Forever Fae

by L. P. Dover

  We made it home safely thanks to Nixie’s magic and Calista’s ability to throw a dagger. Her guardian dagger bought us time to get away. Apparently, her guardian dagger had the ability to disable the dark sorcerer. For how long, we don’t know. Elvena is going to try and do some research on it.

  The night we arrived back to the Summer Court palace the place went into an uproar. The people were happy and excited to have the princess back home safely, but were grieved with the news of Merrick. We explained to King Oberon and Queen Tatiana everything that happened, even down to the violent details. Calista sobbed when she had to explain how she killed both Warren and Avery. She apologized to me about killing Warren because she was afraid of how I would feel about her when I found out, but I reassured her that it had to be done and she saved me from the heartache by actually doing it herself. I told her that I was extremely grateful to her and that Warren’s death was going to happen no matter what.

  Calista and I had decided to wait a week until the wedding. The week is almost up and I will soon be able to have my queen. Arriving to the Winter Court palace was humorous at best. Every single person I passed took a double take look at me. Since my skin color is not pale anymore, it was a shock to my people and my family. Kalen had already filled them in on the changes, but it was still a shock to see. To a Winter fae, the change is a drastic one. I explained to my family what was going to happen when Calista and I are joined in the marriage bond, and believe me, saying they were ecstatic is an understatement. We also held a meeting asking the entire Winter Court to attend. My parents agreed that if anyone wanted to follow me to the Fall Court, they could. If the Fall Court is their true home, they will go through the change just as Calista and I had. Since the Land of the Fae is changing, the people can change as well, and they will make their home in our new court as the fae of the Fall Court.

  The Land of the Fae claims all owners of the land and it appears that the unclaimed territory by the Winter Court is where the Fall Court will begin. Calista said she felt the land calling to her and that’s where we need to be. Only the rightful owners can claim a territory. That’s why the dark sorcerer wants the power of The Four so he will be connected to all of them, and his power will be matched with ours. Meetings will be held soon after the wedding to map out our plans for keeping our people safe.

  As I head back to the Summer Court to meet Calista, I pass through the land that will soon be mine and hers. Thanks to the magic of both courts, our palace has already been built with magic. It is pretty simple to build homes here in the Land of the Fae. With Calista having an affinity for the earth she can build a whole palace in minutes. It’s actually an extraordinary ability, but we ended up having many of the fae from both courts add their magic to our new home. It makes the place feel more special knowing that my people and her people came together to make this place ours. The true essence of the Fall cannot be seen or felt yet since the bonding is not complete. I have changed the weather through my magic and made the cool crisp air that Calista and I dreamt about. It’s a temporary fix until the true magic takes place. Various trees and shrubberies have been provided for the landscape to make the wedding more beautiful. Our wedding will be held here so that everyone can witness the magic taking place. Then Calista and I can retire to our room and complete the bond. That is going to be one hell of a night, and one that is long overdue.

  Chapter 27

  Calista-Wedding

  I look out the window of my new home to the soaring landscape of what will soon be the Fall Court. The land called to me and Ryder and I have put a claim to it. The magic of the Land of the Fae has always been a mystery, but when the land wants to be claimed it will let you know. I’m sitting in my new library in the palace Ryder and I will share. I had every one of my books brought here and had this room to be an exact replica of the one in the Summer Court. This room gives me peace, just like the one at my last home. Everything will be so different when the Fall magic is unleashed. It will be just like the vision. The trees will be nothing but shades of red, yellow, green, orange and brown. The air will have the crisp smell of autumn and pine. It will also feel cool grazing along my skin. I can close my eyes and just imagine it all. Tonight it will all be different.

