Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(30)



“I know, right?”

I walk back out of the bathroom to look at him. He’s dressed in a pair of black running shorts, a blue t-shirt and sneakers. He looks so normal when he’s not wearing his warrior gear. I smile really big so that more toothpaste foams out of my mouth. I’m trying to keep the mood light so maybe it’ll keep his mind off of last night.

He shakes his head.

“That is so nasty.” He looks down at his watch and motions for me to hurry.

“You need to hurry up so we can finish training and get back in time for the meeting.”

I run to my bathroom, spit the toothpaste out and wipe my mouth.

I yell from the bathroom, “I am hurrying. I had a late start this morning because Elvena came by to chit chat.” It was part way the truth, but I’m not going to tell him that.

He nods his head in understanding and opens the door for me.

“After you, Princess, it’s time to go kick some ass.” I playfully elbow him in the side.

“Your ass, if I’m not mistaken,” I tease.

His face falls and I silently curse myself. I didn’t mean to say it to throw it in his face, but he actually does deserve an ass kicking.

“I know, Calista. I do deserve it.”

Damn it, I didn’t mean for him to hear that. I really need to remember to shield. We leave my room and head through the palace. I see Warren, Ryder’s friend, leaving the council room looking a little strange. Why would he be in there and who would he have talked to? He doesn’t seem like he would be a friendly guy and it makes me wonder how Ryder could ever be friends with him. When he sees me looking at him, he winks at me and gives me a bone chilling smile as he continues down the hall. The laugh I hear echoing off the walls makes the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. It is a sound of pure evil.

We walk outside to head toward the path to the lake and I blush when we walk past the willow tree. Thinking about what happened there last night sends my heart racing. I can’t wait to talk to Ryder today. My kelpies are nowhere in sight, so we continue on. He carries the swords that we train with and I am carrying the daggers. I’m a skilled dagger thrower and I can hit my mark with my eyes closed. I always offer to help carry the long swords, but Merrick never lets me. He says he would hate it if I tripped and fell on one. He’s the one who would be most likely to fall on one. I wouldn’t die if I got stabbed, but it sure would hurt like hell. If it was an iron blade, I’d be wounded, but just your typical sword wouldn’t do enough damage, unless it was my head that got cut off. We reach our designated spot and I begin to stretch.

I look to Merrick and silently think, “Let the ass kicking begin.”





Chapter 14


Ryder


Watching Calista float up to her window was amazing. I could tell she was showing off and I found it absolutely sexy. I waved her goodbye and headed into the palace to my room. There are still a couple of hours before Calista meets Merrick for their training. I think it will be the perfect time to teach him a lesson. I enter my room and take a look around. The walls are painted yellow, just like the Great Room, and the bed has red, satin sheets and an abundance of pillows. Calista would make a nice addition to the bed. I can just imagine her long, blonde hair fanned out across the pillows and the feel of her body as we make love. Soon.

Once I leave tomorrow and handle my affairs in the Winter Court, I’ll be back to make her officially mine. I am sure Merrick will be a problem, but I will make Calista my wife one way or another. I haven’t told her I loved her yet because it felt like she was holding back. I’m not going to wait any longer. I plan to talk to her first to see what she says about it, but if she says yes, I will ask her father’s permission in the meeting today in front of everyone. This news will definitely spread fast throughout the kingdoms.

I change out of my clothes and head for the bathroom. The walls of the bathroom are golden and all of the fixtures are made out of gold. The entire bathroom has to be worth several million dollars in the mortal world. It is amazing, but too lavish for me. I enjoy the finer things in life, but this goes way beyond that.

I take a shower and shave. It’s going to take some time to get accustomed to my newly changed body. The magic it took to change things this drastically had to be phenomenal and the changes are not over yet. I can’t wait to see what my brother has to say about all of it. I am not looking forward to seeing Warren. With the way he has been acting, the minute he hears about my marriage proposal there’s no telling what he’s going to do. I regret bringing him here in the first place.

I finish washing up and get out of the shower. I change into a black t-shirt and some running shorts. I need to be comfortable when I show off my warrior skills to Merrick. A knock at the door stops me. I wonder who it is since I am not expecting anyone. I open the door to see Elvena holding a covered tray.

“I brought you some breakfast, Prince Ryder.” She looks me up and down and smiles. “I see you and the princess must have had some interesting times last night.”

She tries to hold in the laugh as she sets the tray on the small table by the bed. The food smells wonderful.

I look at her and say, “It was definitely life-altering.”

She reaches over to touch my hand and lingers for a second.

“Yes, I can tell. You do look and feel like a new man.” She laughs again and let go of my hand. I can’t help but laugh, too. She has a way of making things humorous in a tough situation.

L.P. Dover's Books