Forever Fae (4 page)

“The bowl is ready, Master,” he informs gruffly.
 

I dismiss Gothin so I can
talk to my spy in secret.  The scrying bowl allows me to contact any of my people through a reflective surface.  All
that is
need
ed
is a drop of blood and the true name of the one
sought
.  I pull on the power of the
talisman to make myself solid, and I take
th
e knife from my belt and prick my finger.  I let
the droplet
of blood
fall into the bowl,
and
I called forth the person I am seeking.  He appears in the bowl, looking a little nervous and apprehensive.  I love that they fear me.  I take a seat and peer into the bowl.

“Good evening, master. 
What can I do for you?”
M
y
minion asks.

I relax back
in my chair and say
, “I am just making sure you have all the information I need.  I know you have all t
he inside details of where the
p
rincess
will be for the next couple of days.” 

My informant
clear
s
his throat, definitely nervous and replies,
“I have the information, but remember she won’t be alone during these trips.  S
he’ll have her
g
uardian
with her at all times after the ceremony.” 

I roll my eyes in agitation.
Why do these people underestimate my power? 

“That won’t be a problem.  Just make sure her schedule does not change and use the gifts I gave to you.  Keep the necklace on you at all times. That way I can take your place when I need to see what’s going on, and make sure you only use the gem
when you are ready to take the
p
rincess
.  It will only give you
the power of
invisibility until
the magic runs out, so u
se it wisely. 

The informant bows his head and is
clearly ready to end the conversation.  “Yes,
M
aster
.  I will do as you wish and I will not fail.” 

I clear
the scrying bowl, and decide to revel in my
success.  My plan is in motion and
it’s
such a
wonderful feeling to know I’m about to have the power I seek and the female I have been waiting to capture. The thought of her sends my blood boiling throughout my body.  Having her here with me and in my bed is all going to be worth it once I have her power.  My body grows with need thinking about how intense her power is going to make me feel.  I wish she was here right now to help me with that, but for now,
I
think I’ll settle for an energy recharge.

“Gothin, get in here
,
”
I yell.

He comes in and bows his head, “Yes,
M
aster
.”

“How many people did our army capture today?” I ask.

Gothin
counts
them off on his fingers.  “Ten, I believe.”

“I need you to bring me one now,” I snap.  The rush of draining a poor soul of their magic is intoxicating.  If I had a permanent body it wo
uld feel like a ten hour orgasm, but
I enjoy i
t much the same when I am in spirit form, o
nly it doesn’t last as long.

Gothin rushes out of t
he main headquarters
,
which is the
building
we are in now
.
I have established
it
in the middle of the forest.  He fetches me a prisoner and pushes her down to the ground at my feet. 

“You are a pretty
little thing
,
aren’t you
?
”
I say to her.  She has
to be about twenty years old.  Her body
looks ripe and beautiful and it’s
a shame I have to take that away from her.  I have noticed that the power I get from females is so much better than the males.
  The women have purer hearts which makes their power stronger.
The woman
cries and wails
.  I roll my eyes and blow out an angry breath.
  The women
I have trapped are all the same and all they do is cry and blubber the whole time.  I’ve heard the
p
rincess
is a stubborn one
,
so
hopefully
she’ll be more fun than these pathetic excuses for women. 

I take the talisman from around my neck and place it
on
the woman.  She screams the whole time while I sit back and watch.  It doesn’t take long for the talisman to take the power of the weak.  Once she is sprawled out on the ground, she disin
tegrates into a pile of ash.
  My talisman i
s the only thing on the ground so
I pick it up and place it around my neck.  I sit back and enjoy the feelings of the power coursing through my body.
  I will need the power of
T
he
F
our to compl
ete my transformation and I look forward to obtaining
it
.
 

Chapter 4

Calista

Elvena left a few minutes ago to give me my space before the ceremony.  I haven’t talked to Merrick since yesterday, so I
have no idea what to expect.
Xylia and Meliantha should be here any minute to walk with me to the Great Room where the ceremony and feast will be held.  After the festivities, there will be a meeting with the council and the different dignitaries from the other territories to discuss the Black Forest along with the missing fae and our plans on how to keep our people safe.

The leader
of the dwarves
, Durin, will not be here, as well as King Madoc and Qu
een Mab from the Winter Court.
Durin and King Madoc are having their own meeting to discuss the production of more magical relics. It has been said that the magic in the relics made by the
dwarves
have certain components that have the capability of destroying different types of evil.   Having an affinity for the earth has put me in tune with the way our land feels, and I can feel that the evil is growing stronger.

