Forever Fae (25 page)

We agree and sit in silence, hoping and praying that this plan works. If it doesn’t, the hope of finding her will be slim.  I don’t care what happens, but I do know that I will search for her the rest of my life, even if it kills me.  I refuse to give up. 

I look around the dream setting and I am amazed at how real everything looks.  I see the spot where Calista and I had our little try
st and there on the ground are
the different colored leaves.  It
t
ears
at my heart to see them lying on the ground.  I bend down to pick up the bright colored leaves that changed while we were so close to losing control.  The memories are strong in my mind and I wish I could turn back the time and change things. 
If I
ha
dn’t have doubted her
,
she wouldn’t have run awa
y.  This whole thing
is
my
fault.

I look at the water of the
lake
;
it’s so calm it looks like glass.  There are no ripples or anything until I see a reflection appear across the lake. 
As soon as I look up, I see her.  She’s wearing a bathrobe and she looks exhausted.  She is standing by the lake on the other side so she’s a good distance away.  I wonder why she’s in a bathrobe. 
I decide not to worry with that
because all I want to do is hold her and tell her I’m sorry. 
She hasn’t seen me yet
,
so I yell out her name.

“Calista!”

Her eyes become focused and she looks at me first with confusion and then
recognition. 

“Ryder!”
S
he
exclaims with excitement
.  She runs as fast as she can and I do the same.  I can’t wait to have her in my arms and explain how wrong I was.  The distance feels like miles and the seconds it takes to reach her feel like hours.  We close the distance and she jumps into my arms sobbing.  I scoop her up into my arms, hol
ding her tight.  I pull back to
kiss
her with all my heart and soul and she responds with as much love and force behind the kiss as me.
  I don’t know how much time we have so I
quickly
tell her how I feel.

“I love you so much
,
Calista.  I was wrong and I should never have doubted you.”  I bury my head in her shoulder and breathe in the wonderful scent of her hair and her body.  I kiss her neck and
I can feel the chill bumps forming over her
skin
.

“Where are you?
” I demand softly.
 
“
We need to know what’s happened to you and how to get you back home.”

Calista looks up at me slowly and whispers, “Is this real?  Are you really here?”

I take her face in my hands and look directly in her eyes. 

I answer,
“Yes, I’m here, and so are Merrick and Elvena.
”  I wave my hands around at the setting and say,
 
“
This is a magical dream that we pulled you into.  We don’t
know how much time we have so d
o you
have any idea what’s going on?”

She seems to regain herself with the knowledge that this is real and she’s actually communicating with me. 

She shakes her head
and says frantically,
“Oh my
G
od
, Ryder, so ma
ny things have happened. 
Warren is the one who took me!”

I flinch
with the knowledge that my best friend
has indeed played a part in Calista’s capture. 
I suspected he turned traitor, but it was still hard to accept. 
He’s going to pay for this dearly. 

I nod my and agree,
“I figured he played a part in this.”  Her eyes
gr
o
w
solemn when she
s
ees
the hurt that must
be showing on
my face.  “There’s so much to tell you, but I’m sure Merrick and Elvena would really like to speak to you
,
too.”  She nods her head and takes my hand.  We begin walking back around the lake to where Merrick and Elvena are waiting.

Calista squeezes my hand and reveals,
“Warren told me the lies he told you about Merrick and me.  It was all part of his plan to separate
us
and then find a way to take me.”

I nod my head in understanding
.

“I know it was all lies.  Merrick told me that nothing happened between you two.”
I turn to look at her while we walk and I plead, “Please forgive me, Calista.  I shouldn’t have doubted you, and I am so…so sorry.”

We continue walking and we are al
most to the others when she replies,
“It hurt that you didn’t believe me.  I was so angry that I was
actually going to let you go and never see you again.
  There is no way I’m choosing between my best friend and the man I love.  There has to be a way for me to be with you and still be friends with him.  He’s my
g
uardian
, and he’s always going to be with me.”

I pull our clasped hands up and
kiss her knuckles one by one. I smile at her and murmur, “It will all work out, love.
  Right now we need to focus on getting you back.”

She looks at me and nods her head in agreement.  When she sees Merrick and Elvena she lets go of my hand and
goes
straight into Elvena’s arms.  The sobbing comes again, and Elvena just holds her and tries to calm her.

“It’s alright, child, we will find you and get you home,” Elvena whispers to
her
.

Calista lifts her head to see Merrick and she finds her way into his arms.  I know they are friends and he is her
g
uardian
, but it doesn’t make it any easier seeing another man consoling the wo
man I
love.

Merrick expresses
to Calista, “I can’t hear you anymore.  I’ve tried to push through, but I can’t.  Have you tried as well?”

Calista nods her head while still holding him
.

“Yes, I’ve tried.  The place I’m in is surrounded by dark magic.  It feels like a wall is put up in my brain and I can’t get through.”

