by L. P. Dover
“Open your eyes.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. He’s moved to stand in front of me now and when I open my eyes I see someone I am not expecting to see. I feel the blood drain from my face and my eyes widen with shock. He stands there with a slow smile spreading across his face. My thoughts are scrambling around in my head and I’m trying to understand what I am seeing. How could this be possible? My hands fall loosely to my side and my breathing stops. He starts to reach for me, but I quickly step back. I don’t want him to touch me. My body begins to shake and the feeling of losing control is so strong I can’t stand it any longer. The world falls out from beneath me and I’m taken into the dark labyrinth of a nightmare. The dread and confusion poison my mind and the only thing I remember saying as I fall into blackness is the name of the man standing before me.
“Ryder?”
Chapter 21
Ryder
Waking up from the dream was both joyful and sad. Hearing Calista say “yes” and that she loves me sends my heart hammering in my chest. I yearn to be with her, body and soul. The king demanded to know what we saw and everything that was discussed. Elvena was the one to speak and relayed everything that occurred.
The plan was simple: head into the Black Forest undetected and rescue Calista. Arguments were spewed within the Great Room on who would be the ones to rescue the princess. Warriors volunteered left and right, obviously wanting to be the great hero. I’m tired of the bantering because it’s nothing but a waste of time. I march to the center of the room with my head tilted back and a sense of calm flowing off of me. This is my task and no one is going to go after the princess but me. She’s mine and it is my job to fight for her.
I announce loudly so everyone can hear, “I’m going to the Black Forest.”
I look around the room and everyone goes silent. Looks of understanding and sadness circulate through their eyes since this is most likely a suicide mission and they all know it. King Oberon’s expression was one of grief and adoration.
He somberly replies, “Thank you, Prince Ryder. This is a very grave mission, and there is no way I can repay the debt of your courage and love.”
I think to myself for a few seconds and there is one way he can repay me.
I shift back and forth and state, “Actually, Your Highness, there is.” King Oberon raises his eyebrows in curiosity so I continue, “When I bring your daughter home, I want to fulfill the marriage bond with her. I love her and I want to be with the woman who has the other half of my soul, because without her, I’ll never be complete. Our lands need us and Calista needs me to complete our court.”
Admiration flashes across the King’s face and he nods in agreement. “Very well, Prince Ryder, I will grant your request.”
I begin to bow to the King when Merrick storms to the front, nostrils flaring and hands clenched. He looks to the king and lets out a guttural roar.
“No! I’m going with Prince Ryder to rescue her and it needs to be made clear to her that she has a choice on whom to marry. I’m not going to stand by and let her marry someone because of some prophecy.” Then his entire demeanor changed. He froze in place, held his hand up to his head and narrowed his eyes in concentration. I’ve seen him like that before when he was talking to Calista. Strong emotions float across his face, everything from rage to despair. I’m anxious to hear what he has to say.
The king stomps his foot angrily to get Merrick’s attention.
His face reddens with agitation when he commands, “Watch yourself, Guardian. You may go with Prince Ryder to help rescue Calista, but you of all people know that Calista has and will always make her own decisions.”
Merrick bows his head apologetically and looks around at everyone.
“Forgive me, Your Highness, but Calista just spoke to me. The connection is gone now, but she says she is OK and they are headed through the valley to the Black Forest.” He tilts his head back and sighs heavily, rage clearly warring in his body. I feel the same emotion coming across me because I have a feeling that whatever he is about to say is not going to be good.
“She also says that Avery was there and their meeting was not a friendly reunion. I think he might have hurt her, but she wouldn’t tell me. Her voice sounded defeated and tired when she spoke.” Merrick turns his head to look at me and then back to the king.
“She wanted me to say that she loves us all and that she doesn’t blame anyone for what happened to her.”
Merrick bows and sheepishly walks back to stand by the wall with the other warriors. The feeling of helplessness is not something that a warrior welcomes because it is not in our nature to feel like that. Elvena makes her way to the front and speaks to the king privately. When she was done, King Oberon dismisses everyone from the Great Room. He says his goodbyes to the council members and the elvan leader. I sent my brother, Kalen, to our room to wait until I got out of the meeting. I was planning on sending him home first thing. Once everyone was gone, King Oberon had a private meeting with just Elvena, Merrick and me.
We made our plans for the rescue and decided it was going to be just me and Merrick. Taking a huge army would draw attention and cause more bloodshed. Elvena knew of my invisibility affinity and said it would come in handy. She also said she could enchant a trinket of Calista’s and if Merrick keeps it on his body somewhere at all times he will be able to obtain invisibility for a short period of time. Hopefully, enough time to get into the village and rescue Calista. We were also warned about how our magic will not work in the places where the sorcerer’s power is the strongest. Those were also the places that Calista couldn’t contact Merrick.
Several hours have passed and Elvena brings the magical trinket to Merrick that will allow him to be invisible. It is a small silver locket with Calista’s initials engraved on it. It is beautiful and I’ve never seen her wearing it. Merrick looks at with such longing.
