Forever Fae (12 page)

             
The man that Calista doesn’t like
cuts
in to take Merrick’s place.  I can see the look on her face
and
she’s not happy
.
I can’t help but wonder why she doesn’t like him.  Xylia smiles and lets me
leave to rescue the
princess
.
Calista
thank
s
me for
saving
her and
t
ells
me she doesn’t like the vibe
she gets from their counselor.
I could sense the bad vibe as well because it’s the s
ame vibe I get around Warren.
I really hope
Heyflred
can help us figure out the problem with Warren when we get back to the Winter Court.

Dancing with Calista
fe
els
natural
.
It’s
like our bodies fit together perfectly.  Her hair
smell
s
lovely with the arrangement of flowers throughout and her dress
is
stunning on her curvy
figure
.  Her body is amazing and I wish I didn’t have to keep my hands in a respectful position.  I
t
ell
her all the secrets Xylia
has
told me and she
isn
’t
surprised one bit.  We discuss our love for
spaghetti and I
t
ell
her that I can cook an amazing bowl of spaghetti.  She
is
shocked that I
c
an
cook at all. 

I mention to Calista that we need to
talk about
the vision.  She
agree
s
and
arrange
s
for us to meet in secret by the big willow tree out by the lake.  I hope she can get away from Merrick, but if not I might need to devise a plan to ensure that she gets away.  I’m looking forward to meeting her in secret and being alone with her. 

I ask her if she
love
s
Merrick and thankfully she
claim
s
she
care
s
for him only as a friend.  I
s
ee
the truth in her eyes so I don’t doubt her claims, but Merrick is going to be another issue.  A man in love will do impossible things.  I just hope he doesn’t get in my way.  I don’t want to hurt him because I know
it would
hurt Calista and the last thing I want is to push her away when I’m just getting to know her.

We say our goodbyes and I save her sister from my brother like she
ask
s
.  I spend the rest of the time watching her dance with the other warriors and then finally her evening ends with a last dance with Aelfric, the
leader of the
Elv
an
Kingdom
.  I heard that she visits the
Elv
an
K
ingdom
regularly and will be taking a trip there in a few days.  The party is finally over and I see Merrick taking hold of Calista’s elbow and leading her out of the great room.

After the Party- Ryder

“Did you have fun with
Calista’s sister, Kalen
?
”
I ask humorously.

Kalen says, “Oh yes, brother, she’s an amazing girl.  Her
ability
is for nature and animals.  I told her of my pack of
white wolves we have in the Winter Court and she was totally fascinated about it
.  We spent the whole time talking about
animals.  She’s the only girl that I’ve ever talked to that has loved talking about animals. 

My brother loves his animals, but h
e’s never
been fortunate enough to find
a girl that
ha
s
a love for animals
,
too.  I’m glad he could share that with her. 

“We need to find War
ren and settle in for the night,” I say while looking around the room searching for him.

“I agree.
” Kalen walks beside me with a sly grin and wriggles his eyebrows.
 

“
I saw you with the Princess.  It was looking kind of ho
t and heavy there for a while. 
Is there s
omething you’re not telling me?”

I whisper,
“I plan to meet her tonight, but I need you to make sure that Warren doesn’t find out.  He’s been acting strange and I just don’t want him to know.  I’m going to get Heylfred to check on him when we get back.  I trust you to
keep this a secret.”

“Of course, Ryder, what
ever you need me to do
,
I’ll do,” he insists.

I clap his shoulder and we search for Warren.  We find him talking t
o Avery, the counselor for the Summer Court, and when they see us approach Warren averts his gaze quickly
,
like he’s guilty
of
something.

I look at him suspiciously.

“Are you ready to retire?” I ask.

He
walks
away from Avery
and says
, “Yes, I’m ready.  It’s been a long night.”

I need to find Xylia fast
,
before everyone leaves for the night. 

I say quickly,
“Good, Kalen will show you the way to our rooms.  I have a few things I need to do first.”

Warren looks at me skeptically, but I keep my face blank.  I can’t let him know what I’m doing. 
The
outburst
he had
about the
p
rincess
has me very cautious around him.  I don’t want to
have to hurt my oldest friend, but I will if I have to.  They both leave and I look around to find the one person I need.  Once I spot her and get her attention she comes right over.

“Is there something I can help you with
,
Prince Ryder?” Xylia asks skeptically.

“As a matter of fact, there is.  Can you do me a favor?” I whisper.

“Depends,” she says smiling.
“W
ill there
be stealth involved?” She looks
all around darting her eyes back and forth and rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
  She reminds me of my brother with his sense of humor and spunky personality. 

Laughing, I say, “Yes, there will be lots of stealth involved.”

