Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(32)

I would never be allowed back in the Summer Court if I did that, even if Merrick did deserve it.

“I wouldn’t attack him unprovoked. I know of the repercussions I would face. When we get home I need to tell mom and dad of my plans to marry Calista. I also need to get Warren back to see Heyflred because he’s not acting normal, and I’m hoping Heyflred can use his magic to tell me what is wrong with him.”

“Speaking of Warren, he wasn’t in his room this morning. I have no idea where he would have gone so early,” Kalen replies.

This is not good. If he is unstable, there is no telling what he will do, especially since he has become more violent. I need to find him before he does something stupid.

I say assuredly, “I will take a look around and find him.”

I get up from the table and brush the crumbs off my shorts. Kalen takes a look at me again.

“Can I ask why you are dressed like that? You don’t plan on going to the meeting looking like that, do you?” No, but I don’t want to tell him what I’m hoping is going to happen. A little training won’t hurt anyone…much.

My brother is dressed in a nice blue, short-sleeve button down shirt and khaki pants. This was the first time I have ever seen him try to dress nice. He always wears nice things to the winter balls and other festivities, but I wonder why he would try so hard here. Who was he trying to impress?

I put on my sneakers and tie them up.

“I plan on doing a little hard core training with a live mannequin,” I tease and wink at him. “But the real question here is: why are you dressed like that?” I point at his ensemble.

“I just wanted to look nice for the ladies.” He straightens his shirt and gives me a look indicating I better not say anything else. I know he really liked talking to Calista’s sister last night. I decide not to say anything more about it.

I look at the clock and see it is time for me to go. I don’t want to arrive early for Calista’s training, I want to hang back and see how she fights.

“Do us all a favor, Ryder, and don’t hurt her guardian too much. He is the one that is supposed to protect her and he can’t do that with a broken neck,” Kalen teases.

“I’ll try, Kalen. He deserves a lot worse than a broken neck,” I say, frustrated. Thinking of what I saw last night just gets me so angry.

I head for the door and he follows.

“Have fun, brother.”

The anticipation of a fight has me all worked up. My muscles are tense and ready for action.

I give my brother a wolfish grin and say, “Oh, I plan to.”

I clap him on the back one good time and we head our separate ways. Now it is time to find Warren and then head to the field where Calista and Merrick will be training.



Before Training-Ryder



At the grand staircase I see many of the servants milling about getting things ready for the day. The meeting will be held in the Great Room where the ceremony was held last night. I look in the Great Room and it has completely changed, there is now a huge rectangular table in the middle of the room. Now that parts of the prophecy are coming true, I know the danger of the evil will be coming soon so we need to be ready when it does. Meeting with everyone from the different kingdoms will help us strategize how to keep everyone safe.

I turn around and Warren is standing right behind me.

“Good morning, Ryder.”

“Good morning, Warren. What have you been doing this morning? Kalen went to check on you earlier and you weren’t in your room.” I look down and notice some red, splotchy stains on his pants. It looks like blood so I lift my eyes to his questioningly and he averts his gaze and tries to cover the area with his hand.

An evil glint is in his eye when he speaks.

“I was out and about this morning taking a look around. I even saw the princess this morning, leaving with Merrick.” I flinch at the thought of them together, but I know they are on their way to the training ground.

“He is her guardian, they are always going to be around each other. They are just friends, nothing more,” I hiss.

Warren shrugs and says in a sing song voice, “That is not the way it looked to me. They looked awfully comfortable with each other. I would say they had a pretty good night last night.”

If I didn’t know any better I would say he’s trying to goad me into something. He doesn’t want me with Calista, but I wonder what he has to gain by it. I also can’t help but wonder if he speaks the truth. Calista did tell me that she didn’t completely turn him down last night. She just said she didn’t love him in that way, but that she does love him. Surely she is not going to give him a chance, especially not after what we shared last night.

“Ryder, you are being completely na?ve if you think you can compete with their bond. He feels her every emotion and he can get inside her head. He will always know what she wants and when she wants it.” I turn my head away and I really wish he would just shut the f*ck up. I don’t want to hear this shit. He continues.

“It’s every guy’s dream to be able to know what their woman wants and be able to please them. You don’t stand a chance with her, not completely. They have known each other for years and you have only known her for one day.” He pauses and the evil gleam is back when he says, “I also saw them kissing and all over each other. He had his hands in some pretty interesting places from what I could see. I don’t think there’s anything ‘just friendly’ about that.”