I’m in it to kill creatures that piss me off. Don’t piss me off, and you won’t be on my list, sugar.”

  Smiling wickedly, I disappeared and reappeared behind her, watching her search the room before I whispered into her ear. “Do better, so you live longer, little girl.” Picking her up, I sifted us to the level that housed my new office, high above the stairs and only obtainable through sifting. I spoke against her ear as I held her securely against me. “Too easy. Even with weapons, you’re an easy fucking kill. Get smarter, Ivory. Learn to listen to the wind; it speaks to you.” I sifted again, placing her right back where we’d started.

  “How the fuck?” Ivory demanded.

  Pushing her forward and away from me, I narrowed my eyes. “Shut your mouth, stop chewing gum, and listen to the room. Sifting, materializing, and displacing air all make a sound. Learn it, and you’ll live longer. Drop the attitude; you’re not untouchable. Being sassy works, being cocky? That shit will get you murdered just for the simple fact that they’ll need to teach you a lesson. Let our enemies be cocky, and then when they’re flapping their lips, cut their fucking heads off and show them why they don’t fuck with women.”

  “I think I’m wet,” Ivory swallowed audibly.

  “My dick just got hard,” Stanislav said, chuckling.

  “Someone is up on the roof, Syn. Why don’t you go say hello,” Alden interrupted, scrubbing his hand down his face at Ivory and Stanislav’s choice of words.

  “Really?” I asked. “Need a lift, old man?” I offered softly.

  “I’ll meet you up there in a few minutes. I need to make sure all the doors are locked.”

  Nodding to Alden, I took one last look at Stanislav and Ivory before I materialized on the roof. I studied the dark silhouette that stared out over the ruins of the city with his arms crossed and legs spread apart. He’d dressed in low-hung jeans and a black button-down shirt with new tattoos covering his arms. I slowly closed the distance between us, silently watching as his dark head lifted, inhaling my scent.

  “Fancy meeting you here, Synthia,” Adrian said without turning to look at me.

  I stopped beside him, leaning my head against his shoulder while I surveyed what used to be our city. It was beautiful, chaotic destruction that wouldn’t be easy to fix. Garbage littered the streets, debris thick enough to wade through marring some of them. Flames danced from trashcans, billowing smoke into the night. The entire city was lit by the stars as if darkness had descended and swallowed the light.

  “We could have stopped this from happening if we’d all been here together,” I said thickly, fighting my emotions while staring at the remains of a once beautiful city.

  “No, we couldn’t,” he returned, wrapping his arm around me. “We’d just end up another dead creature they destroyed.”

  “We could’ve fucking tried,” Adam growled, forcing our gazes in the direction where he’d materialized without causing a disturbance. Adam’s arm wrapped around my waist, too, and together we stood in silence, staring out over the destruction of the city. “It wouldn’t have been this bad. Not if we’d been here to fight the demons when they first came through.”

  “You’re wrong.” Adrian shook his head. “Vlad had people out battling the demons, and they never returned. Vampires just vanished, and you think we could have stopped this? No, we’d have died trying to prevent what was inevitable because we would have refused to stop fighting, even if we were losing. It’s who we are: fighters who continue to fight for the underdogs.”

  “I could have…”

  “Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. It doesn’t matter anymore, Syn. You had shit going on, hell, we all did. Lucifer did this by setting a trap for Lena to walk into Hell. He opened the Hell gates to escape his prison. Now we take it all back. We push them back into Hell from where they escaped, and we close those fucking doors for good.”

  “Look at you three. Would you look at you three assholes,” Alden stated, watching us as he came through the one door that led to the roof. “Out of all the enforcers in this guild, who would have thought you would be the last three standing?”

  “We did,” I stated offhandedly, and when Adrian and Adam snorted, I swatted them. “I knew we would survive. I knew we would because you taught us that losing was never an option and giving up isn’t something we carry in our blood. We had a damn good teacher.” I laughed and looked at the three men on the roof with me. “A fairy, a vampire, and a goddess walk into a bar…”

  “Sounds like a horror show in the making,” Adrian snorted.

  “Yeah, there goes the fucking bar.” I turned, staring at the sadness in Adam’s eyes that had also entered his tone. He felt it, but more than that, we all felt Larissa’s absence at the moment.

  “Eventually, we need to speak about the body you took,” I muttered, turning sad eyes to Adam.

  “Not today, we don’t. Today we celebrate reopening this guild’s doors. Today is for the living, not the dead. I can’t believe you did it.” Adam smiled, changing the subject.