He mutters to himself, “I gave her this locket for her sixteenth birthday.” He takes the locket, kisses it and puts it in his pocket. Elvena says that to activate the locket he must place a drop of his blood inside of it. She’s not sure how long the effect will last, but she’s positive that we will have enough time to get through the village to find Calista. Getting out is going to be the main problem.
Merrick and I pack some of our belongings and I say goodbye to Kalen. He is going to head back to the Winter Court and spread the news of the existence of the dark sorcerer and Calista’s capture. My parents will not be happy because of what I’m doing, but they will understand why I have to do it. I explained to Kalen the importance of me and Calista being together and what the future holds for us. I tell him the vision of us being together is going to bring about a whole new world here. Kalen is astounded by the power of our magic and what it’s going to create.
I walk Kalen to the door of the Summer Court palace and hug him hard. I know he will be safe going home, but I still worry. I’m glad he will be able to spread the word and get everyone guarded. The sorcerer will be after my sister one day, be we don’t know when yet. We need to make sure our family is protected. Kalen says his farewells to everyone else and walks down the steps to his horse. He gives me one last worried gaze and then he waves goodbye. I give him a forced smile and try very hard to make it look genuine. He gets to the end of the road, looks back quickly and then rides off like the speed of the wind.
I load my belongings onto my horse, Artemis, and she turns her head to nudge me in the side, which makes me stumble. I laugh while taking her head in my hands and placing my forehead against hers.
“You always knew how to cheer me up, didn’t you, girl?” I run my hands down the long mane of black hair that hangs off to the side of her head. Her silky, black hair is so soft and thick it feels like a blanket, and her midnight black body glitters in the sunlight here in the Summer Court. Artemis is a magnificently beautiful creature and I love her dearly.
I admit to her, “This is going to be a hard journey we’re facing, girl.
I need you to be swift and ride like the wind. Our princess is waiting for us and we cannot fail her.” Artemis huffs out a hot breath and shuffles her feet excitedly to let me know she’s ready and nothing will stop us.
“That’s my girl,” I say.
Merrick comes up beside me, already on his majestic white horse looking like the knight in shining armor. The gold armor he wears along with his blonde hair and white horse looks a little girly. I like my black warrior uniform with my silver armor. The crest of the Winter Court is engraved on the front breastplate. I run my hands along the crest and stare at my now changed body. It’s a sole reminder of the magic that will take place once I find Calista. Merrick sees me staring at my hands and narrows his eyes.
“Let’s go, ice boy. Our princess is waiting,” Merrick says impatiently.
Clearly annoyed, I say, “I’m not completely an ice boy anymore if you haven’t noticed, shithead, and when I find Calista and bring her home everything will change. You need to get over yourself and accept the fact that she chose me, not you.”
His agitation subsides and he is left with sadness. His shoulders droop and he stares emptily at the horizon.
Before riding ahead he murmurs quietly, “I know.” I would actually feel bad for the guy if he wasn’t such a dick. I know he loves her and I love her, too, but no amount of his bitching and complaining is going to change anything.
We head out on our way and we ride full out for a few hours before we decide to stop. We are most of the way through the Mystical Forest when Merrick stops and closes his eyes. It’s the same look he gets when he talks to Calista.
I hold my breath hoping this means that Calista is communicating and that everything is alright.
Merrick quickly turns to me and says, “I’ve got her.”
He goes back to being quiet and furrowing his brows, trying to pay close attention to what Calista is saying. He gives me a couple of smirks and a wide grin during this time and all it is doing is pissing me off. Merrick seems to be enjoying the fact that I can’t speak to her and he can. I ride up beside him and pull out my dagger. My heart beat is pounding in my ears and I clench my hand so tight around the dagger I will probably have indentions in my skin for a week. I point it at his chest, only an inch away, and demand, “You better tell her that I love her, too. I know you’re spouting how much you love her and what not, but if you don’t tell her that I do as well, I’m going to cut your balls off with the dullest knife I can find and shove them down your goddamn throat until you choke.”
Merrick laughs and turns to me.
“Calm down, ice boy, I told her what your cold heart had to say.” Hearing him laugh only fuels my anger even more.
His smile then changes and I can see the anguish in his face when he says, “She also told me that she has now reached the Black Forest and that they are parading her around the village. She was about to enter a huge tree that had a door carved into it when the connection was lost.”
I nod my head in understanding. I know Calista is strong, but I hope she can handle everything that’s happening. I break away from my thoughts to stare at the man who has pissed me off for the last time. I shoot him a lethal gaze. I put all of my anger and rage in this gaze and I know he can feel it coming off of me in waves. I am perfectly still on my horse with the anger boiling inside of me, wanting to be released. I clench my hands into tight fists and the adrenaline is making my body shake. Merrick hesitantly looks at me knowing full well the rage I feel inside
“What is your problem?” he asks with a smart ass smirk.
