Forever Fae (36 page)

“I love you, Calista.  I will always and forever love you.  I have accepted that y
ou and Ryder belong together because h
e
is your destiny, just like it is
my destiny to die here today with you.” 
He reaches up to touch my cheek. 

“We will see each other again in the Hereafter.  I’ll be waiting for you there.”
He closes his eyes and opens them back up slowly
.
I can tell he’s slipping away.
 

“
My essence will be in you now
.
W
hen
I leave, it will go to you.  So you see, we will always be connected
and I will always be here
.
”
H
e
puts his hand over my heart
and says
,
“
F
orever
.”

“I love you, Merrick, my friend, my
g
uardian
…always.”

I bend down
to kiss his lips and I send all the love I have for him pouring into
th
e
kiss to take with him to the Hereafter
.  He kisses me back and then pulls away
ever so slowly
.  His face i
s peaceful and he looks at me and smiles
.

“Goodbye, my love.”

“Goodbye, Merrick.”

A beautiful white light escapes his body as he begins to dissolve into
the
a
sh that all Fae become after death.
  The light floats in front of me
,
flickering and twinkling like a star.  It moves closer to me and then absorbs into my body over my
heart.  The instant it connects
to my body I
feel
a jolt
.
A
warm sensation
spread
s
around my heart.  The hole I felt in my heart
before
has been filled with the power of that light, and that’s when I feel him…Merrick.  He’s there. His essence is in my heart and soul.  The loss saddens me and it will hurt for a long time, but the presence of him inside me gives me the power to do what I have to do.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and I look at Ryder still
battling
the dark sorcerer
.  He looks tired
, but he’s still trying. 
He goes back and forth between being visible and
invisible.
I would assume it’s because his concentration is failing.
He needs my help, but I need to lay my
g
uardian
to rest first because his ashes do not belong here. I take a deep breath to concentrate and t
he power in me surges and I call upon the wind to carry Merrick’s ashes away.  I ask the wind to carry them
to our special field
;
t
he field where we trained every morning and the place we played as children. 
The field is a special place for Merrick and me and it will continue to be for as long as I live.
I feel the wind blow and it smells fresh and clean. 
It isn’t
the nasty rancid air of the forest, but with a warm, sunlit breeze of a summer wind. I sit there and watch as the remainder of my friend is swept away and taken to our special pl
ace.

I look at the ground to
see my silver locke
t and Merrick’s Guardian dagger lying
on the ground
.
  I place the silver locket around my neck and I pick up the dagger.  My eyes begin to burn and my throat tightens up as I stare at the dagger.  I lift my eyes to look at the man who took my
g
uardian
away from me.  He’s bloody from wounds across his body and he has a sneer on his face while he circles Ryder. 
That son of a bitch is going down. 
Ryder has sweat pouring down his face and his breaths are coming fast.  His muscles are shaking from the strain and exertion of wielding his sword.  He’s a strong warrior and I know he will continue fighting until there
is
nothing left.

I take a deep steadying breath and close my eyes. 
I tighten my grip on the
dagger and clear my mind.  This is
all for Merrick and everything he’s taken from me and the people I love. 
All
the hate and rage I have in my body
builds and
I let the dagger fly with as much force as I
c
an
muster.  I open my eyes to see that I have once again hit my target.  Triumph blossoms inside me, but this is no celebration.

The fighting
comes to a
s
top and the dark sorcerer stands
wide-eyed staring at his chest.  Ryder runs straight for me and takes me into his arms. He runs his hands down my body like he’s searching for injuries and looks me over like I’m going to disappear any moment. 

He’s breat
hless and says quickly, “Oh Calista
, I am so sorry about Merric
k.  I love you so much, and
I don’t know what I would have done if we didn’t get here in time.”  He hugs me hard. 

“I’m so glad you’re
OK
.”  He kisses me hard and fast.  The time for a reunion can wait until we get out of the Black Forest.

The dark sorcerer falls to his knees in Avery’s body.  His face is furrowed in pain as he removes the dagger and throws it on the ground.
I reach down to quickly grab the dagger and walk away
because I refuse to leave it here.  Coughing and grinding his teeth, his voice sou
nds laced with evil when he spits at
me
.

“This isn’t over, Princess.  You may have wounded me now, but at least I succeeded with you.  I took a piece of you and
now
you can’t get it back.  I
will
find the others and when you least expect it, I’ll be there.”

I walk over to him and the rage and anger that has built up inside my body wants to be let free.  The adrenaline pumps through my muscles and the sweet taste of vengeance is sharp on my tongue.  The dark sorcerer looks up
at me and he opens his mouth
to speak, but I don’t give him the time.  The dagger is in my hand and I slash it clean across his neck, cutting through tendons and bone in one quick swipe.  His b
lood splatters
on us
, but
I don’t care.  There will
now
be one less minion for the dark sorcerer to take over.  I have killed two people today and I
don’
t
feel sorry for their loss at all.
  Their betrayals have cost numerous people their lives, and I avenged them all.  Avery’s body disintegrates into ash and the dark sorcerer emerges as a black cloud
rising
from his body.