  “We did it; we all did it.” I hugged
them all tightly, staring back out over the city that had raised us. “Today marks the first day of the new guild of hunters, and the day we take Spokane back and make it a haven for those in need of a safe place to go.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Adrian snorted, pulling out a hundred-and-fifty-year-old bottle of scotch. Alden pushed aside a broken cabinet door, withdrawing four dirty, soot-covered glasses. I whispered a spell, adding fae magic, and smiled as the glasses came clean. “Here’s to a new adventure and old friends. To the ones who gave their all, and to the ones out there fighting to get home, may they all find peace and feel no more pain.” He smiled at me, kissing the top of my head as we exhaled.

  “That was a good toast,” I admitted.

  “He must be getting smarter in his old age,” Adrian snorted, patting Adam on the back. “I cannot believe this place is operational again. I’m proud of us; we’ve come pretty far from the mouthy punk kids that thought we could run it one day.”

  “Yes, you did, and I’m thankful you guys are at my side today. I couldn’t think of a better makeshift coven to open the new guild, even if you’re no longer witches. I’m proud of you all, and of whom you have become. You never lost sight of who we were forging you to become, even though you changed into what we feared at the time. You taught me more than a lifetime of learning could, and good fucking lord, you taught me patience while trying mine to the limits. You put me through hell and showed me that rules could be broken. You ready to help me run this guild correctly?”

  “That’s why we’re here,” I said, watching the liquid amber as it filled my glass. “That’s why we’re all here again.”

  Chapter Six

  Back at the castle, I paused inside the throne room as the men came into view. Ryder and his brothers were arguing about where to place troops and where to reinforce against attacks. I hiccupped and snorted simultaneously, knowing I was gone entirely too long since time moved differently between worlds. A dark head lifted from the table, and I watched as narrowed amber eyes settled on me.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Ryder demanded as power erupted inside the room.

  I didn’t respond, not when he was oozing anger mixed with power, creating a palpable force that fought to smother and intimidate me. It slithered over my flesh, pulsing through me with the intensity of everything that made him the King of the Horde.

  “Fucking answer me, woman.” Ryder slammed his hand down on the table, never taking his eyes from me. “You were gone for days, Synthia. I told you that you could only have a few minutes at the guild because you were needed here. You do realize your obligation is to this kingdom now, right? Do you understand me?” Everyone around Ryder looked away, pretending to be engrossed in the map at the center of the table as they listened to every word he growled at me.

  “And what is my obligation?” Tilting my head, I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked, not backing down even though we had an audience.

  “You’re supposed to be my queen and help me run this kingdom, or did you forget that already?” Lifting his head in the air, Ryder inhaled deeply and glared at me. “Tell me, how is Adrian? I can smell him on you.”

  “He’s great,” I snorted, swaying on my feet.

  “Are you drunk?” His power intensified inside the room at his sudden spike of fresh anger.

  “A little.” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. Okay, so it was probably more than just a little. But hey, I was with my coven. We were celebrating the reopening of what had once been our home, and I’d earned a fucking break. I’d been cooped up in this place since the day Erie took Hell’s army and marched off with it.

  “You’re supposed to be here helping me run this castle and prepare for war, Synthia. You were gone for days.”

  “Last I heard, you didn’t need or want my help running your kingdom.” Shifting on my feet, I uncrossed my arms and studied my fingernails, noting they could use a new coat of polish. “It’s not like you would listen to me anyway, so does it really matter if I’m gone? Besides, the guild is reopening, and we were celebrating.” I smiled, then hiccupped again.

  “How fucking cute.” The brands on his arms ignited and pulsed with his anger as he moved closer to where I stood. “Your obligation is to this world now, not theirs.”

  “On the contrary, Fairy. That is my world too, or have you forgotten who I am? How easy it is for you to forget where I came from.” Suddenly, I didn’t seem as drunk as before as my anger ignited. “The entire world is on fire, and humans are being hunted down like dogs. Spokane is covered in ashes and brimstone. The guild is the only one fighting for that world, and if me being there for a few hours is a crime, then fuck it, charge me.” Pushing my shoulders back, I straightened and took a step closer to Ryder as I gritted my teeth. “You told me you would run this kingdom with or without me, and now you want to get angry that I wasn’t here?”

  Ryder’s hand snaked through my hair before his mouth lowered to mine. “You’re my fucking wife, or have you forgotten?” His face reddened, and his nostrils flared as he pointed his finger at me. “You’ll fucking do as I say, understand?”