  I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t hear that my room was now filled with the giggling sounds of women. Hearing them lightens my heart and brings a smile to my face. I’ve missed the sounds of Elvena and Xylia laughing. Meliantha and my headstrong younger sister Ariella are here as well. Today is my wedding day, and yes I’m nervous with the fluttery and nervous stomach and all, but I am also exuberantly happy. I turn around and laugh at them as they carry on and act crazy. I had decided that each one of them would wear dresses in one of the Fall colors. They all look amazing in their gowns. I didn’t go to the mortal realm to get my dress for this occasion. I had it specially made for me here in the Land of the Fae. It’s a toga style dress just like a Greek goddess would wear and it’s enhanced with magic. I decided I wanted to wear all the colors of the Fall so my dress has been enhanced with the magic to change colors. They will change from each color every minute or so while I’m wearing it. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to see what how people react to it.

  I look over at my youngest sister, Ariella. She was forbidden to come to my Blood Ritual with Merrick because of using her magic to do destructive things. She’s a beautiful girl with the hair the color of snow and twinkling blue eyes. The red dress I put her in makes her look amazing; along with the red lipstick she’s wearing to match. She is totally trying to look like a siren tonight. Ariella is a couple of years younger than me and has gotten into twice as much trouble.

  “I hope you plan to stay out of trouble today, Ariella. Fae creatures from all over the Land of the Fae will be here. I trust you to play nice,” I tease, laughing.

  Ariella rolls her eyes and grins at me slyly.

  “Oh, Calista, you worry too much. When do I ever cause trouble?” She winks at me and says, “I’ll see you down there, Sis.” She turns to leave and then I walk over to Meliantha.

  Meliantha is crying softly and has a tissue in each hand. She grips me tightly and pulls me into a hard embrace. Her voice catches as she speaks from crying so much.

  “I’m so happy for you, Calista.” She looks down at the ground. “I know I can’t tell you enough, but I am so sorry about Merrick. I know you miss him.”

  I’ve cried so many tears for Merrick and I know he would want me to be happy today so I try my best to hold the tears back. I feel him in my heart and I know he’ll be with me today so I reassure her.

  “I do miss him.” I lay my hand over my heart. “But he’s in here and he always will be.”

  Meliantha kisses my cheek and leaves the room. My two favorite ladies are the only ones left in the room with me. I look at Xylia, and of course she has a different color in her hair today. I am assuming it’s to match the green gown she is wearing. She lost her parents while I was captured and when I came back we had a passing ceremony for them as well as one for Merrick. We are all suffering from grief and loss so we decided to honor them all and make this night a joyous occasion.

  I walk over to her and wrap her in my arms. When I let go to look at her face she gives me a pleading look. She bites her lip and averts her eyes. I move my head so I can meet my eyes with hers. She looks worried about something.

  “Xylia, what’s wrong? Is there something you need to ask me?” I ask.

  She paces for a few more seconds and then begins.

  “I was nervous because I didn’t know what you would say, but would you mind if…” She looks to Elvena and Elvena nods her head for her to continue.

  “Would you mind if I joined you here in the Fall Court? You’re my best friend and the only family I have left. Will you please accept me?”

  I burst out laughing and I grab her arms and swing her around the room. It takes her a second to gain her composure and then she joins in the laughter.

  Joyously
, I say, “Oh, Xylia, of course I accept you. I love you and I wouldn’t know what to do without my best friend here.”

  Elvena has been quiet up until now, but gets our attention by saying impatiently, “OK, ladies, time is almost up. Xylia go downstairs and get in your position. I need time with Calista, too.”

  Xylia leaves with a bounce in her step. I can’t believe she was nervous about asking me to stay here. Elvena walks over to take my hand. It’s the same hand that I wear her ring on and she sobs.

  “If you weren’t wearing this ring I don’t think you would have made it out.” She sniffles and closes her eyes. I definitely know I wouldn’t have made it and I am extremely grateful that I had her ring.

  I take her face in my hands and reply softly, “But I did, Elvena. I’m home and I’m safe. Your ring helped me more than anything and I’m so thankful that you gave it to me.” She opens her eyes and averts them to my necklace. She smiles and I look down at the heart-shaped locket that Merrick gave me for my birthday.

