Forever Fae (17 page)

Elvena is staring at me
,
waiting
for
me to speak.  She’s obviously excited to see what I have to say about the change.

“So
many things changed last night and my
emotions
are everywhere right now.”  I rub my hands over my face to rub my eyes.  They feel heavy and tired from lack of sleep.
 

I continue, “My skin tone changed and even my
body temperature changed.  How am I going to face Merrick like this?  I not only turn him down, but seeing me like this is like rubbing salt in his wounds.  I have nothing to say to him
that will make him understand.  To top it off, I’m falling in love with someone that I’m drawn to
,
just like the
p
rophecy
says
,
and I don’t know if those feelings are real.”

I
start
to eat my breakfast and wish I could enjoy
it
, but the weight of everything
is
heavy
on my shoulders.  I
push my pancakes away and
decide to just drink
the
orange juice. Elvena c
omes to sit with me at my table and she’s fidgeting with one of my napkins.  She only fidgets when she’s nervous about something.

I narrow my eyes at her and ask, “You know what’s going on
,
don’t you?  You might as well spill it.”
 

She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath.  Letting it out slowly, she ope
ns her eyes and begins to speak
.

“I know you’re worried about the
p
rophecy
and what all it
entails
and I know you’re probably worried that
your
feelings might not be real
.
”
I nod my head yes so she continues
.

“
B
ut
that’s not it at all, child.  There is no magic in the
p
rophecy
.  The
p
rophecy
is just words, so anything you feel or what your heart desires is all you, my child.”

I let go of the breath I have been holding and sigh in relief.  If I
had
known that earlier, things probably would have escalated further with Ryder. 

To confirm,
I ask, “So you’re saying my feelings and his are real?”

She shakes her head in disbelief
.

“I can’t believe you would ask that. Calista, my child, your heart is your own.  You make the choices yourself.  You and Ryder were connected long before the
p
rophecy
ever came about.”

I squeal and jump up and down
.

“Oh Elvena, you have no idea how happy this makes me.”

She rolls her eyes and waves her hands for me to calm down
.

“That’s not all of it, child.  You and Ryder are destined to save the kingdoms but your change
isn’t
fully completed yet.”

“How do we complete the change?” I ask curiously while taking a gulp of my orange juice.

She gives me a sly smile and says, “You have to consummate the relationship, child.”

I spew my orange juic
e all over the table and Elvena
.
I
cough out the orange juice that I just sucked into my lungs.
  She makes a disgusted look and retrieves a towel to help clean up the mess. 

“I’m
so
sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, but are you saying we have to have sex to save the kingdoms?  What kind of shit is that?  Don’t get me wrong, having sex with Ryder would be amazing, but how could us doing that be so powerful?”

She smiles her motherly smile while I sit there feeling embarrassed.  I have never slept with a man before and talking about it
with
Elvena is a little weird. 
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my fair share of men over the past few years, but I never slept with any of them.  Merrick pretty much scared them all off and now I understand why.

“Oh, child, you underestimate the power of love.  Leave it to you young folk to think I was just talking about the sex.  It is not just the sex that’s powerful, but the bonds of marriage as well.  You and Ryder are two of the most powerful fae in both courts.  Your brother and sisters and Ryder’s brothers and
sister are just as powerful
.
They
play a part in this
,
too, but it’s not their time. The
p
rophecy
involves all of you
from both courts, but y
ou are the beginning of it all.  Once combined, the love you and Ryder share is going to bring about a whole ne
w world.  Four courts, Calista.  If you don’t do this, the evil will spread and we won’t have the power to defeat it.

I try to contemplate all she has said. 
How are we going to make four
courts
?
She breaks me out of my reverie by tapping me on my head.

“Think, child.” 

She lets out an exasperated breath and takes my hand.  I close my eyes and m
y vision comes back to me full force, but in full clarity.  I see Ryder and his magnificent ice blue eyes, and we are in the meadow again. 
Our bodies are changed just like they are now. 
The vision comes so quickly, but it
le
aves
me the answers I
want and
need to know.
  The Land of
the
Fae is depending on me.

“Thank you, Elvena.  I don’t kn
ow what I would do without you,” I cry.

She says, “You would be lost, but you would eventually find your way.” She takes my hand
,
looks adoringly in my eyes and states, “
I know you realize your path
now and the importance of it, but when all things are said and done
I will follow you.”

I tear up and hug her tight.

“I know and I love you so much for it.”

“And I you, Princess.
  Now go, Merrick will be waiting for you.  Your training will most likely be extr
a hard today
,”
s
he
teases
with an amused smirk.

She is probably the only person who finds this funny
,
other than Xylia.  Elvena leaves my room and I’m left to ponder everything in silence.
  My future in the Land of the Fae has finally been revealed to me.  Not only will my power be important to fight evil, but to achieve my full power I must bond with the man I am falling in love with.  I think I can live with that.

