Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(27)

Mystified, I say, “Why is this happening to us? This is the way we look and feel in the vision.” I stare at my body in amazement, but it quickly turns into anxiety because this development is going to cause some major issues. I groan and lay my head in my hands.

“What is everyone going to say to us tomorrow when they see?”

Ryder shrugs apologetically and says, “I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it now. Obviously this is the way it is supposed to be. All I can say is that it’s happening for a reason. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

I move closer to him and I lean my head on his shoulder. Merrick is going to be heartbroken when he finds out about it. How am I going to explain this to him? I don’t even know the full extent of what is happening. Elvena better have some answers for me in the morning.

I stand up to brush the leaves from my hair and back when I am met with another shock. The leaves that fall from my hair are in all sorts of different colors. I see red, orange, yellow and brown leaves scattered across the ground. Ryder sees them, too, and gives his own gasp of excitement and shock. I bend down to pick up the leaves and am marveled by their beauty. We don’t have leaves this color in the Summer Court.

“We are going to cause a mighty stir tomorrow, Ryder,” I say apprehensively.

He leans over to kiss my head.

“Yes, we are Princess, but I will be with you every step of the way.”

“I am going to talk to Elvena first thing and I hope she gives me some answers.” I wave my hands around my body and say, “I need to know what to do about all of this. The council will see us this way at the meeting and we have to know what to tell them. I still have training in a few hours as well and I don’t know how I’m going to explain it to Merrick.”

Ryder flinches at the mention of Merrick’s name. He may not like Merrick, but Merrick still means a lot to me. I run my hands over my face and massage my temples. Talking to Merrick is going to be the hardest thing of all.

Tilting his head to the side, Ryder asks, “Were you not planning on telling me what happened between you and Merrick?”

I look him in the eyes so he can see the total honesty in my words.

“Ryder, I didn’t know what to tell you. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me again if you found out that Merrick kissed me. I could have used my magic to push him away, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to hurt him.” I take his hand and pull it to my face. His skin feels perfect against mine.

“I want you to know that my feelings for Merrick have never been romantic. He is always going to be my guardian and he is always going to be by my side. I don’t know how we are going to get through this because he is going to be so angry, but not able to leave my side. He is stuck as my guardian until one of us dies and it breaks my heart to know that he will be watching us together for as long as we live. I will constantly feel guilty putting him through that.”

Ryder nods his head and closes his eyes. When he opens them they are full of understanding.

He says, “I know, and we will find a way to work this out. After the meeting, I still need to head home to the Winter Court and speak to my parents and the council. I don’t know what all of this is going to mean for me and you being together, but we will figure it out.” He looks at his hand and back to me and says, “I’m not sure where we fit in now.” He kisses me gently and holds me close.

I look at the sky and notice that it’s lighting up a bit on the horizon.

“The sun will be up soon, Ryder. We probably need to head back,” I say.

Taking my hand, Ryder says, “I agree, Princess. We have a busy day tomorrow.” He shakes his head, laughing. “I mean today. We have a busy day today.”

As soon as he says it I hear the water sloshing about in the lake. I look over to see my little pride and joy making his way over to me. The little black kelpie walking toward us was born a month ago. The one thing that is different about him is that he has a white spot on his forehead in the shape of a star. I call him Styx, and he is the sweetest thing, but I know he will be fierce when he matures.

I call to him using my baby voice.

“Come here, Styx, you sweet little thing.”

Ryder laughs at how I change my voice, but doesn’t move. I don’t know how well my kelpie will deal with a stranger. Styx comes up to me and nuzzles my face, leaving a wet trail down my cheek. I giggle and wipe it off on my shirt.

“How are you, boy? I have missed you so much,” I say as I rub his tiny back. He is the size of a goat. He is still very small, but in a few short months he will be a little larger than the average size of a mortal horse.

“Where’s Mom and Dad, Styx?”

He huffs out of his nose and motions his head toward the water. I see the large, black head of his father poking out of the water and the white head of his mother looking out as well.

I look at Ryder and motion toward Styx.

“Ryder, I would like you to meet Styx. This little hellion is my favorite kelpie. His parents are over there.” I point to the massive kelpies in the water. “The black one is his father and I named him Poseidon. The white one is his mother and I named her Athena.”

Ryder says, “So you named them after Greek gods?”

“Of course, the Greek gods were magical beings and I have always been fascinated with Greek mythology. I don’t think the kelpies mind,” I tease.