Forever Fae (Forever Fae #1)(68)
‘Soon,’ I think to myself. Just a couple more hours and he will be mine. We had a couple of heated moments before he left for the Winter Court and I regretfully declined moving to the final step. It pained me to have to do it, but this ceremony is going to be important and I wanted to do it right. I did, however, enjoy the time we spent together during those moments.
I reach down to rub my hand across his groin, which is now hard and pulsing. I suck in a sharp breath at the feel of him and groan with desire. He is definitely not lacking down there. In this moment, I wish we could just spend the rest of the night in our room.
Breathlessly I groan, “We have guests waiting, Ryder. We need to go.”
He pulls back to give me a pouty look and takes his hands away from my body. He looks down at his pants then winks at me and grins.
“You’re going to have to give me a minute so that our guests can’t see what you’ve done to me.” We both laugh and take deep breaths to calm down. Being apart for the last few days had been hard. It was necessary to get all of our affairs in order, but being apart after the recent events was torture. His eyes soften and he whispers in my ear, “You look very beautiful tonight.”
“Thank you, and you look very handsome with your black tux and your…” I stop to look at his tie and I notice that it is exactly like my dress. I can’t believe he would do this for me. I bounce with excitement when I say, “Your tie changes colors just like my dress. Who told you?”
“Elvena told me about your dress and I thought I would surprise you with doing the same with my tie,” he responds sheepishly. He looks a little embarrassed telling me this, but I look him straight in the eyes and smile.
“It’s amazing and I love it, and I also love you,” I say. He holds out his arm for me to take and I clasp mine through his.
He leans over to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek and says, “Well, let’s go my queen. Our court forever waits.” We reach the doors and head outside.
The sight of everyone is amazing and they are all standing and waiting for us to walk down the steps. Ryder squeezes my hand and I let out the breath I had been holding. I’m not nervous about the wedding, but I am nervous about everything that’s going to change. The dark sorcerer is still out there and he’s going to be after my family and Ryder’s family. Keeping them safe is going to be a top priority.
Ryder elbows me in the side and I look up at him when he says, “We need to walk, Calista. You were daydreaming again.”
“Sorry,” I say and we continue down the stone staircase at the front of our house and down to our guests. My mind has been wandering lately with all the things that have been happening. It’s hard not to think about it all.
My family is seated to the left of me as we walk down the aisle in the middle of the grounds. My father gets up to stand on the dais with Elvena. My mother looks at me adoringly and my brother just looks bored. Hopefully, he will find someone to love one day. My sisters and Xylia are waiting for me at the dais standing in as my ladies in waiting.
Ryder’s family is seated to the right of us as we walk down. I have not yet met the king and queen of the Winter Court so it will be nice to meet them tonight. His brothers are standing at the front waiting on us as well. Kalen is up there with his goofy smile and his other brother, Brayden, is up there but I have not met him yet. Brayden doesn’t look anything like Ryder with his long, chocolate colored brown hair and serious brown eyes. He looks stiff and intimidating standing up there. He definitely doesn’t seem very friendly.
I look around at our other guests and I see a combination of the fae. We have the Winter fae with their creamy colored skin and the Summer fae with their bronzed golden skin. They all stand out against one another. I didn’t realize how significantly different we all look from each other. I see that the leader of the dwarves, Durin, is here along with some of his fellow dwarves. Aelfric and Rhoswen from the elvan kingdom are here with several of their guards. It’s a beautiful sight to see everyone together and they all smile as we make our way through the center.
When my dress changes color, I hear the ladies in the crowd gasp with surprise. I knew it would be a hit. I couldn’t decide on just one color so I went with them all. The dais we will stand on is made and carved by Kalen. It looks like a gazebo with vines and intricate flowers carved onto it. Meliantha had arranged flowers everywhere with the help of the sprites, and she also grew trees along the pathway that we’ve walked through to get to the front. We reach the dais and my father and Elvena are standing there waiting.
My father speaks above the crowd.
“Good evening, everyone. We are here to witness this special occasion: the joining of my daughter, Princess Calista, to Prince Ryder of the Winter Court, in the bonds of marriage. May this be a glorious occasion filled with love, laughter and happiness.”
He walks down to kiss me on my cheek and whispers, “You look amazing, sunshine. I’m so proud of you.” I pull back to give him a warm smile and he turns to go to his seat beside my mother and brother. Ryder and I turn to face each other and he takes both of my hands in his. He squeezes them gently and I squeeze back.
Elvena takes over and her voice booms across the crowd.
“Princess Calista has asked me to oversee this union. I am deeply honored to be up here celebrating in this special time. Love is a precious gift and we are all very lucky to have it. These two were born to love each other. Their destinies had been intertwined since the beginning of time and their love is going to begin a new change in the Land of the Fae. This land you see here…” Elvena motions around to point out the land. “Has chosen these two to claim it. Once they say the sacred words in the Old Fae language, their bond will be forever sealed. This land will come alive when they become one and they will no longer be of Summer and Winter, but of a new court formed by their love.” Her words send chills all over my body and it feels like the magic in them are caressing my soul. She motions for us to continue with our part of the ceremony.