Forever Fae (38 page)

The feeling of his kisses on my tender spots and his hands making their way across my body make me ache for him to be inside me.  I feel on fire with a need so great that only he can cool. 

‘
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 gu
ests 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 w
ith 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
q
ueen
.  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
k
ing
and
q
ueen
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 o
ur
other guests and I see
a combination of the fae. We have the
Winter
fae with their creamy colored skin and the Summer fae w
ith 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 t
he leader
of the dwarves
, Durin, is here along with some of his fellow dwar
ves.
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 com
e alive when they become one and t
hey will no longer be of
Summer
and Winter, but of a new court formed by their love.”  Her words
sen
d
chills all over my body and i
t
feels
like the magic in them
are
caressing my soul.  She motions for us to continue with our part of the ceremony. 

Ryder goes first
,
as is custom for the males.  We don’t share rings or trinkets in
our marriage bond ceremonies, o
nly the sacred words are shared.  Ryder looks deep into my eyes and into my soul.  I can feel the love and passion floating off of him in waves.  The tears burn the
back of my eyes and begin to float to the surface.  I might as well just let them fall because I know there will be
more later
. 

Ryder’s voice is low and soft when he speaks
.

“Calista, my love.
  I know we have not known each other long, but our hearts recognized one another way before we even met.  You are all that I will e
ver need. 
Your soul completes mine and now I’m whole.  You have made me into a whole new person, and I look forward to our
journeys
together in our new court.  You are my
q
ueen
, my love, my friend and my wife. 
Amin mela lle
ilyamemie
ar’ ten’oio”
(I will love you always and forever)
.
He lets out a deep breath and gives me
the same
charming smile that won me over in the beginning.
  Saying the sacred words in the Old Fae language binds him to me and now it’s my turn to say them to him.

With as much love and heart put in my words I say
, “Ryder, the moment I saw you my world changed forever.  I had full cla
im over my heart until you came along.
  I give it to you freely with all the love you could ever think possible.  You have claimed my heart, body, mind, and soul and I trust in you to keep those safe.  I will always and forever be yours, my love. 
Amin mela lle ilyamemie ar’ten’oio.”
The words have been said and the bond has been completed.

Ryder and I
are
both lost in
th
e
moment and all the emotions and all the excitement
c
omes
together in one big rush
.
He
plant
s
his lips on mine and he circled his arms around my waist
,
holding me tight against him.  The kiss
is
amazing and magical.  His tongue
caresse
s
mine gently and the sweet taste of him
ha
s
me wanting more.  I hear hoots and hollers while we
are
lost in our kiss
and I d
on’t
feel embarrassed at all.  The feeling of powerful magic sweeps across my body and then the crowd gasps and falls silent.
             

Ryder and I pull apart slowly and take a look around.  They are
all staring wide-eyed
at us and that’s when I notice something different about my body.
I touch the top of my head and ther
e lays a crown that feels like it’s made of vines and leaves.
I can’t see it, but I feel the weight of it on my head.  I can see Ryder’s crown and his must be the same as mine with a bundle of vines and fall colored leaves with tiny berries scatte
red throughout.
The crowns are
amazingly beautiful and natural. 
This has never happened with any of the court
s.
No one has ever been crowned by the Land of the Fae.  We look at each other once more in awe and then we turn to face the crowd and they all bow their heads.

Elvena shouts triumphantly, “Everyone, I would like to announce King Ryder and Queen Calista of the Fall Court!”  Everyone stands and the crowd goes crazy with yells and shouts of laughter and celebration.  The feelings are amazing and I know my face is beaming.  I look over at Ryder and he looks the same way.  He will be a good
king…m
y King.

We
walk through the center of the crowd
holding hands
and as we do, the trees to our sides begin to grow and the leaves begin to change colors.  I stop to take a look around and I stare in wonder at the changes occurring right before my eyes.  I bend down to touch the ground and the power makes my fingers tingle with electricity.  The change is not
fully
complete, but it will be soon. 

             
The rest of the night is spent dancing and feasting with our guests.  I me
e
t
Ryder’s family and they accept
me with open arms.  I took great joy watching the celebrations and the people dancing together.  Everyone looks happy, at least for the time being.  I reach down to touch my locket and thoughts of Merrick pass
through
my mind. A tear rolls down my cheek and Ryder reaches over to wipe it away.

“I will
never
forget what he did for me,” Ryder vows.  His eyes speak the truth and I know he is grateful for what Merrick did to save him. 

My throat tightens up
.

“I k
now, and I will always be grateful for it
.”
  I guess he can see the sadness creeping its way back to me
,
so he gives me a reassuring smile.

             
He bumps me in the side playfully
and says
, “Yeah, I will definitely miss his smart ass comments.  He sure knew how to use them.”