Forever Fae (7 page)

“I say the things I do about Merrick because it’s t
rue, and yes, you must be blind,” my father says, and then he points to the stranger. “
The young man you are referring to over th
ere is Prince Ryder from the Winter Court.”

Shocked, I turn my head abruptly from my father to look at Prince Ryder.  He sure does look like a prince, more of a Greek god
,
if you ask me.  My hear
t flutters just looking at him and t
he way he’s staring at m
e makes my body tighten.
  It’s like he’s trying to devour my body with
his
seductive blue eyes.  I can only imagine what else he could do to
me
.  He smirks at me l
ike he knows what I’m thinking and
I quickly loo
k away, squirming in my chair.  I need to ask Elvena if this is normal because nothing like this has ever happened before.  I’ve never felt this strongly for someone I didn’t know. 

My father looks at
me
,
wrinkling his brow
.

“Calista, are you well?” 

Breathless, I respond,
“Yes, father, I’m fine.  It’s just a little hot in here.” 
I’m not lying about being hot.  Watching Prince Ryder look at me the way he did sent the blood boiling throughout my body and it was definitely in a good way.

I shake my head to stop thinking of the way Ryder makes my body feel
and
to concentrate on the fight.  Merrick fights with such passion and it’s down to him and Ashur
,
just like my father said. 
Merrick is graceful with his movements while Ashur is aggressive and a little spor
adic.  Both warriors look tired, but
I see the de
termination in Merrick’s eyes. What everyone says about Merrick having feelings for me pulls at my heart.  I guess I’ve been in denial about his feelings.  Thinking about Merrick and the way I’m feeling about Prince Ryder actually has me feeling guilty.

A few minutes later, Merrick makes the final blow and takes Ashur down. 
The fae heal very quickly so
Ashur and the other warriors will be as good as new by tomorrow. 

Breathing hard and sweaty from the fight, Merrick comes up to the dais and kneels before my father. 

“
Your
H
ighness
, I have defeated my brethren, and ask to be awa
rded the title Guardian
to Princess Calista.” 

He bows his head and waits
for my fa
ther to speak.  My father looks
to me for approval s
o I nod
my head for him to continue.
My father stands and walks to Merrick.

“You may stand, Merrick.  Congratulations, warrior, you have won the title of Guardian to my daughter, Princess Calista.  You are to guard her with your life and put her needs before your own.  Once the ritual is completed, you will acquire some unique and extraordinary abilities.  Your thoughts will become hers and hers yours.  T
his bond is sacred and special and y
ou are both very honored to be given t
his gift.  Now go, Merrick, collect your thoughts and clean up.
As soon as you re
turn
,
we will continue with the
b
lood
r
itual
.”

Merrick looks at me with the biggest grin I have ever seen, and
I
c
an’t
help but snicker.  He was cute when
he looked like that. 

He turns to my father and says
,
“I understand my duties,
Y
our
H
ighness
, and
I shall return
shortly.”  He turns and walks out of the Great R
oom with his head held high. 

I lean back in my chair.

“I am so glad that’s over,” I whisper
to
my parents.  I finally look over at Drake and he’s trying to hold back his
laughter
. 
I give him a scowl so he will know that I don’t find
it
humorous.

“Sister, you are the most stubborn and
strong
-
willed person I know.  I’m sure the warriors appreciate your concern for their
well-being
, but they wanted to do this.  You should have seen them before the ceremony started.  I thought they were go
ing to explode with excitement.” He pauses and lowers his voice.  He can see the concern in my face so he continues,
“
They didn’t care if th
ey got hurt, Calista.
You nee
d to stop worrying about them.”

He passes down a
beautifully
carved wooden box
to my parents so they could hand it to me. 
It is a box made by the dwarves.

My mother takes
this time to speak
.

“Durin made this for you.  He took great pride in the metalwork and also with the carvings.  He
also wanted us to tell you that he hates
he couldn’t be here today, but he and King Madoc had important business to tend to in Endelyn.” 
I understand he couldn’t be here and I’m kind of glad King Madoc isn’t here because if he was, I’m sure Prince Ryder wouldn’t be.

I open
the box to fin
d the dagger Merrick and I will
use to complete the blood ritual
. 
It’s laid
across a soft,
purple
,
velvet cushion and there are lots of crystals and gems of numerous colors splayed across the handle along with intricate designs of vines and leaves.
  It must have taken Durin a great deal of time to construct
th
e
dagger. 
A tear escapes my eye as I
stare at it
.  Durin definitel
y made this dagger to appease me
.
He
knows of my love for color and he made sure there was a lot of color on
it
.
  I wonder how Merrick is going to feel carrying
it
around.  I laugh
silently at the thought of Merrick
wielding
a jeweled dagger.  The look on his face is going to be priceless.  I close the box and wait for Merrick to return.

