Forever Fae

Chapter 13 - Calista

I was a few minutes late, but I could see Ryder lying on the ground under the willow tree. My heart started to beat erratically again, and my palms began to sweat. Why am I so nervous? I paused to gain my composure. I'd never been this crazy over a guy before, and what was worse was that I didn't even know if the feelings were real. He looked over and saw me heading his way. Getting up from his place on the ground, he opened a path through the leaves so I could walk through.

Fiddling with my hands, I uttered, "Thank you, and I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up a bit." It was a rare occasion that I got nervous, but something in his eyes had me wary.

He gave a small laugh and shook his head.

"Yeah, I know how busy you were, Princess. In fact, I saw through your window how busy you were." Frozen in place, I stared at him wide-eyed and speechless.

So that was what was wrong with him. Silently, I groaned and hung my head. I ruined Merrick's heart and now I was going to ruin Ryder's. Why didn't I just stay in my room?

His tone had me a little defensive. If he had seen the truth of what happened between Merrick and I he wouldn't be acting like that.

"What exactly did you see?" I asked.

Tension rolled off of him in waves.

"I saw enough. I saw so much that I almost crashed through your window to kick your guardian's ass. If it weren't for Elvena, I might have caused some serious damage."

My mouth flew open. "Wait, Elvena was there? What did she say?" I asked incredulously.

He took a deep breath and averted his gaze, visibly trying to calm himself down. "She watched us tonight at the ceremony. Your father told her of our vision so she secretly watched us together tonight. She stopped me from coming into your room after I saw Merrick kissing you. I don't understand why I feel this strongly about him touching you, but I didn't like it."

He paused and met my eyes. "Elvena took my hand, did some weird mojo stuff, and watched the vision through my mind. She had some pretty interesting things to tell me after that."

"Do you think our visions were the same? What did you see?" I asked him, turning around to peer at the lake.

Ryder walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Yes, Calista, our visions were the same. It was of me and you."

I knew deep down his vision was of us, but things were different between us in the vision. Turning around, I rested up against his chest with his arms folded around me. It was nice to be able to feel his hard muscles and the tightness of his chest. I knew my skin probably burned him as he touched me, but he didn't seem affected by it, just like the coldness of his didn't bother me.

"What does the vision mean? If it's me and you in it, where are we and why does the land feel different?" I whispered against his chest.

My head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck and I couldn't stop from breathing him in deeply. He still smelled like a winter snow and pine, but there was something else. It wasn't exactly the scent of him in my vision, but very close. It was strange that his scent had changed. I peered up at him, still waiting for a response.

He sighed. "Elvena wouldn't give me any answers. She says that you and I would be able to figure it out together."

He pushed me back a little so he could look at my face and into my eyes.

"She also said that your heart belongs to me, and it always will. After I saw you with Merrick she told me I needed to trust you. I saw you with Merrick and I know you care about him, but I need to know what you feel for me. If what I saw in the vision is real, we have a deeper connection than I could have ever imagined," he murmured softly while rolling wisps of my hair through his fingers.