Authors: L.P. Dover
My heart
accelerate
s
with the thought of Ryder training me. I would love for him to show me some moves and I would love to show him some, but I know Merrick would be livid if I asked Ryder to join us.
“I would love for
you to, but Merrick trains me and
I don’t think he would appreciate you being there
. I
t would most likely end up you two fighting
each other
rather
than training
me
.”
A gleam sparkles in his eye and he gives me a wolfish grin.
“I might show up anyway. That sounds like a good time
to me
,” he says.
I smack his arm playfully and he twirl
s
me around the dance floor
. We both start laughing and
I know we are drawing attention to ourselves, but at this moment I don’t
care. He’s an amazing dancer and
I
wish I
could dance with him all night.
He dips me low and whispers in my ear, “Oh yeah, and I cook my own spaghetti. You wouldn’t have to travel to the mortal realm to search for the best,” he says and winks.
My mouth drops open.
I’m shocked that h
e actually cooks his own f
ood and best of all, he can cook spaghetti.
I would love to be able to cook, but the brownies that
prepare
our food refuse to let me help and they won’t
make
anything from the mortal realm. Brownies are very prideful and they consider it an insult if you try to help them.
“I am amazed, Prince Ryder, of your cooking abilities. I might have to take you up on your offer someday, but out of curiosity, what are your affinities?” I ask.
He laughs
.
“I thought you would never ask. I can control the weather and I can also,” he looks at me and smiles wagging his eyebrows
.
“
M
ake
myself
invisible.”
Wow. That’s a rare gift and
I can only imagine the kind of trouble he has gotten into
because of the
capability. I wo
nder how many naked women he’s
spied on. A feeli
ng of jealousy spikes in my gut, but I let it go quickly.
I do
not
want to know about him and other women.
“Those a
re some interesting affinities and
I bet you thoroughly enjoy being invisible. You better not try spying on me
,
” I
say playfully.
“I wouldn’t do that. Contrary to what you might think
I
do
have a little more respec
t for women than that
,” Ryder says.
I can tell he is being honest with
his
statement. Maybe he doesn’t spend
his time spying on naked women
,
so I decide to change the subject and ask about the men he travelled with.
“Who are the companions you travelled with? I know you mentioned a man named Warren. Is he the guy over there?” I
say and nod my head in the man’s
direction. I noticed him staring at us the whole time we’ve been on the dance floor.
Ryder turns to look and shakes his head, “Yes, that’s Warren. He’s been act
ing a little strange recently and h
e actually told me to stay away from you.”
It
got my attention
.
“Why would he say that? That makes no sense.”
I turn to look at Warren sitting off by himself. He does seem a little
odd
,
he’s all
by himself with a brooding expression on his face.
“That’s what I thought, but I’m going to have my advisor take a look at
him when we get back to the Winter Court
.
Heyflred
, my advisor, is very good at figuring things out.”
I nod my head in understanding because I consider Elvena to be the same way.
I look around to find Ryder’s other companion when I see him flirting with my sister.
I bet the guy is his brother. They look so much alike and Meliantha seems to really like him. He looks like he would be a heartbreaker though, and I wouldn’t want Meliantha’s heart to get crushed.
“Might I ask who your other companion is that is so graciously flirting with my sister?” I ask.
He inwardly sighs before loo
king in the direction I
am
point
ing
.
“That would be my brother, Kalen. He’s a good man, but an obnoxious flirt. I might need to steal him away before he put
s your sister’s virtue at risk,” he groans.
I
nod
my head in agreement.
“That may be a good idea.
Well,
I guess this is good night
, Prince Ryder.
I do have other men that I must dance with. You can’t keep me all to yourself, you know,” I tease.
“I wish I could k
eep you all to myself
,
P
rincess
,” he whispers.
I take in a sharp breath because I wasn’t expecting to hear him say
it
.
He continues, “We need to talk about the vision. I know you remember
everything about it, as do I, but
I don’t have much time here tomorrow. Is there any way you can meet me tonight? Pick the place and I’ll be there.”
I would love to spend more time with him. My heart is beating so loud
that
I know he can hear it. The whole room can probably hear my heart pounding. I know the perfect place we can meet.
I make sure my mind is shielded when I whisper,
“There is a big willow tree by the lake,
and we
can meet there. I always go there to think and read sometimes. My kelpies are in that lake and they sometime
s come ashore to sit with me, but they don’t
seem to like anyone else other me and my sister, Meliantha. Be careful when you get there and do not approach them. To get
there,
go around the south side of the house and continue on the path until you reach the lake. You’ll see the tree I’m talking about.