I walk through my spacious bedroom with its deep purple walls and matching bed set, but the place I’m headed toward has always been my sanctuary.  My library is where I like to relax because reading has always been my escape.  My library is connected to my room and it’s just mine to use. When I’m not training secretly with Merrick, I’m in my library or out in the gardens.  I love to engross myself in a book and imagine I am right there with the characters.  I take a seat by the window and pick up my favorite book from the table beside my seat.  I got
it
from the mortal realm, and I’m reading it for the fifth time.  The love story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is simply epic. 

I hear Xylia and my sister enter my bedroom.  Xylia and I have
been best friends since infancy and she’s also the wildest and craziest girl I know.
  Her mother and father have been part of the council f
or many years and are good friends of my parents. Xylia and I
travel to the mortal realm every now and again, mainly so I can get my books and
so
Xylia can get her ch
oice of hair dye.  She put
streaks of purple in her dark blonde hair to match
the
purple dress
she picked out for the ceremony tonight.
  She’s also part wood nymph,
super skinny and tall like me reaching about five feet
and
ten inches.
  She always says she is jealous of my c
urves and I always snap back and tell her to eat more.
The trees are her escape and she hates tha
t books are mine because the pages are made from
tre
e
s
.  She complains that I need a new hobby, but I can’t give up my books.  She’ll just have to get over it.
 

“Calista, where are you?
” Xylia calls from the bedroom. “
Oh yeah, let me guess, you’re in here.”  Xylia pokes her head in through the
library
door and sees me holding a book.
She gives me a grimace, but then quickly switches it to a smile.

“I thought you would be in here.
  Happy Birthday, Princess.  Why are you in here reading when you have your own story that’s about to be made? 
It’s a
totally romantic story that doesn’t involve cutting down preciou
s trees and involves half naked
,
hot warriors.”  She jumps up and down with excitement and rushes over to me.
“
Aren’t you excited about tonight? I wish I was a royal and had hot warriors fighting over me.  Who do you want to win?” 

Leave it to Xylia to think a bunch of men fighting over
a person
is hot.

I roll my eyes at her and say, “Oh X
ylia
, I don’t care who
wins because
I think
all
our warriors are honorable men.  I would be proud to have any one of them by my side.  It’s just the ceremony part that I’m a little nervous about.
” I look at her with a sly smile and ask, “
Do you think you’ll dance with Conall tonight?”

“Yeah, if Merrick doesn’t kill him first,” she jokes.  Conall is one of our warriors and will be fighting for the title as my
g
uardian
.  Xylia
has had feelings for him forever and I think he might have feelings for her as well.

Meliantha sighs loudly and rolls her eyes at Xylia while pushing her off to the side playfully.
It’s kind of hard to get a word in when Xylia is around.
 

“Sister, I think it’s exciting.  I can’t
wait to get my
g
uardian
next year.  The whole reading minds thing is going to be kind of awkward, but that’s one of the ways they can protect us.” She comes over to lean down and gives me a hug.  “Happy Birthday, Calista.” 

             
I hug her hard and turn to look back out the window.
This little alcove
I’m sitting in
is my favorite place to sit and
think.  I’ve pondered over the Guardian
C
eremony
for days sitting here.  The sharing of blood is the final step
in the ceremony where all we have to do is take our special dagger and run it across our palms.  Once my
g
uardian
and I have done this, we join hands and our blood will join together in our bodies and form the special bond.
The dagger that is used
in the ceremony is made by the
dwarves
, and each royal has a dagger specially made for them and their
g
uardian
.
Durin, the leader
of the dwarves
, has made my dagger
personally
and I feel honored that he has decided to do
it
.

My
g
uardian
will
always
carry the dagger with him after the ce
remony is complete. 
The dagger is magical in itself because it absorbs both mine and my
g
uardian’s
blood during the ritual and with that combination it makes the dagger a very powerful weapon.

After completing the ceremony, we also get the ability to hear each other’s thoughts.  There’s nothing sexual about the ceremony, but the intimacy of being in each other’s head is going to be different.  The ritual is very sacred and we have followed this trad
ition for hundreds of years.  I’m nervous about my
g
uardian
being able to hear my thoughts because some things I think about can be very embarrassing.

             
I stand up and move away from my little alcove and run my hands down the dress I’m wearing. 
My floor length dress is strapless and emerald green in color.  Diamonds are encrusted around the bust
with
an intricate pattern of silvery thread along the back
and
down to the train.  My train is not too l
ong, stretching only five feet
.
I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.
I turn to look back at my sister and I notice how beautiful she
look
s
tonight.