“Then I’m in, sweet thing,” she says and winks.

I lean in closer to her and whisper,
“I’m going to meet Calista tonight and I need you to make sure Merrick doesn’t come looking for her if he suspects she is missing.”

Her face falls
.

“Do you realize how much he is going to hate me if he finds out
?
Not
to mention the amount of trouble I could get into?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you could
n’t
do it.
” I look around quickly to make sure no one is listening and then I look back at her. “
Please, I really need to speak to her in private.  It is very importa
nt that I talk to her.”

She smiles
.

“Okay, I’ll make it happen.”

We separate and head out of the
G
reat
R
oom
.  I have one hour to kill bef
ore it’s time to meet Calista
.
What
should I do in this hour?

Chapter 11

Calista

Merrick takes my elbow and leads me out of the Great Room.  We walk through the palace and head to my room, or my
rooms
is
more like it.  In my wing of the house I have a total of ten different rooms to choose from.  I have my library and my bedroom that I mainly use.  I have a game room, a media room that’s basically a mini theater, and the other six are just bedrooms.  Xylia stays here a lot with me and she pick
s
a different room
to stay in
each time.  Merrick and I finally reach my bedroom door and it
fe
els
like an eternity walking all this way in silence, but I was trying to plot my escape.

“Which room would you like to be yours, Merrick?” I ask.

“Whichever one is closest to you,” he says with a slight grin.

“I don’t think you will approve of that room because the closest room to mine is the pink one,” I laugh.  I can just imagine him taking residence in a pink room.  The other warriors would never let him live
it
down. 

He shakes his head and grins.

“I know it’s pink.” He gives me a sly smile. “Remember a few years ago when I refused to help you paint that room because of it
?
” 
He raises his eyebrows in question and I shake my head in
memory
of that
fun
-
filled day.  Xylia and I tried so hard to get him to help paint that room.  Xylia even offered to flash him if it would get him to help, but he still refused. 

“I just wanted to see what you would say about me taking that room.  I’ll stay in the one across the hall.”

That’s actually the only room he helped paint
.
I call it the “blueberry room.” The whole room is a mixture of shades
of
blue.  There’s a king size bed that would be perfect for him, and a huge bathroom that could shower the whole army at the same time. I guess he knew a long time ago that the room would be his someday.  He can be so arrogant sometimes.

“Calista
.
”

I turn to look at him and his face is weary. His voice
sound
s
unsure. He grabs both of my hands and looks down at the floor.  I lower my head to peek up at his face
.

H
e
finally lifts his head and says, “Do you mind if I come in and we talk for a little while?”

“Sure,” I say as I lead him into my room. “What do you want to talk about?” 

I have a feeling it might not be something I want to hear, but I have a little bit of time before I have to meet Ryder. I open the door and he walks in
behind me
.  He strides across my bedroom to stand in front of the huge bay window.  The sprites are in full force tonight with their twinkling lights floating and fl
ying everywhere.
Sprites are tiny fae creatures that are the size of large insects. At night, their b
odies glow like fireflies.  It is
fun to watch when they are out and about, and I’ve I watched them for hours at a time sometimes. They help Meliantha out in the flower gardens by eating the unwanted pests and plucking the weeds from the flower beds.

I have a sinking feeling in my stomach because Merrick is being unusually quiet and he has his back is
to me so I can’t see his face.
He’s dressed in warrior gear and golden armor.  He looks like a golden angel, whereas, Ryder looks like a dark angel.  They are two different men from two different worlds.  His shoulders move up and down with his breathing.
He’s been through so much tonight and I know he’s tired.
I move up behind him and put my arms around him. 

He still hasn’t answered my question about what he wants to talk about so I’ll just ask again. 

“Please, Merrick, tell me what’s bothering you.” 

He lets out a deep breath and says softly, “Why are you shielding your thoughts from me?  We’re supposed to be connected and I need to know how you feel in order to protect you.  I’m here for you and
…
”
He says the rest silently,
“I want you to need me.”

I hold him tighter
and squeeze my eyes shut
.
I can hear his heart pounding in his chest while laying my head against his back. 

He reaches up to hold my arms and
I
say tenderly,
“Merrick, I do need you.  You are my
g
uardian
now
and we’ve
been the best of friends for years.  You have always been there for me, and I f
or you.  I will always need you.
”

He unfastens m
y arms so he can turn around to
face me.  His gorgeous blond hair is thick and sweeps across his forehead where it partially covers his right eye.  I lift my hand to move
it
out of the way.  He grabs my hand and holds it to his face.  He closes his eyes
for a few seconds
, but when he opens them, his eyes
b
ear
into mine and I can’t look away.