“You are my problem!” I yell as I slam my clenched fist into Merrick’s jaw. The sound of my fist hitting his flesh and the cracking of his jaw is music to my ears. I put the full force of all of my emotions into the punch and it felt good to be able to release it onto Merrick. He falls off his horse and lands with a hard sounding thud. His armor makes a clinking noise as he lands on the ground. My inner self is smiling for its victory, but I can’t bring myself to feel that way on the outside. In all reality, my hand hurts from smashing it into Merrick’s face, and because he is acting childish about this whole ordeal with Calista, it is infuriating and not making this situation any better. It must be his way of coping with the loss, but if he doesn’t watch it, he may be the one not making it home.
Merrick climbs back up on his horse slowly and gives me the most evil grimace I have ever seen. His body looks stiff and I know that fall had to hurt just as much as the punch. I don’t feel sorry for him at all. He continues on the path leading to the desolate valley, which is nothing but baron land. It’s miles and miles of open land with no water or any signs of life. We reach the edge of the Mystical Forest and decide to rest. The trip across the valley will take lots of energy and we need to rest up if we plan on being able to rescue Calista. I take my pack off of Artemis and she lies down on the ground while I prepare her food and water. Her breathing is hard from exertion and I can tell she’s tired. If I wanted her to travel to the end of the world and back without a break she would do it. I rub her head and sit down beside her while I eat and drink. We were limited to what we could pack, so our dinner for the evening is dried meat and cheese with some mead. These are typical snack foods for the fae men. The women tend to like fruits and berries from the Land of the Fae, and also foods from the mortal realm. A lot of the fae cuisine has changed over the years because of the influence of different types of food in the mortal realm.
Merrick is quiet and doesn’t speak to me at all while we eat and rest. He falls asleep quickly after he eats his meal. The quiet time gives me the space I need to think clearly and strategize our plan to rescue Calista. I wish I could see her in my dream right now, but I know that it’s not possible. I can’t imagine what all she’s going through at this moment. I close my eyes and clear my head. We only have a few hours to rest before we make the journey through the Black Forest. Artemis is warm as I lean up against her and it’s a welcome comfort as I rest my head back and drift into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter 22
Alasdair- Dark Sorcerer (Black Forest)
The princess in my dwelling is a welcoming sight. I look at her through another person’s eyes and all she sees right now is her precious prince staring back at her. I can see her trembling and when I step toward her to steady her she takes a step back with a look of revulsion on her face. I can’t have her looking at me like that, can I? When I get my full corporeal body I will be irresistible to women, but until then I have to use my power to make my real body solid or else transform to someone else. Taking over someone else’s body works, but in this case I thought I would shake the princess up a bit.
It’s been too long since I’ve taken a woman to my bed and now I have the princess here to have any time I want. The way Calista’s body looks in her dress doesn’t help the growing erection I have pulsing down below. Her face grows pale and her trembling intensifies. I can tell she is going to pass out way before her legs give out from beneath her. I catch her in time and touching her body sends electricity running through my fingers. Her power is so strong I can actually see it pulsing throughout her body. I can only imagine the high I’m going to get when I take it away from her. I look at Avery and Warren and their attention is raptly fixed on the princess. I see I am not the only one who is mesmerized by the Summer beauty, however, they are not allowed to look at her like that. She is my prize and I will not share her power with anyone. I clench my teeth and let my power fill the room as I demand them to leave me in privacy.
I stay on the floor with the princess in my arms until they leave the room. She’s passed out cold and it doesn’t look like she is going to be waking up anytime soon. I pick her up and carry her to my bedroom. My room is a replica of the same one Calista slept in the other night at the house in the forest. I did it deliberately, hoping she would feel more relaxed being here tonight. I lay her on the king size bed and remove her shoes. I straighten her dress and crawl beside her. Her skin has changed, but I had been warn
ed about it. Her temperature has tapered off a bit from the normal heat of a summer fae. I’m glad I got her just in time because if she and Prince Ryder had sealed the deal I would have been too late. No one is going to have her now, except me. Being the Fall Queen is not going to happen for the beautiful Calista and Ryder will be lost forever when I make her my Dark Queen. Calista was made for Ryder, and without her he will grow into an empty shell of loneliness and heartache. He will never be capable of loving another. Their love is supposed to expand the Land of the Fae and produce a new court, the Fall Court. I don’t know if the Princess or anyone else realizes how dire their situation has become now that I have her. Until she wakes up, I won’t know if she knows what her future was supposed to be before being taken by me. Both courts will suffer from heartache and loss and their power will weaken. Now that I have the first of The Four here, I will take her power and merge it with mine. Her power along with mine will make it easier to obtain the other three of the prophecy and take over the Land of the Fae. I will make Calista my queen and the other three will be made my slaves.
I run my hands up and down Calista’s body slowly. The mounds of her breasts are too enticing, so I trace my fingers around the delicate bare skin showing through the sides of the dress. My fingers ache to touch her in other places, but I’m going to make sure she is fully aware of my intentions and enjoys the feel of me giving her pleasure and vice versa. I have never been with a woman that was this sexy and beautiful. I can’t have her now, but when I take her power she will succumb to me in every way and enjoy it.