  “I feel him, Elvena. He’s here inside me, so I know he’ll never be far away. He saved Ryder for me because he knew how much I loved him.”

  “I know, child. What he did was the most courageous and unselfish thing I have ever seen anyone do and he will always be remembered for that.”

  We hold each other for the longest time until I hear the music playing outside.

  Elvena whispers, “We need to get you downstairs. Your king will be waiting for you.”

  She turns to leave the room and looks back at me one more time before turning around to leave. I take a few deep breaths in and out and then I leave the sanctuary of my library to meet the one man that has forever changed my life.

  I reach the top of the stairs and I look down and see that my soon to be husband and king is standing at the bottom of the steps. His back is turned from me, but I can tell his body is relaxed and calm. He’s dressed in a black tuxedo, which is not a surprise since he likes black. I try to walk silently down the steps but he hears me anyway. He turns around quickly and gives me a radiant smile. He bites his lip as he watches me glide down the stairs. I sway my hips and give him a sultry look as I caress the banister while looking his body up and down. Completing the bond has been the one thing we have both been longing for all week.

  I stop on the next to last step. We are eye to eye and I wrap my arms around his neck. He circles my waist and slowly slides his hands down my back to rest on my ass.

  His voice sounds deep and sexy when he says, “Why don’t we hurry this up so I can….” He leans into my neck and lays kisses all the way down to my collarbone. “Ravish your body and taste every inch of you….” He raises one of his hands to cup my breast. “On the inside and out.” Thank goodness we are the only ones around right now or they would be getting a show.

  The feeling of his kisses on my tender spots and his hands making their way across my body make me ache for him to be inside me. I feel on fire with a need so great that only he can cool.

  ‘Soon,’ I think to myself. Just a couple more hours and he will be mine. We had a couple of heated moments before he left for the Winter Court and I regretfully declined moving to the final step. It pained me to have to do it, but this ceremony is going to be important and I wanted to do it right. I did, however, enjoy the time we spent together during those moments.

  I reach down to rub my hand across his groin, which is now hard and pulsing. I suck in a sharp breath at the feel of him and groan with desire. He is definitely not lacking down there. In this moment, I wish we could just spend the rest of the night in our room.

  Breathlessly I groan, “We have guests waiting, Ryder. We need to go.”

  He pulls back to give me a pouty look and takes his hands away from my body. He looks down at his pants then winks at me and grins.

  “You’re going to have to give me a minute so that our guests can’t see what you’ve done to me.” We both laugh and take deep breaths to calm down. Being apart for the last few days had been hard. It was necessary to get all of our affairs in order, but being apart after the recent events was torture. His eyes soften and he whispers in my ear, “You look very beautiful tonight.”

  “Thank you, and you look very handsome with your black tux and your…” I stop to look at his tie and I notice that it is exactly like my dress. I can’t believe he would do this for me. I bounce with excitement when I say, “Your tie changes colors just like my dress. Who told you?”

  “Elvena told me about your dress and I thought I would surprise you with doing the same with my tie,” he responds sheepishly. He looks a little embarrassed telling me this, but I look him straight in the eyes and smile.

  “It’s amazing and I love it, and I also love you,” I say. He holds out his arm for me to take and I clasp mine through his.

  He leans over to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek and says, “Well, let’s go my queen. Our court forever waits.” We reach the doors and head outside.

  The sight of everyone is amazing and they are all standing and waiting for us to walk down the steps. Ryder squeezes my hand and I let out the breath I had been holding. I’m not nervous about the wedding, but I am nervous about everything that’s going to change. The dark sorcerer is still out there and he’s going to be after my family and Ryder’s family. Keeping them safe is going to be a top priority.

  Ryder elbows me in the side and I look up at him when he says, “We need to walk, Calista. You were daydreaming again.”