Elvena cuts in and commands
, “Do you know where you’re at and who
you’re
with?”

Calista looks to me and then back to Elvena. 

“Warren took me and I know there are other people, but I haven’t seen them yet.  He locked me in a room, but what I don’t get
is that this room is amazing
with a huge bed and an enormous bathroom.  I’m a prisoner, but yet I’m not being treated like a prisoner
,
other than being locked in.  Warren told me that tomorrow I will meet the dark sorcerer, his name is Alasdair, and that he wants my power to fulfill his
.
  He wouldn’t give me all the answers because I would find them all out today.  From the vibe I’m getting, this sorcerer wants a little more than just my magic.”

This sends me over the edge and I yell, “Oh, hell no!  That fucker is not going to lay his grimy hands on you.”  I look to Elvena and plead, “We have to get her out, now!  What can we do?”

Elvena answers, “I have a plan, but it won’t be able to happen until tomorrow.  We just have to stay strong.”

Calista looks at me
. She can
clearly see the anger
and worry
all over my face,
so she
comes to sta
nd beside me and wraps her arms around my waist. 

She whispers softly,
“I’m strong, Ryder, and
I promise I’m going to get out of this perfectly fine and virtue intact.”
  I pull her to me and the thought of knowing she will be
leaving me soon and
will be
in the hands of the dark sorcerer is terrifying.

She doesn’t know about Avery yet so I begin
to tell her.

“There is something else you should know
.
Avery went missing and Elvena found traces of dark magic in his quarters.  I believe you may be seeing him soon.”

Her body deflates against mine and she groans angrily
.

“I can’t believe he would betray my father and our kingdom.  I haven’t seen him yet, only Warren.  There are no windows in my room so I can’t escape.  Once I am taken to the Black Forest, how are you all going to get me out?”
S
he
asks
,
looking a back and forth between us.

Elvena
offers re
assur
ance.

“I have some ideas to get you out, but it involves some serious magic.  There is something I must tell you as well.”  Elvena takes Calista’s hand and points to the golden ring on her finger with the purple stone. 

“This, my child, is a very special, magical ring.  This ring will protect your magic. The dark sorcerer must not find out about the ring, so whatever you do, do not draw attention to it.  Make sure you keep it on at all times.”
She raises her eyebrows at Calista and
Calista
nods back
, letting Elvena know she understands.

“What happens if he notices my ring?” Calista asks.

“If he notices your ring and takes it, he will have full access to your power.  The ring will
help
keep the dark sorcerer from taking it all at one time, but eventually it will start to siphon your energy slowly.  He needs your power
first
,
according to the
p
rophecy
, and once he gets yours he will move on to the next,” Elvena explains grievously.
 

This got all of our attention, but
Calista asks
first. 

“Who will be next?”

Elvena shrugs her shoulders and says, “I don
’t know, child.  It could be either one of your sisters
….”
S
he
then looks at m
e and says, “
Or
it could be yours
.”  Elevena continues, “
I know who
T
he
Four are, but I don’t know which one will be next.  I have speculations, but it’s too soon to tell.”

I cut in and demand
, “When did you figure all this out?”

Elvena huffs, “I hadn’t figured it out until now
,
but we can’t think about that
at the moment
.  The dark sorcerer’s focus is on Calista and we need to concentrate on getting her rescued.  We’ll worry about protecting the others later.
”
  Elvena stops to take a breath and grabs hold of Calista’s hands. 

“I’m afraid, my child, that I cannot tell you what plans I have for your rescue and before you ask why, I’ll go ahead and tell you.  Dark sorcerers are powerful, they were very powerful a century ago and I don’t know the full extent of this one’s
power
yet.  I’m scared of what he’ll do if he finds out we made contact.”

Calista interrupt
s, “Warren thinks Ryder won’t
come to my rescue because of what he told him about Merrick and me, so it’ll be easy to pretend that I’m heartbroken over Ryder and not expecting him to rescue me.”
Elvena nods her head in approval.

“Good, child, that’s excellent, but t
here is something else you will probably have to endure and you’re not going to like it.” Elvena looks regretful and pained to have to give Calista this bad news
.
I can already tell I’m not going to like it and neither will Merrick
.

Calista rolls her eyes and looks up at the sky.

“Why does the bad shit always happen to me?”
S
he
exclaims.
  Elvena shakes her head and dismisses what Calista said with a grumble.

“The dark sorcerer needs to believe he is taking your power, which he actually will be, but only very small traces of it.  During this time, he may try to overpower you and make you see things or
do things you don’t want to do,” Elvena explains.

Merrick and I both yell at the same time, “
Hell no
!”

I continue
furiously
, “What if he tries to force himself on her or make her do other things?  There is no way she’s going to pretend through that.”

Elvena rolls her eyes and throws her hands up in the air
,
clearly agitated.