Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(51)
I walk Kalen to the door of the Summer Court palace and hug him hard. I know he will be safe going home, but I still worry. I’m glad he will be able to spread the word and get everyone guarded. The sorcerer will be after my sister one day, be we don’t know when yet. We need to make sure our family is protected. Kalen says his farewells to everyone else and walks down the steps to his horse. He gives me one last worried gaze and then he waves goodbye. I give him a forced smile and try very hard to make it look genuine. He gets to the end of the road, looks back quickly and then rides off like the speed of the wind.
I load my belongings onto my horse, Artemis, and she turns her head to nudge me in the side, which makes me stumble. I laugh while taking her head in my hands and placing my forehead against hers.
“You always knew how to cheer me up, didn’t you, girl?” I run my hands down the long mane of black hair that hangs off to the side of her head. Her silky, black hair is so soft and thick it feels like a blanket, and her midnight black body glitters in the sunlight here in the Summer Court. Artemis is a magnificently beautiful creature and I love her dearly.
I admit to her, “This is going to be a hard journey we’re facing, girl. I need you to be swift and ride like the wind. Our princess is waiting for us and we cannot fail her.” Artemis huffs out a hot breath and shuffles her feet excitedly to let me know she’s ready and nothing will stop us.
“That’s my girl,” I say.
Merrick comes up beside me, already on his majestic white horse looking like the knight in shining armor. The gold armor he wears along with his blonde hair and white horse looks a little girly. I like my black warrior uniform with my silver armor. The crest of the Winter Court is engraved on the front breastplate. I run my hands along the crest and stare at my now changed body. It’s a sole reminder of the magic that will take place once I find Calista. Merrick sees me staring at my hands and narrows his eyes.
“Let’s go, ice boy. Our princess is waiting,” Merrick says impatiently.
Clearly annoyed, I say, “I’m not completely an ice boy anymore if you haven’t noticed, shithead, and when I find Calista and bring her home everything will change. You need to get over yourself and accept the fact that she chose me, not you.”
His agitation subsides and he is left with sadness. His shoulders droop and he stares emptily at the horizon.
Before riding ahead he murmurs quietly, “I know.” I would actually feel bad for the guy if he wasn’t such a dick. I know he loves her and I love her, too, but no amount of his bitching and complaining is going to change anything.
We head out on our way and we ride full out for a few hours before we decide to stop. We are most of the way through the Mystical Forest when Merrick stops and closes his eyes. It’s the same look he gets when he talks to Calista.
I hold my breath hoping this means that Calista is communicating and that everything is alright.
Merrick quickly turns to me and says, “I’ve got her.”
He goes back to being quiet and furrowing his brows, trying to pay close attention to what Calista is saying. He gives me a couple of smirks and a wide grin during this time and all it is doing is pissing me off. Merrick seems to be enjoying the fact that I can’t speak to her and he can. I ride up beside him and pull out my dagger. My heart beat is pounding in my ears and I clench my hand so tight around the dagger I will probably have indentions in my skin for a week. I point it at his chest, only an inch away, and demand, “You better tell her that I love her, too. I know you’re spouting how much you love her and what not, but if you don’t tell her that I do as well, I’m going to cut your balls off with the dullest knife I can find and shove them down your goddamn throat until you choke.”
Merrick laughs and turns to me.
“Calm down, ice boy, I told her what your cold heart had to say.” Hearing him laugh only fuels my anger even more.
His smile then changes and I can see the anguish in his face when he says, “She also told me that she has now reached the Black Forest and that they are parading her around the village. She was about to enter a huge tree that had a door carved into it when the connection was lost.”
I nod my head in understanding. I know Calista is strong, but I hope she can handle everything that’s happening. I break away from my thoughts to stare at the man who has pissed me off for the last time. I shoot him a lethal gaze. I put all of my anger and rage in this gaze and I know he can feel it coming off of me in waves. I am perfectly still on my horse with the anger boiling inside of me, wanting to be released. I clench my hands into tight fists and the adrenaline is making my body shake. Merrick hesitantly looks at me knowing full well the rage I feel inside “What is your problem?” he asks with a smart ass smirk.
“You are my problem!” I yell as I slam my clenched fist into Merrick’s jaw. The sound of my fist hitting his flesh and the cracking of his jaw is music to my ears. I put the full force of all of my emotions into the punch and it felt good to be able to release it onto Merrick. He falls off his horse and lands with a hard sounding thud. His armor makes a clinking noise as he lands on the ground. My inner self is smiling for its victory, but I can’t bring myself to feel that way on the outside. In all reality, my hand hurts from smashing it into Merrick’s face, and because he is acting childish about this whole ordeal with Calista, it is infuriating and not making this situation any better. It must be his way of coping with the loss, but if he doesn’t watch it, he may be the one not making it home.