  “Sorry,” I say and we continue down the stone staircase at the front of our house and down to our guests. My mind has been wandering lately with all the things that have been happening. It’s hard not to think about it all.

  My family is seated to the left of me as we walk down the aisle in the middle of the grounds. My father gets up to stand on the dais with Elvena. My mother looks at me adoringly and my brother just looks bored. Hopefully, he will find someone to love one day. My sisters and Xylia are waiting for me at the dais standing in as my ladies in waiting.

  Ryder’s family is seated to the right of us as we walk down. I have not yet met the king and queen of the Winter Court so it will be nice to meet them tonight. His brothers are standing at the front waiting on us as well. Kalen is up there with his goofy smile and his other brother, Brayden, is up there but I have not met him yet. Brayden doesn’t look anything like Ryder with his long, chocolate colored brown hair and serious brown eyes. He looks stiff and intimidating standing up there. He definitely doesn’t seem very friendly.

  I look around at our other guests and I see a combination of the fae. We have the Winter fae with their creamy colored skin and the Summer fae with their bronzed golden skin. They all stand out against one another. I didn’t realize how significantly different we all look from each other. I see that the leader of the dwarves, Durin, is here along with some of his fellow dwarves. Aelfric and Rhoswen from the elvan kingdom are here with several of their guards. It’s a beautiful sight to see everyone together and they all smile as we make our way through the center.

  When my dress changes color, I hear the ladies in the crowd gasp with surprise. I knew it would be a hit. I couldn’t decide on just one color so I went with them all. The dais we will stand on is made and carved by Kalen. It looks like a gazebo with vines and intricate flowers carved onto it. Meliantha had arranged flowers everywhere with the help of the sprites, and she also grew trees along the pathway that we’ve walked through to get to the front. We reach the dais and my father and Elvena are standing there waiting.

  My father speaks above the crowd.

  “Good evening, everyone. We are here to witness this special occasion: the joining of my daughter, Princess Calista, to Prince Ryder of the Winter Court, in the bonds of marriage. May this be a glorious occasion filled with love, laughter and happiness.”

  He walks down to kiss me on my cheek and whispers, “You look amazing, sunshine. I’m so proud of you.” I pull back to give him a warm smile and he turns to go to his sea
t beside my mother and brother. Ryder and I turn to face each other and he takes both of my hands in his. He squeezes them gently and I squeeze back.

  Elvena takes over and her voice booms across the crowd.

  “Princess Calista has asked me to oversee this union. I am deeply honored to be up here celebrating in this special time. Love is a precious gift and we are all very lucky to have it. These two were born to love each other. Their destinies had been intertwined since the beginning of time and their love is going to begin a new change in the Land of the Fae. This land you see here…” Elvena motions around to point out the land. “Has chosen these two to claim it. Once they say the sacred words in the Old Fae language, their bond will be forever sealed. This land will come alive when they become one and they will no longer be of Summer and Winter, but of a new court formed by their love.” Her words send chills all over my body and it feels like the magic in them are caressing my soul. She motions for us to continue with our part of the ceremony.

  Ryder goes first, as is custom for the males. We don’t share rings or trinkets in our marriage bond ceremonies, only the sacred words are shared. Ryder looks deep into my eyes and into my soul. I can feel the love and passion floating off of him in waves. The tears burn the back of my eyes and begin to float to the surface. I might as well just let them fall because I know there will be more later.

  Ryder’s voice is low and soft when he speaks.

  “Calista, my love. I know we have not known each other long, but our hearts recognized one another way before we even met. You are all that I will ever need. Your soul completes mine and now I’m whole. You have made me into a whole new person, and I look forward to our journeys together in our new court. You are my queen, my love, my friend and my wife. Amin mela lle ilyamemie ar’ ten’oio” (I will love you always and forever). He lets out a deep breath and gives me the same charming smile that won me over in the beginning. Saying the sacred words in the Old Fae language binds him to me and now it’s my turn to say them to him.