Authors: L.P. Dover
“Bring it, dickhead.”
Ryder takes his shirt off as well and his body is magnificent. He wastes no time in charging after Merrick. They land punches here and there and all I can see are blurry outlines
because they are
moving so fast. I am glad they aren’t using weapons. I didn’t even get to explain anything to either one of them. Men are so stubborn and pig
headed
.
I guess it will be up to me to end the fight. I gather my energy to throw fire balls at them and once I have them in my sight I let them fly. Both Merrick and Ryder fall back with the blast. I didn’t put much heat on them, but I did send them with force. They both get right back up and start at each other again. I ha
ve
time to see that Merrick has two black eyes and Ryder has a gash on his forehead that’s bleeding down his face.
I can’t take any more of this. They are going to stop and liste
n to what I have to say or I swear I won’t talk to either one of them ever again. I don’t have time for this shit.
I reach down to touch the ground and draw upon the magic of the earth. I
c
an
feel the roots travelling in the soil. I close my eyes to concentrate and direct the roots of the nearby trees to where I want them to go. I envision them wrapping around both Ryder’s and Merrick’s legs and pulling them to the ground. A few seconds later, the roots shoot up from the ground and wrap around both guys. They shout expletive words and land flat on their backs. Both of them are breathing hard and bleeding from different areas of their bodies. I g
ive them a second to cool off and
am
thankful t
hey
are too far away from each other to reach.
I walk slowly to stand in between them while they are still lying o
n the ground. They
loo
k up at me and
I look at each one of them back and forth. I shake my head and make the roots tighten on their legs. They will soon understand how pissed off I am.
I look at them in the face and scream,
“I can’t believe you two are doing this. You didn’t give me any time to explain to either of you what is going on.
” I look at Ryder and say,
“
Ryder, I have never given you a reason to doubt me. Yes, you may have caught us in an odd position, but it was totally innocent and nothing happened. Nothing was going to happen either. You obviously don’t have any trust in me and it breaks my heart. Last night meant more to me than anything in this world.”
Ryder opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off
.
“I don’t want to hear another word come out of your mouth. I am done talking to you right now.”
I am so
angry
. I can’t see clearly because the tears are welling up and I don’t want them fall, but they fall anyway. I thought I could hold them in
and not show weakness, but it
breaks my heart that the man I love doesn’t trust me, and the man that loves me I don’t love back.
This is one messed up love triangle.
I t
ake a second to catch my breath and then
I look over at Merrick and say, “Merrick, you are my best friend and I do love you, but not in that way. The changes that have happened are because of the
p
rophecy
. Apparently, Ryder and I
are going to bring about the changes in the kingdoms
.
O
r
at least we
were
.”
I narrow my eyes
at
Ryder and then turn back to Merrick and say softly, “
He’s my destiny.”
The hurt and longing in his face
is
too much, but Merrick turns his head away from me first. That’s what
d
oes
me in. There comes a breaking point and I think I just hit mine. I put my head in my hands and I
f
a
ll
to my knees. I cry for what feels like an eternity.
Ryder
sp
eaks
up
.
“Calista, don’t cry
,
”
he says.
I am so pissed at him right now and
the last thing I want is for him to console me.
Agitated, I yell,
“Shut the hell up and
don’t
say another word to me right now or I’m going to make these roots really latch on and take your legs off.”
Hurt and understanding passes across his face and
I think he realizes how childish he’s been because he actually nods and keeps his mouth shut
. I feel so lost and I have no
clue
what to do. Merrick is still not looking at me
.
I speak silently so only he can hear.
“I’m so sorry, Merrick. I wanted to love you, but I can’t. I’m
falling
in love with Ryder and I don’t think that will ever change.
Except at this moment I could beg to differ, but t
he fates of our land depend on
him and me
.”
“You just met him. How can you say you love him?
You’ve
known
me your whole life, and look what he’s done today.
He doesn’t even trust you
,
”
Merrick says to me in his head.
I
nod.
“That may be true, but I have to believe there was a good reason for his doubt. It couldn’t have looked good with you on top of me. You have to admit that.”
“I agree, but I don’t think I can sit around and watch you and him be together. I can’t do it, Calista.”
“What are you saying, Merrick?”
I ask nervously.
Ryder
clear
s
his throat to get our attention.
“You know,
the whole mind to mind mumbo shit is getting annoying.
It would be nice to know what you both are saying.” He
sound
s
very jealous and spiteful.
Merrick and I both turn to scowl at him.
Merrick then speaks aloud
.