The real problem here is that
I don’t know how I’m going to get away from Merrick. He’ll be so close
to my room.
”
His eyes narrow at the mention of Merrick being so close to me.
“
If I can get away, c
an you meet me there at midnight?”
“Yes, I’ll be there, and I will wait for you.
” He pauses. “
I think Merrick enjoyed patronizing me earlier about staying close to your room
.
I believe he might be in love with you.”
Not again
.
I take a deep breath and let it out.
“I have thought about that a
nd many people have told me so, but h
e’s one of my dearest frie
nds and I care for him deeply,” I say warmly.
Ryder’s face
f
alls
.
“Do you love him?”
H
e
asks.
I look in his eyes so he can see the truth.
“I don’t love him in that way. He would be the perfect person to love. He’s strong, caring,
loyal
a
nd the sweetest person I know, but m
y feelings just don’t go beyond friendship.”
Ryder breathes a sigh of relief and bow
s.
“Well, on that note,
g
ood
evening
,
Princess Calista.
I had a wonderful
time and
I will meet you by the willow tree at midnight.”
I curtsy and reply, “Good evening to you, Prince Ryder, at least until midnight.”
He leaves to save my sister and I laugh at the thought. The rest of the evening is spent dancing with several of the warriors and council members and carrying on with Xylia and my sister. My mother and father do not
come back
to the party
,
which is
not uncommon. They miss their own parties all the time. I save my last dance for Aelfric, the leader of the
Elv
an
Kingdom. We talk about my upcoming vis
it to his
land
in a few days and all the wonderful things he and Rhoswen have planned for us to do.
The elves are wonderful peop
le and I enjoy my visits there so
I make it a point to visit any chance I get.
The night is winding down and the party is finally over.
I bid farewell to a
ll the guests
.
Merrick and I make our way to my
part of the palace since he’ll
now be living there with me, but in a separate room
. The
entire
time we’re walking I try to figure out a plan to get away from him without alerting him of my absence.
Chapter 10
Ryder
The vision with Calista was both amazing and confusing. I knew it was me in the vision, but the woman I was with appeared blurry. I have no doubt that it was Calista because I could feel that it was her. Our surroundings were different from anywhere I have ever been. I don’t think a place exists in the Land of the Fae like the place in the vision. The leaves had color and the air was cool
, not
hot like the summer
days
and not cold like the winter days, but somewhere in the middle. It felt nice, and I felt like I belonged there. I belonged with her and
with
the land
;
it was ours.
In the vision, we la
y
on the grass together
and I want to take her right then and there. Her body lying halfway
under
neath
mine
is
so tempting
.
All
I want to do was run my hands all over her and explore every inch of
her
golden skin. The vision went by quick
ly
, but as soon as I lean down to kiss her, the vision
stop
s
and I
am
sucked back to reality. Everyone was going crazy trying to figure out what happened. I
c
an
tell Calista
d
oesn’t
want to reveal what was in the vision so I
go
along with her and
s
ay
I
c
an’
t
remember as well.
The
k
ing
announces to Calista and Merrick that I will be staying as a guest in their house until tomorrow. Calista seemed shocked and happy about the news, but Merrick, on the other hand, was livid. He tried to get the
k
ing to reconsider where I was to be staying, but the
k
ing
waved him off and told him not to worry. My triumph only lasted for a second because the
k
ing
then offered Merrick the right to stay in Calista’s wing of the house. This infuriated me, but I know he is her
g
uardian
. He also has feelings for her, and with him being that close to her, especially at night, sends a fire blazing through my veins.
I am saved from bringing a snow storm down on Merrick’s ass when Xylia, the
p
rincess’
best friend, asks me to dance. Xylia is a great dancer and I enjoy her company. Calista
is
dancing with Merrick, but I
kn
ow
I
am
going to cut in at some point.
I ask Xylia questions about Calista so I can see what she’s like. She sounds amazing coming from Xylia and she
tells
me something I
am
not expecting. It seems that the
p
rincess
is a skilled fighter. I would love to see her in action. I look over at the Calista dancing with Merrick and I see that he has his hand resting extremely low on her back. Merrick smirks at me over Calista’s shoulder and I scowl back at him, secretly wishing he would fall on his sword. What a jackass. He’s obviously trying to claim his territory, but I can already tell Calista is a stubborn female and no man will be laying claim to her.