Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(28)
I look at Ryder and he has a huge smile on his face when he replies, “That is so odd because I have always loved Greek mythology and I also named my horse after the Greek goddess Artemis.” I stop petting Styx to look excitedly at Ryder. I can’t believe he likes Greek mythology as well. Who would have thought we would have that in common? Maybe there is more to us than just the prophecy.
Styx nuzzles me to get my attention and huffs at Ryder. I pet him for a few more minutes and then he makes his way back to the water. I love being with my kelpies, but they can be very dangerous to be around and have also been known to eat other fae creatures. I watch Styx and his parents swim away and then disappear under the water of the lake.
I look back at Ryder and he has the hugest smile on his face. I could look at him all day while he has his shirt off, standing there all roguish and handsome. I bet the Winter Court girls go crazy over him, especially since he’s a prince as well.
I shake the thought from my head and say, “I believe it’s time to get going.”
He grabs my hand and we walk up the path. We go to the back of the house where my wing is located and I see the window to my room is still open. Ryder pulls me close and gives me one last heart-stopping kiss. I love the taste of his lips and I can’t wait for them to be all over my body the next chance we get.
“Goodnight, Princess.” I see the hesitation in his eyes like he wants to say more, but doesn’t know how. There’s plenty I wish I could say to him, too, but it doesn’t feel like the right time.
I look at him and smile. I don’t want him to go, but I know there are things that need to be taken care of because it is his duty. Plus, I don’t want anyone seeing us together out here in the early morning hours.
“I think goodnight is way past. I believe it would be good morning now,” I tease.
I lean up to kiss him quickly and then call upon the wind to lift me to my room. The wind embraces me like a blanket and carries me up to my room. I look down from my window to see Ryder standing open-mouthed and astonished. I give him an arrogant smirk and blow him a goodbye kiss before closing my window.
Xylia jumps off the bed and runs to me as I’m closing the window. She takes one long look up and down my body and her eyes look like they are about to pop out of her head.
“What the hell happened to you?” She squeals.
If only she knew.
I pull Xylia over to the bed and I sit down to tell her everything. She sits wide-eyed and open-mouthed like a fish the entire time. She can’t get over the body change differences. She makes swooning noises when I tell her about our intimate moments. Xylia is very supportive and keeps telling me not to worry about what everyone else thinks, especially Merrick. She says he can’t come between fate and that Ryder is my destiny. Xylia and I talk for the rest of the early morning hours, which isn’t long at all, and she tells me more about her visit with Conall after the ceremony. She seems so happy and carefree and I find myself being envious of her. Her love can be easy and uncomplicated, whereas mine is full of complication.
When she leaves I decide to take a shower to wake my body. I hear a knock on my door and throw on my workout clothes so I can answer it. I know it wil be Elvena on the other side so I run quickly to answer it. I can’t wait to ask her what’s going on.
I open the door and find a not-so-surprised look on her face. She is holding a tray with my favorite breakfast food, pancakes with a lot of butter and maple syrup. She sets the tray with the three huge buttermilk pancakes, a carafe of maple syrup and a large glass of orange juice on the table.
She looks me up and down trying to hide her smile and says, “Well, well, child. Don’t you look different this morning? Did you put on a new outfit?” She tries to hold in her laugh, but fails. She doubles over laughing and snorting like she always does.
Annoyed, I say, “Leave it to you to joke about something at a time like this.”
She stops laughing and turns serious.
“This is your path, child. Live it, and embrace it. Your people are going to depend on you to follow through with your path and I know you don’t know what that path is yet, but you will. I met with your father this morning and he already knows what’s going on. He’s been excitedly waiting to see you all morning.” She pauses for a second and quirks her eyebrow.
“I saw Prince Ryder this morning as well.”
Well, of course she had. She can be such a nosy woman sometimes. I sit down at the table and stare at my pancakes. My stomach growls from having been empty for so long. I just realize I hadn’t eaten a single thing at the ceremony last night.
Elvena is staring at me, waiting for me to speak. She’s obviously excited to see what I have to say about the change.
“So many things changed last night and my emotions are everywhere right now.” I rub my hands over my face to rub my eyes. They feel heavy and tired from lack of sleep.
I continue, “My skin tone changed and even my body temperature changed. How am I going to face Merrick like this? I not only turn him down, but seeing me like this is like rubbing salt in his wounds. I have nothing to say to him that will make him understand. To top it off, I’m falling in love with someone that I’m drawn to, just like the prophecy says, and I don’t know if those feelings are real.”
I start to eat my breakfast and wish I could enjoy it, but the weight of everything is heavy on my shoulders. I push my pancakes away and decide to just drink the orange juice. Elvena comes to sit with me at my table and she’s fidgeting with one of my napkins. She only fidgets when she’s nervous about something.