While I’m waiting, I see Prince Ryder talking to his friend and I wonder what his voice sounds like.  I bet it’s
deep and sensual
,
like a caress, and I bet it will sound even better in a more intimate setting.
I will make it a go
al tonight to hear his voice because o
ne way or another, I will speak to him.

Blood Ritual- Calista

             
Merrick finally enters the Great R
oom, looking
washed up and
clean
. 
He watches me the whole time as he mak
e
s his way to the front.  He kneels once he reaches the dais and m
y father
, mother, Drake, and I all stand
as a show of respect and honor to the man who
w
ill
become
my
g
uardian
.  My father reaches
out and
takes my hand.  He leads me over to Merrick
, who
is
still kneeling with his head bowed.

             
“
It’s time,” my father whispers.

             
I take
a dee
p breath and let go of his hand
.
I nod
my head to let him
know I
am
ready.  I steal
a quick glance at
Prince Ryder and all I see is
a blank expression on his face. 
That’s definitely a change from earlier.  I inwardly shrug it off and continue with what I’m about to do.  I carry
t
he box with the dagger in it and
position myself in front of Merrick.

             
“You may
rise
, Merrick.
My Guardian,” I say.

             
He stands
,
bows his head one more time and then looks at me with
his
chocolate brown eyes.  A look of nervousness passes across his face, but only
briefly
.  I open the box with the dagger and pull it out.

             
Merrick looks into my eyes and says, “Princess Calista, do you accept me as your
g
uardian
?  I vow to keep you safe, to put my life before yours and forever be your protector.  Will you honor me with this gift?”

             
I know this is part of the ritual, but hopefully he knows that I would never doubt his capabilities and that I couldn’t have been happier. 
I’m ecstatic that he’s my
g
uardian
because if I had the choice he would have been it in the first place.  He always watches over me no matter what we’re doing. 
He is one of my best friends and I care for him deeply. 

Now this is the part of the ritual that has had me nervous. 
I reach for his hand and turn it palm up.  I slice the
blade across his p
alm, and affectionately commend
, “I do accept you as my Guardian, always.”

             
Once the blood starts
to flow, the dagg
er absorbs
some o
f it into its blade.  Now it is my turn and
Merrick takes the blade gently from my hand and examines it.  He shakes his head and looks like he’s about to burst out laughing.  I knew he would find it comical and
would
think it
was
a girly dagger. 
Merrick
takes my hand and hesitates. I knew this would be hard for him.  Even though it’ll be a small cut, I can still see the turmoil in his eyes.

             
I whisper so only he can hear, “M
errick, it’ll be
OK
.
  I trust you.”

             
“I know, I just don’t like to hurt you,” he whispers back.

             
He does go easy on me during our trainings and I scold him for it
,
too.  He knows how strong I am and t
hat I can kick some warrior ass, maybe not physically, but my affinities make up for it. 
He stops hesitating,
takes a deep breath
and finally glides the dagger across my palm.  The blood slowly oozes out and the blade takes its portion of my blood. 

             
My father announces, “Now is the time to join hands, blood to blood, and seal the sacred bond.”

             
Merrick and I look at each other
.
W
e
join hands and
are
immediately
thrust into
a whirlwind of sensations.  I can feel Merrick’
s mind and soul open up to me
and what I see is beautiful and pure.
  His power flows through me
,
giving me extra strength and I know my power is doing the same for him.  Even though we
are sharing
power, our abilities will still be the same.  He will still only have his affinity to fire.
  Hearing my name catches my attention.

             
“
Calista
.”

             
I jerk my head to look at Merrick.  Did I just hear him say my name?

             
“Yes, Cali, you heard me say your name.”

             
I jump with surprise.  He always calls me Cali when he’s in a playful mood. 
I can’t believe we can talk and no one else can hear what we’re
saying
.

             
“Oh, Merrick, this is great.  How’s your hand
?
”
I look over his hand then back to his eyes. 
“
You should never doubt how much I want you to be my
g
uardian
.  You’re one of my dearest friends, and I’m so glad it was you who won.”

             
His face fell when I said the part about being one of my dearest friends.  Maybe there is something he’s not telling m
e.  His pained expression passes and he is
once again the playful, arrogant guy I’ve always known him to be.