Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae #2)(21)

It took everything I had to walk away from Meliantha. The pull drawing me to her refused to budge, so I went against all instinct and moved my feet in the opposite direction. Thankfully, Ryder was with me, and it made things somewhat easier. I thought I was going to die with laughter when I saw Meliantha’s warrior fall flat on his ass. Ryder scolded me, like the older brother he is, when we made it inside my cabin. I flipped him off and said some distinctively aggressive words back to him.

He left me to raid my kitchen cabinets in search of my famous mead. I can brew a mighty good mead and I make it potent as hell. Two tumblers will put a man on his hands and knees. I’ve been that way plenty of times and with the Solstice Ball being tonight, it might not be such a good idea to get drunk. I decide against going to the kitchen, so I can stay and watch Meliantha through the window. I notice there’s something strange going on, but I can’t tell what.

I can see both Meliantha and Calista look stressed by their worried postures and the frowns upon their faces. If something is wrong with Meliantha, I have to know. I make my way to the door, but Ryder steps in my path.

“What the hell, Ryder, get out of my way. Something is wrong out there and I need to find out what it is!” I roar.

He shakes his head and puts his hands on my shoulders.

His voice sounds distressed when he speaks, “She’s not your concern, Kalen. Have you forgotten that you’re engaged to be married?”

I take a step back and hang my head. Why did I ever agree to marry Breena? I was so mad over the news of Meliantha and Finn that I did the most drastic thing possible. One of my downfalls is acting before I think and I think it just bit me in the ass.

I step away from Ryder because I don’t want him to see the shame in my eyes when I confess, “I don’t love Breena, brother. I never have and I never will. I fell in love with Meliantha the moment I saw her, and as soon as I saw her today, those feelings magnified ten-fold.”

I hear Ryder chuckle behind me and he grabs my shoulder to turn me around.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asks, delighted.

I look him in the eyes and say the only word that manages to escape my lips. “Yes.”

Ryder slowly smiles and looks up at the wooden beams of the ceiling.

He chuckles before looking back down at me and points out, “How you manage to get into the worst pile of shit every time a woman is involved I will never know. You cause more trouble than you’re worth, you know that?”

I smile genuinely at him before tearing my gaze away to look out the window. It looks like everyone has gone inside the cottage since there’s no one in sight. I don’t know how I’m going to handle this evening with the engagement announcement. I don’t want to embarrass Breena with refusing her, but I know I don’t want to marry her. I need to find a way to talk to Meliantha and explain before anything happens tonight. Recalling what Ryder just said, I do believe I am a magnet for trouble.

“I think trouble follows me, brother,” I claim whole-heartedly.

Ryder slaps me on the shoulder and coaxes me toward the kitchen.

“Come on, little brother, I think you need a drink. You have a busy night ahead of you with breaking a certain Winter fae’s heart. I would say you need to relax.”

My heart aches with the thought of hurting Breena, but I know it’s for the best. I’m sure she will find someone that will love her completely. I nod my head in agreement at Ryder, but I honestly think that one drink needs to be ten. We’re in the kitchen, so I take a seat at the table and I pour myself a tumbler full of mead. While we’re retelling epic stories of our childhood adventures, Calista barges through the door with Ariella behind her holding Merrick. Ryder is up in a flash and hurrying his way to his queen. She’s holding a bundle in her hands which looks like a towel and her face is flushed with trepidation.

“Calista, what’s wrong?” Ryder implores anxiously.

She looks straight at me with anguish in her eyes before she begins, “It’s Meliantha.” My eyes go wide and I know my heart has stopped. What does she mean by that?

She holds out the towel and continues, “Apparently the dark sorcerer has been deceiving her for the past five years. What I have in this towel is something Finn believed was a gift from Durin when actually it had been spelled with black magic.”

Oh no! If what she’s saying is true, then that would mean...I take a deep breath before I finish the thought. That would mean the dark sorcerer has been taking over Finn’s body. I shake my head back and forth and I clasp my eyes shut. I don’t want to think about all the things that bastard has done to her and with her over the past five years.

My hands shake with anger and Calista rushes over to me quickly and takes my cold hands into her warm ones. My eyes see nothing but red, and all I can think about is how I want to do every vile thing possible to make the dark sorcerer suffer.

Calista squeezes my hands and shakes them.

“Hey, Kalen! Snap out of it! She’s fine and everyone’s fine. She just found out the dark sorcerer has been taking over Finn’s body, and she’s miraculously handling it very well. There’s nothing anyone can do about it now.”

“You don’t understand. That bastard has touched her and done who knows what to her, and you say everything is fine!” I scream. “She’s not fine!”