Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(12)

“It’s time,” my father whispers.

I take a deep breath and let go of his hand. I nod my head to let him know I am ready. I steal a quick glance at Prince Ryder and all I see is a blank expression on his face. That’s definitely a change from earlier. I inwardly shrug it off and continue with what I’m about to do. I carry the box with the dagger in it and position myself in front of Merrick.

“You may rise, Merrick. My Guardian,” I say.

He stands, bows his head one more time and then looks at me with his chocolate brown eyes. A look of nervousness passes across his face, but only briefly. I open the box with the dagger and pull it out.

Merrick looks into my eyes and says, “Princess Calista, do you accept me as your guardian? I vow to keep you safe, to put my life before yours and forever be your protector. Will you honor me with this gift?”

I know this is part of the ritual, but hopefully he knows that I would never doubt his capabilities and that I couldn’t have been happier. I’m ecstatic that he’s my guardian because if I had the choice he would have been it in the first place. He always watches over me no matter what we’re doing. He is one of my best friends and I care for him deeply.

Now this is the part of the ritual that has had me nervous. I reach for his hand and turn it palm up. I slice the blade across his palm, and affectionately commend, “I do accept you as my Guardian, always.”

Once the blood starts to flow, the dagger absorbs some of it into its blade. Now it is my turn and Merrick takes the blade gently from my hand and examines it. He shakes his head and looks like he’s about to burst out laughing. I knew he would find it comical and would think it was a girly dagger. Merrick takes my hand and hesitates. I knew this would be hard for him. Even though it’ll be a small cut, I can still see the turmoil in his eyes.

I whisper so only he can hear, “Merrick, it’ll be OK. I trust you.”

“I know, I just don’t like to hurt you,” he whispers back.

He does go easy on me during our trainings and I scold him for it, too. He knows how strong I am and that I can kick some warrior ass, maybe not physically, but my affinities make up for it. He stops hesitating, takes a deep breath and finally glides the dagger across my palm. The blood slowly oozes out and the blade takes its portion of my blood.

My father announces, “Now is the time to join hands, blood to blood, and seal the sacred bond.”

Merrick and I look at each other. We join hands and are immediately thrust into a whirlwind of sensations. I can feel Merrick’s mind and soul open up to me and what I see is beautiful and pure. His power flows through me, giving me extra strength and I know my power is doing the same for him. Even though we are sharing power, our abilities will still be the same. He will still only have his affinity to fire. Hearing my name catches my attention.

“Calista.”

I jerk my head to look at Merrick. Did I just hear him say my name?

“Yes, Cali, you heard me say your name.”

I jump with surprise. He always calls me Cali when he’s in a playful mood. I can’t believe we can talk and no one else can hear what we’re saying.

“Oh, Merrick, this is great. How’s your hand?” I look over his hand then back to his eyes. “You should never doubt how much I want you to be my guardian. You’re one of my dearest friends, and I’m so glad it was you who won.”

His face fell when I said the part about being one of my dearest friends. Maybe there is something he’s not telling me. His pained expression passes and he is once again the playful, arrogant guy I’ve always known him to be.

“My hand is alright, Cali. It was just a scratch. I’m doing perfect, if you must know, because I knew I was going to win. Those other warriors have nothing on me.”

He laughed as he said it and I know our guests are amused at what we’re doing. They all know about the connecting of minds when a guardian is chosen.

“You are such an arrogant ass.” I joke, and he just smiles and lifts his chin haughtily.

“Yes, I am, and now you get to put up with me not only in the flesh, but in your mind, too. Maybe I can find out all your little dirty secrets in there.” He tapped my temple while saying it. I swat his arm playfully.

“Don’t you dare go snooping in my head because I can do the same to you. What kind of secrets do you hold, Merrick? I might be tempted to find out.” He holds his hands up in mock defeat.

“OK, I give up. A guy’s got to try.”

He looks a little nervous because of my playful threat. I really don’t want to hurt him if he does have feelings for me. He’s a gorgeous guy and a wonderful friend, but I really don’t harbor any other feelings for him other than friendship.

Our hands have stopped bleeding and are mending nicely. The cuts aren’t deep so the heal time is pretty fast. The ritual is finally over. One of our healers brings a wet towel to help clean our palms. After our hands our clean I walk back to take my seat beside my father and Merrick takes his place by my side. I notice everyone smiling as I look across the crowd, but once I reach Prince Ryder’s gaze my smile falters. His pained expression grips my heart and for reasons I have yet to know.





Chapter 7


Ryder


The fighting was intense. The warriors’ fighting styles were very similar to ours. Their moves are more graceful, ours are more rigid and precise. I still think I am a better fighter than any of them and I would have definitely won. Princess Calista took a quick glance at me when she walked down to meet her guardian, but I kept my expression blank when actually my heart was thundering. I didn’t want to see her bonded to another man, especially when that man can enter her mind and feel her emotions. There’s no other closer bond a person can have other than marriage.