Forever Fae (23 page)

I wake to the sound of horses galloping and the swaying of the carriage.  I sit slumped over
,
resting my head on the hard wall inside the carriage.  It’s definitely not a comfortable position.  I see nothing but blackness because I am blindfolded.  My hands are tied behind my back and my feet are tied at the ankles.  Someone is in here with me and the only sound I hear from him is his breathing.  I am trying to listen for any clue as to where I am going
or
who
m
I am with, but no luck yet.  I pretend to be asleep so I don’t alert my captor that I’m awake.  I will do this for as long as I can.  The carriage is moving awfully fast and I would assume it’s to get away from the
Summer C
ourt as fast as possible. 
If what my gut is telling me is right, then we must be headed toward the Black Forest.

I don’t know how long I had been unconscious, but it must have been a long while.  I am
hungry, thirsty
and I could really use a bathroom break.  I wonder if anyone at home has noticed
I’m
missing. 
I hope Ryder and Merrick got out of the vines and are looking for me.

The carriage begins to slow down and I hear a gravelly voice yelling for the horses to stop.  Most trolls have the sa
me sounding voice so it
must be a
troll driving the carriage.
 
My captor gets out of the carriage and
I hear bits and pieces of
the conversation going on outside. 
I heard something about setting up camp and getting some food.  Food would be welcome, but I wouldn’t trust what food they gave me.  I wonder if Merrick can hear me from where I am at.

“Merrick.  Merrick, can you hear me?”
I ask frantically, but
I feel like my mind is blocked somehow. 
It’s like there’s a wall that’s
disconnecting me from him.  Well, damn, there goes that idea. 
How am I going to let my people know I’ve been taken?

The door to the carriage opens and my captor lifts me out.  I keep my body as limp as possible.  I hear a door opening and then another.  I am placed on a bed and my captor u
nbinds my wrists and ankles and
then leaves and locks the door.  Where the hell am I?  I stay still for a few more minutes, making sure no o
ne is coming back in before I decide to move.
  The blindfold was left on, but I swiftly take it off so I can view my surroundings.

Wow.

I wonder where
I am
.  I’m in a huge bedroom with a large
,
four
-
poster
,
king size bed.  The sheets are black satin
and there’s
a scarlet red comforter and pillows.
  The walls are
painted black as well.  The person who decorated it must have been going for dark and seductive.  If that person has that in mind for me, I
will
have no problem with chopping off
his balls.  The
room is laced with magic.  I can feel the power of i
t and it’s stronger than anything I have ever felt.
  It isn’t fae magic because that magic would be pure and light. 
This magic is dark and menacing
.
As it
swirl
s
around
me, it
makes me feel violated and dirty.

I head toward the bathroom and turn on the light.  The
entire
bathroom is made of black marble
that has
golden swirls throughout
it
.  A selection of shampoos and soaps are lined across the counter and
there’s
even a toothbrush with toothpaste.  This is really weird.  What kind of person captures another and treats them like this?  I hope I get some answers soon.  I did complain about needing a bathroom break and a shower, but I have no clothes.  I walk back to the bedroom and open the closet doors.  I have never seen so many clothes in a
closet, but the only problem with these clothes is that they are all skimpy dresses that will show
too much
skin .
  This is absolutely ridiculous.
I decide to take a quick shower first to clean off all the dirt and
dried blood in my hair. 
I search through the dresses angrily an
d settle on the one that will cover
most of my assets.  It doesn’t exactly cover a lot, but it covers more than the others.  It’s one of the only long dresses in the
closet;
however, the back of the dress is fully open
.
The
neckline
of the d
ress
swoops so low it
looks like my breasts will fall out if I move the wrong way.
  When I find out
who
is
responsible for this I am going to kill him.
I change quickly into the red dress and sit in the black leather chair in the corner of the room beside a small table and lamp.

My head no longer
hurts, but now I need answers.
There are no windows in here so the chance of escape through one isn’t going to happen.  I still feel the wall in my head that’s blocking all communication from the bond with Merrick.  I can’t even access my own powers in here. 
I’m starting to believe the stories about a dark sorcerer
that roams the Dark Forest.
T
his magic feels exceptionally stronger and more powerful than mine. 
All I know is that I have to get out of here.

I hear footsteps approaching and the lock being turned in the door.  The door opens and I
find that I
am not shocked to see the man who is now standing in the doorway.  He is carrying a tray of food and my stomach grumbles. 

“Hello, Princess,” he says with an evil smirk.

“I wish I could say the same to you, Warren,” I hiss. 

“Now, now, Princess,
t
here
is no reason to be hostile.”  He walks over to me and sets the tray of food beside me on the table.  He doesn’t seem to be bothered at all that he has taken me against my will and is keeping m
e captive.  This infuriates me, but he hasn’t seen what I can do when I’m angry.
  I stand up from the chair and meet his eyes dead on.  The anger and hatred boils out of my voice when I speak.