Before Training-Calista

My hair is still wet from my shower so I throw it up into a messy ponytail.  I decide to finish my breakfast a
nd
check the time.  Merrick will be here in about five minutes.  I look at my body in my little tee and yoga pants. 
This
won’t
do.
Keeping my sports bra on
,
I decide to change into a
long
-
sleeve shirt and put some powder on my face and neck to hide my slightly paler skin.  Maybe this way it won’t be such a shock to Merrick if he notices anything.

I am brushing my teeth when Merrick knocks on my door. 

I mumble loudly, “Come in
.
”
I
n
reality
,
it
sound
s
nothing like that.

He opens the door to peer
in and says, “Excuse me, but was that English?”  He smiles.

I laugh and wave him in with my hand.  T
oothpaste dribbles down my chin so I run to the bathroom to wipe
it
off.

“Now that’s sexy, Princess,” he teases.

Since I can’t talk, I do it silently so he can hear me in his mind.

“I know
,
right
?
”

I walk back out of the bathroom to look at him.  He’s dressed in a pair of black running shorts, a blue t-shirt and sneakers.  He looks so normal when he’s not wearing his warrior gear. 
I smile really big so that more toothpaste foams out of my mouth.
  I’m trying to keep the mood light so maybe it’ll keep his mind off of last night.

He shakes hi
s head
.

“That is so nasty.
”  He looks down at his watch and motions for me to hurry.
 

“
You need to hurry up so we can finish training and get back in time for the meeting.”

I run
to my bathroom, spit
the
toothpaste out and wipe my mouth. 

I yell from the bathroom, “I am hurrying.  I
had a late start this morning because
Elvena came by to chit chat.”
It was part way the truth, but I’m not going to tell him that.

He nods
his head in understandi
ng and opens the door for me. 

“After you,
P
rincess
, it’s time to go kick some ass.”
I playfully elbow him in the side.

“Your ass, if I’m not mistaken,” I tease.

His
face
f
alls
and I silently curse myself.  I didn’t mean to say
it
to throw it in his face, but he actually does deserve an ass kicking.

“I know, Calista.  I do deserve it.”

Damn it, I didn’t mean for him to hear that.  I really need
to remember to shield.  We leave my room
and head through the palace
.  I see Warren, Ryder’s f
riend, leaving the council room looking a little strange.
  Why would he be in there and who would he have tal
ked to?  He doesn’t seem like he would be a friendly guy and it makes me wonder how Ryder could ever be friends with him.
 
When he sees me looking at him, he winks at me and gives me a bone chilling smile as he continues down the hall.  The la
ugh I hear echoing off the walls makes the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.  It
is
a sound of pure evil.
 

We walk outside to
head toward the path to the lake and I blush when we walk past the willow tree. 
Thinking about what happened
t
here last night sends my heart racing.  I can’t wait to talk to Ryder today. 
My kelpies are nowhere in sight, so we continue on.  He carries the swords that we train with and I am carrying the daggers.
  I’m a skilled dagger thrower and
I can hit my mark with my eyes closed.  I always offer to help carry the long swords, but Merrick never lets me.  He says he would hate it if I tripped and fell on one. 
He’s the one who would be most likely to fall on one.  I wouldn’t die if I got stabbed
, but it sure would hurt like hell. 
If it was an iron blade
,
I
’d be wounded
, but just your typical sword wouldn’t do enough damage
,
unless it was my head that go
t
cut off. 
We reach our designat
ed spot and I begin to stretch.

I look to Merrick and silently think
,
“
Let the ass kicking begin.
”

Chapter 14

Ryder

Watching Calista float up to her window was amazing.  I could tell she was showing off and I found it absolutely sexy.  I waved her goodbye and headed into the palace to my room.  There
are
still a couple of hours before Calista meets Merrick for their training.  I think
it
will be the perfect time to teach him a lesson.  I enter my room and take a look around.  The walls are painted yellow, just like the Great Room, and the bed has red, satin sheets and an abundance of pillows.  Calista would make a nice addition to the bed. I can just imagine her long, blonde hair fanned out across the pillows and the feel of her body as we
ma
k
e
love.
Soon.
 

Once I leave tomorrow and handle my affairs in the Winter Court, I’ll be back to make her officially mine.  I am sure
Merrick
will be a problem, but I will make
Calista
my wife one way or another.  I haven’t told her I loved her yet because it felt like she was holding back.  I’m not going to wait any longer. I plan to talk to her first to see what she says about it, but if she says yes, I will ask her father’s permission in the meeting today in front of everyone.  This news will definitely spread fast throughout the kingdoms.