“What I’m saying,
Calista
,
is that you have to choose. Prophecy or not, I can’t help the way I feel about you and I can’t sit around and watch you two have a happily ev
er after. I want you to
choose
which one of us you want in your life.”
Ryder
turns his head sharply to Merrick and
yel
ls, “How can you make her decide
that? Do you not realize how selfish that makes you?
” He turns his head and shakes it.
“You’re unbelievable. I can’t believe y
ou would actually make her choose between her best frien
d and the man she loves
.
What kind of best friend are you
?”
I am so sick of their bantering back and forth
so I let out a disgruntled sigh and loudly yell, “
E
nough
! I’m done dealing with you two asshats.
Do me a favor a
nd leave me alone
…
both
of you.
” I look at both of them and say, “
I’ll release the vines in a little bit. Maybe that way you two can wallow in your own stupidity for a while.”
I huff and
turn to walk away when they both yell for me to stop. I turn back around and raise my eyebrows
,
prompting them to continue speaking.
Nothing they say is going to make me release them.
Merrick pleads
, “You need to let me come with you. I am your
g
uardian
and I have sworn to protect you with my life. I
have
to be with you.”
I laugh
.
“Oh Merrick, I will be perfectly fine on my own. I can take care of myself and you should know that. Once you both get your heads out of your ass I might consider talking to you.” I look at them and the looks on both of their faces
are
a mixture of embarrassment,
anger and love. They both mean so much t
o me and I hate I have to do this.
I look at Merrick one last time, “Goodbye, Merrick.” Then I turn to the man I have fallen in love
with
and I can feel a hot tear grazing down my cheek
.
My
voice breaks
as I say, “Goodbye, Ryder. I hope you
enjoy your journey home to the Winter C
ourt.”
I turn my back on them and run down the path back to the house. All I hear as I continue on my way is the echoing of Ryder yelling my name and the breaking of my heart.
I can’t believe Merrick would ask me to choose between them. I refuse to do that so I’ll just let them
decide who stays and who goes. If they both love me like they say they do, they won’t make me choose
. They need to act like grown men and act rationally. The solution is simple
.
I
f
I am going to be with Ryder, Merri
ck has to learn to live with it, and Ryder needs to learn to live with the fact that Merrick is my
g
uardian
and will always be with me.
My solution would
also
be to tell them both to get the hell over it.
I can’t hear them yelling anymore so I take my time heading back to the house. Spending ti
me alone is definitely a treat because
I don’t
usually
have much time to myself these days. I see the lake just ahead and the wonderful willow tree
where my life had started to change.
I felt so alive yesterday and n
ow all I feel is loss and heartache. I walk toward the tree and hear a rustling sound off to the side. I look around and don’t see anything moving.
“Styx, is that you?” I call out. “Come here, boy, it’s just me.”
I look around, but he’s not there. I wonder what was making
the
noise. Merrick and Ryder couldn’t have gotten out of the vines yet because I haven’t released them.
I shrug my shoulders and chide myself for being paranoid.
It must have been the wind. As soon as that thought
crosses
my mind I double over in pain. I can feel the blood oozing down the back
of my neck and the world is spinning
,
making me
nause
ated
. The blood is
hot and sticky as I reach
to touch the back of my
skull. The pain is tremendous
,
so whoever or whatever hit me wanted to incapacitate me. I’m beginning to think it’s going to work. I can feel my
mind slipping from
consciousness.
I look around and there is no one out here that could have hit me. I sink to my knees while my vision
fades
. The last thing I hear before darkness takes over is the sound of a man laughing. This can’t be good. I recognize
the
evil laugh and he is definitely not a friend of mine.
The world fade
s
into blackness and then
…
Silence
.
Chapter 17
Ryder
“
Calista
!”
I yell her name over and over, but she still
r
u
n
s
away and
d
oesn’t
look back. I behaved like a jack ass and now she wants nothing to do with me. Seeing her cry tore at my heart. I would have loved to comfort her if I didn’t feel so betrayed.
“If you love
,
Calista
,
so much
.
W
hy
were you being such a dick to her?” Merrick asks
,
breaking my thoughts.
“As if you didn’t know, I heard about your little make out session this morning and it didn’t look like she was in a hurry to get up from you being all over her.” I hiss
angrily
.
He looks at me confused
.
“I wish that was the case, but you
have
no
idea what you’re talking about. Nothing happened between us this morning at all, and when we were on the ground she told me to get off of her, but I stayed there while we were talking.” He taps his head and raises his eyebrows to let me know it was a silent conversation.