“Until next time,” he sneers.

“Fuck you!” I
sp
i
t
.

He disappears and
everything goes quiet.  I can
tell he had been hurt because his form was almost see-through.  He has my power now, but for some reason my
g
uardian
blade had an effect on him.  I need to remem
ber to ask Elvena about that and m
aybe we will be able to find a way to defeat him. 

“Princess!”
  Nixie appears fluttering her little golden wings and waving her hands.

“Where have you been?  You were supposed to help us,” I snap.

She turns her head for us to look behind her and she points at something coming from a distance. Galloping toward us are two horses.  I recognize Merrick’s white horse, Storm, and the other horse must be Ryder’s
horse
.

Nixie looks at me with a smug look
.

“I did help, and I still can, but we need to get you out of here
.
NOW!  You may have wounded the dark sorcerer, but it won’t take him long to come back for you.  When we reach the edge of the Black Forest
,
I can use my magic to take you home.”

Ryder and I quickly embrace and he kisses me hard and feverishly.  He climbs on his horse and whispers something in her ear and I climb onto Storm.  I le
an down and rub Storm’s neck
.

With
a choked sob, I say, “I’m so sorry Storm, but I lost him.  He’s never coming back,
boy.”  Storm huffs and bows
his head.  I give him a little nudge
and demand softly
, “Let’s go, Storm.  Fly like the wind and
take
us home.”

Both horses are agile and fast as we race our way through the forest.  Nixie flies along beside us the whole way.  I am so glad she brought the horses because I don’t think we would have made it out of the forest without them.  We reach the edge of the forest quickly and the adrenaline that fueled my escape has now left me exhausted and weak.  All I want to do is sit down to cry and break down over the loss of my
g
uardian
, but I know I can’t do that until I get home.  Getting home is the most important thing at this moment.

Exhausted, I turn to Nixie and ask, “Now what’s your plan?  You said you could help when we got to the edge of the forest.”

With a gleam in her eye and her chin lifted proudly she says, “I did, didn’t I
?
 
Give me your hands.”  Nixie floats
between me and Ryder.  We
’re both still on the horses but we each grab a hold of her
tiny, green hands.  Th
ey feel so fragile and small, but s
he grips my hand tight and I’m shocked
by
the amount of strength her little body has
inside of it
.

Nixie asks, “Where do you want me to take you?”

Ry
der speaks up, “Take us to the Summer C
ourt.”

Nixie loo
ks over to me and
I shake my head
‘
yes
.
’
T
he second after that we are thrus
t into a whirlwind of colors and i
t feels like we’re floating in the air.  I feel weightless and there’s nothing around us but a rainbow of shimmery colors.  It’s so bright I can barely stand to keep my eyes open.  It’s an amazing sight and now I know why Alasdair took her.  She can port travel.  It is a very rare gift and only imps have the capability.  Most fae creatures can travel to the mortal realm, but it’s not the same as port travel.  Nixie can travel to any part of the Land of the Fae in a matter of seconds, and take whoever she wants with her. 

It is over quickly and t
he colors start to fade
.  W
e find ourselves
at the willow tree by the lake in the Summer Court.  This is mine and Ryder’s favorite place now.
  I look around and a sigh escapes my lips.  I’m
home
,
or at least my home for now.  Soon I will be
q
ueen
of my own court and keeping ou
r people safe.  I wonder why Nixie
brought us to this exact spot.

She answers,
“Because it is the
place you feel most happy to be, Princess.
  You will
need time to heal because n
o one goes through what you have without needi
ng help and love to guide you.”

“Thank you, Nixie, for bringing us home.  I will keep you safe and we wi
ll search for your family soon,” I reply.
Keeping Nixie and her family safe is a promise that I will be more than happy to keep.
I look at Ryder sitting on his horse and all I want to do is hol
d him in my arms. He
looks at me with a wan expression and I know he can tell I’m trying to be strong b
y
holding it together.  I am saddened, but Merri
ck saved Ryder’s life because he knew how much I loved him. 

Nixie looks back an
d forth between me and Ryder with the hugest grin on her face and asks, “So when is the wedding?”

Ryder and I both look at each other and smile.

Chapter 26

Ryder- 5 Days L
ater

Rescuing Calista and holding her in my arms again was the best feeling.  I vowed from that moment forward that nothing
will
ever come between us and I will stop at nothing to finding ways to defeat the dark sorcerer.  Seeing Calista being touched by that fucker sent me into a blind rage.  I fought him with everything I had and I would have fought him for however long was needed to get Calista to safety.  I almost didn’t make it through the fighting, but Merrick jumped in the way of the iron blade and took the blow that was meant for me.  I saw Calista go down and her scream was the most
heart
-
wrenching sound I have ever heard.  My heart broke for her in that moment because I knew I couldn’t be there to comfort her when she had just lost one of the most important people in her life.
I was afraid she would never get through it.
  I stole quick glances at her on the ground with her
g
uardian
and I had never seen her so broken.  I hope that with time her heart has the ability to mend.  A passing ceremony will be held in his honor as well as Xylia’s parents, Raisa and Foster.