  “Am I? Because you promised your wife you wouldn’t become a tyrant, and we would win this war together as a team.” I pulled back slightly and glared at him, shaking my head. “You haven’t included me in the team part. You don’t get to pick and choose what you tell me. You sent out a fucking kill order! Do you know how many fae died in the last three hours since I’ve been away from here? Over three thousand, Ryder,” my voice cracked, and tears blurred my vision as I began to shake from the anger and grief rolling through me. His golden eyes watched me angrily while his hold tightened on my hair. “I feel every one of their lives slipping away. Did you even think about me, your wife, the Goddess of the Fae, when you gave those orders? I’m the one cursed to feel every life you have taken with that order.”

  “We are in a fucking war, Synthia.”

  “Let me go,” I demanded, and when he didn’t, I ignited my brands with the eerie silver hue that had been glowing on and off since I’d saved Finn’s life.

  Black gossamer wings exploded from Ryder’s back as he continued to hold my hair with his lips brushing across mine. “Never.” Pressing his forehead against mine, he met my eyes with a promise. “I will never let you go as long as I live.”

  “Now,” I growled, creasing my brow.

  “I have to be the King of the Horde right now, Synthia. I must rule them with an iron fist, or they will rise against us. You may have placed fear into their hearts, but they’re the indomitable horde. You are their queen, and I am their king. You are needed here. Alden can handle the guild. You know he can run it without you, and that pisses you off, and I don’t fucking care if it does. I need you; he doesn’t anymore. Faery needs its goddess to get her pretty head out of her perky ass. I can’t win this war without you by my side.”

  “By your side or locked in a damn tower, so you know where I am at all times?” I pushed him away from me. “Wrong fucking damsel, Fairy,” hissing, I stared him down coldly.

  All the men remained silent, watching and waiting to see what would happen. I exhaled the anger before peering around the room. Ristan watched me with a guarded look in his eyes, and Zahruk had his hand on his weapon. I snorted, noting that we’d come full circle.

  “Place your troops where you think they should be. I have things to do.” I started to walk away when Ryder grabbed my arm, forcing me to turn around and face him.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “I’m going hunting.” Pulling away from his grip, I stared at him with calm determination. “There’s a Stag that hasn’t been seen in months, and he promised me he’d be here when the war reached Faery. War is here; he isn’t.”

  “You’re drunk,” Ryder pointed out icily.

  “And?”

  “And we’re at war.�
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  “I’m tipsy, not plowed. I am very aware of the fact that we are at war. Remember, unlike you, I sense every death that occurs inside this realm. I also understand why my mother wasn’t completely sane. There’s no off-switch. I don’t think I could even get drunk enough to drown out the pain within me because of your fucking orders and the mages endlessly slaughtering the fae. So, I will find the Stag and ask for his advice with the upcoming war. Do you want to come with me?” I bat my eyelashes and feigned innocence, then laughed sarcastically. “Oh, that’s right, horde laws state that the queen and king must not leave the palace simultaneously during times of war and unrest. No wonder your father had thirty wives and over one hundred concubines in residence. He could leave whenever he liked, couldn’t he?”

  “I chose to have one wife, Pet. You.”

  I studied his liquid amber gaze intently. “I bet you regret that choice.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  I exhaled slowly, frowning before I moved to a bench to sit. Ryder followed me, ignoring the heavy stares of the others as he sat beside me. His fingers threaded through mine, and he pulled my hand to his mouth, kissing it.

  “You’re my world,” he breathed. “But I am the King of the Horde, taken from my own fucking wedding by the witches. It made me look weak, and I am not. My people are testing me, and if you can’t understand that, I will do this alone.”

  He dropped my hand, standing to his full height before walking away from me without a backward glance. I studied his stiff back, ignoring the worried looks from the men as he sifted mid-step, vanishing.

  “Flower,” Ristan said, starting toward where I sat.

  I vanished, disappearing before he could say a word or ask a question. I understood he wanted answers, but the thing was, Ristan had taken the guild’s files. He or someone else had destroyed the entire archive on demonology. My guess was that Ristan had already gone through them, and hadn’t found what he was looking for, but it also meant I couldn’t help him. We had no reports on angels that were useful to him, so he had taken Olivia’s file with Alden’s permission. The guild was starting over from ground zero, and anything it once held was gone. I needed to find information to help me manage the pain that worsened with every fae death, or I’d be useless in this war.