“You haven’t seen hostile yet, Warren. 
Unfortunately, this room is contaminated with the stench of dark magic so w
hen I get out of here, I’m going to show you just
what I mean when I rip your damn
head off and kick that evil smirk off your face.” I pause
to calm my erratic heartbeat
and
I
smile
boastfully
.

“Not unless Ryder gets to you first and does a whole lot worse.” 

He laughs and shakes his head
.

“I don’t think Ryder will be caring what happens to you.  I did a pretty good job filling his head with nonsense.  I told him
some pretty convincing lies
about how you and Merrick were being a little m
ore than friendly this morning and he ate it all up.”

My face f
alls
and all traces of my smile
are
gone. 
So that’s what was wrong with him.  Warren had told him a bunch of lies and Ryder had believed him.  The lack of trust hurts, but Warren has been his best friend for years and he’s only known me for two days.  Can I really blame him?
  No, but the lack of trust pains
my heart.  I would never have doubted him like that.

Confident, I say
,
“Someone will come looking for me.  I have no doubt.”

“They can try, but once we reach the Black Forest it’ll be a hopeless attempt.  My master has been
waiting for you a long time and h
e’s not going to let you go without a fight
,
” Warren says.

How are my people going to save me in the Black
Forest?  No one goes in there so h
ow will they know where to find me?  I ne
ed to find out as much as I can because if no one can save me, I need to save myself.

“Who is this master you speak of?” I ask.

“You will meet him tomorrow, but tonight you must rest.  If you must know
,
h
e was the sole survivor of the war between the sorcerers a century ago.  His name is Alasdair and he has
been building his army and his power slowly during this t
ime in the Black Forest.
  He needs your power to speed things along.”

“What can my power do?” I ask.  The more I know the
better
chance I have
of
thwart
ing
this sorcerer’s plans.

“He needs your power to help fulfill his.  You are the beginning
of
T
he
Four
and he must start with you.  I’m sure he will explain everything.”  Warren
motion
s
to the food. 

“You need to eat.  We have a long day of travelling tomorrow and the master doesn’t want you starved.”  He looks my body up and down
slowly
and smiles
.

“The master will love you in that dress.”  I make a disgusted noise
.
He
winks and walks out of the room locking the door behind him.

I tear the dress
off
and put
on
the robe that I saw hanging on the bathroom door.  I make my way over to the food and pull off the cover.  What I find surprises me.  On the plate is a mound of spaghetti, a bowl of salad with ranch dressing and garlic bread.  How did Warren know this was my favorite?  As much as I want to eat it, I don’t.  My body is tired and my eyes start to feel heavy.  I feel weak from
malnourishment
, but I can’t bring myself to eat the food.  I decide the best thing to do is try to sleep. 

             
I lay there for what fe
els
like an eternity knowing very well I won’t be able to fall asleep
, but then
I feel a pull dragging me down into blackness.  The first thing I hear as I’m falling under is the sound of Ryder’s voice.

             
“Calista
.
”

Chapter 19

Ryder

             
Kalen and I search for Warren until right before the meeting was supposed to start, and we end up being the last ones to enter the room.  The King and Queen are in their
respect
ive
thrones while the council members are arranged around the table in the center of the room.  The
elvan
leader is here
,
along with his wife and the only council members missing are Avery and Xylia’s parents.  I wonder if anything has been
discovered
about her parents.  Merrick is not yet in the room and neither is Calista.  I know she wouldn’t miss a meeting, not unless she’s that pissed off at me, but I can’t see her neglecting her duty because of that.

Kalen gets my attention by tapping my shoulder
.

“How long do you think it’ll be before they find out anything?”
He asks.

As soon as he says
it
Merrick and Elvena walk through the Great Room doors looking grim.

“It looks like we’ll find out now,” I say.

They both have a look of anguish and heartache on their faces and they walk toward the front somberly where King Oberon and Queen Tatiana are seated. 

King Oberon stands and says, “What have you seen Elvena?  Is it true about Raisa and Foster?”

Raisa and Foster must be the names of Xylia’s parents. Elvena looks like she’s been crying, but that doesn’t stop the strength from coming out in her voice. 

“It is true.  There were two traces I found of ash, and one was Raisa’s and the other was Foster’s.”  Her lip trembles and she looks down at the floor.  Her shoulders shake with a silent sob and then she says softly, “Xylia must be told about her parents.”

King Oberon nods solemnly and says, “I agree.”  He turns his head
,
looks at one of the warriors and calls out the warrior’s name
.

“Conall.”

Conall was one of the warriors that fought in the competition to earn the title of Guardian to Princess Calista.  He walks to the front and bows his head before the King
.

“What do you need me to do,
Your
Majesty?”