Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(15)
I glare at my last couple and they give me defiant looks. Excitement bubbles inside me because it’s more fun when the prisoners are bold. They must be husband and wife from the way they are holding each other. I walk up to them with my guards flanking me. Even though I do not need their help, it still makes me look intimidating. I reach for the woman and the husband lunges for me. I didn’t want to have to do it, but I take my dagger and with a lightning fast move I slash his neck clear through to the bone. Blood sprays in an arc across the walls and coats my hands and body with the warmth of his life force. His head falls off to the side and rolls across the floor until he disintegrates into a pile of ash. The wife screams and tries to reach his body before he disappears, but she doesn’t get there in time. Pity, I really wanted to take his magic, but he made that too difficult. Now I will enjoy the delicious essence of the woman. I take my talisman off and put it around her neck. She stops screaming and looks at me with hate-filled eyes. I just look at her and smile.
The woman says, “You may be able to steal our power, but you are still nothing. They will all defeat you and your body will rot in Hell where it belongs.”
My smile fades and I can’t stand to listen to her ranting anymore. I yank the talisman from around her neck, take my dagger, still dripping with blood, and thrust it into her heart. My dagger is made of iron so stabbing a fae in the heart is lethal. The poison of the iron will travel through the bloodstream and the fae will be dead in minutes. I do not have fae blood in me, so handling anything with iron does not bother me. The dagger was brought over from the mortal realm when the other sorcerers came to the Black Forest. It has definitely come in handy.
One thing is certain, I need to make sure my guards gag the prisoners before I plan on coming back. My tolerance is too little to be dealing with these people spouting nonsense. I will end up with mostly dead fae instead of magic if I can’t stop killing them.
Chapter 9
Calista
Falling leaves. Crisp, cool air and lots and lots of colors. I am surrounded by red, orange, yellow, green and brown. The leaves are blowing in the wind and cascading from the trees. Even though there are hundreds of leaves falling, the trees still look overly abundant with them. It’s magnificent. I have never seen anything like it. I’m walking through a meadow hand in hand with someone, but I can’t really see his face. All I know is I feel happy and I feel at home. This place does not look familiar to me, but I feel like I’ve been here a million times.
I reach down to touch the ground, and I can feel the life and the newness of the land. I’ve always had a connection to the land because of my affinity for the earth, but this feels like more. I also notice that my body looks different and feels different. My skin is paler and it doesn’t feel as hot. I can tell that the land was made because of me and the man I’m with. We somehow made this land through our magic, but how? Did the land choose us, or could this be part of the prophecy?
The man I’m with gently pulls me over to a bed of leaves on the ground and I lay in them with the man beside me. I breathe in the cool, fresh air and listen to the leaves bristling around in the wind. This is my home; this is where my heart is. I feel the power of this land more than I do when I’m at home in the Summer Court. The power here thrums through me and I can feel the same power flowing through my companion. His power matches my own, but I’ve never met anyone with the same amount of power as me. He leans over my body to where he’s half laying on top of me and half to the side. His body being so close to mine sends chills all over me and I’m silently begging for more.
He trails a hand down my face to my collarbone where he stops to lay a gentle kiss on my neck. My blood boils and I wish he would kiss me more. He slides his hands farther down my side, lightly grazing my breast. My breathing becomes rapid and my heart is pounding. I can hear it in my ears. He stops at my waist and puts a tight grip on my hip. I can tell he wants to devour me, but he’s teasing me and taking things slow. I don’t want things slow. His other hand cups the back of my head, while turning me toward him. He leans down, lips parted. I can feel his breath on my face and I lick my lips in anticipation of his kiss.
His scent is so different, it’s intoxicating. It’s a mixture of a summer breeze and a winter snow. I can’t place it with anything else. His lips are so close, I can’t wait to taste him…then our lips connect.
***
I am thrust out of the vision and I’m back in the Great Room where everyone is staring wide-eyed. What just happened? I abruptly let go of Ryder’s hand and look around the room. I don’t know how long the vision lasted, but it must have been a few minutes because my father is looking frantic and my mother is running her hands all over me to make sure I am alright. Merrick is by my side in an instant, trying to pull me away from Ryder. I try to shield my mind from him so he won’t pick up on my feelings. I have no clue if he saw the vision because our minds are connected.
“Please don’t shield your mind from me. I only want to help you. What did you see?”Merrick asks, concerned.
“Nothing, Merrick. It was a strange vision and it made me a little confused, but I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me,” I say to reassure him. His expression is grave, but he takes a couple of steps back to give me some space.
I look around at everyone and announce, “I’m OK, everyone. I promise I’m OK.”