Ever Winter (20 page)

How did she solve this problem? They wouldn’t stop until she chose one of them to marry. It was the only way to make them all go away.

But, she didn’t want to be engaged, let alone, married. She cringed at the thought and didn’t notice one young male surfacing near her and treading water softly as he watched her. He pulled her out of her thoughts and she fidgeted as she groaned. Another suitor. Another interruption.

“The water is safe, if that’s what you’re wondering.” The man said, his eyes never left hers as he kept his distance, as though he was aware of her discomfort. This made her suspicious, the others had been keen to come closer to her as possible. Not this one, he waited patiently in the water, amused to just peer at her.

“I was told that.”

He chuckled, floating onto his back and staring up at the moonlit rocks above. “If you dive deep enough, it is said that merpeople live amongst the underwater channels of the earth. Do you believe that?” He straightened up, pushing the water with his muscular arms as he waited for her to answer.

“Mermaids you mean?”

“Mermaids, mermen, merfolk. Whatever you call them.” Flashing his pearly white teeth, his eyes twinkled in the dark, reflecting the moon off the surface of the water.

“They don’t exist.”

“You think so?”

Shade stared him down. What was his problem? He seemed intent on bugging her to death.
Get on with your ‘marry me’ spiel already
, she thought.

“Yes, I think so.”

“Well, you might be right.” He dove down into the inky, black water, leaving nothing but a ripple in his wake. Minutes passed, making Shade shift as she darted her eyes across the lake’s surface. No one else was on the shore or in the water anymore, making her feel utterly alone and vulnerable. Where had the man gone? Had he drowned?

Surely no one could hold their breath that long.

As the time ticked by, she feared the man had drowned himself. She stood up, pacing on the large boulders surrounding the edge of the water.

“Hey mister!” She called out to the abandoned expanse of lake. With that, the man surfaced grinning at her, this time swimming closer. “Don’t do that!”

“Do what?” He pulled himself onto a boulder and pushed back his long black hair. It was tied in a ponytail, but long strands of it had come loose, plastered to his skin.

“Stay down there for so long. How’d you do that?” Shade picked up her towel, ready to head back to her room. He obviously thought what he’d done was extremely hilarious. She huffed and turned.

“Hey wait. I didn’t mean to scare you. Just thought I’d go down and get you something. Here,” He held out a shiny red jewel, it gleamed in the moonlight, glowing in his palm. “There are thousands at the bottom of the lake, but it’s hundreds of feet down, so only I know about them.”

This had caught her attention  and she turned back, staring at the rough ruby held out before her. That was when she noticed his webbed feet and a webbing retracting from his fingers. What was he?

“What are you?” She gasped, afraid to move from her spot. He approached her, still smiling and holding out the jewel. Taking her hand, he slipped it into her fingers and curled them around the cold stone.

“My name is Nautilus and I’m
a Teleen, but I’m also part Mer, from the Merfolk lines. I can swim into the deep and never need a breath. I’m the only one here that can do that, princess.” His face was calm now, serious and still. His eyes were grey, shiny but speckled with amber hazel coloring. She could see it now with him so close. He was slender, but well-built and reminded her of Dylan, in a way. “.I’m also the current Captain of the Guard, chosen after Dylan’s departure. I hope to see more of you around, Shade. Keep the ruby, as my gift to the Queen of the Scren Seelie Court. It will keep you safe.”

With that, he
flashed her a brilliant smile before he dove back into the water, disappearing into its black inky depths. She was left stunned but knew he wouldn’t come back up until she was gone.

Well, that was different, she thought. She had to give him points in originality for approaching her in such a manner. She sighed, studying the blood red ruby in her grasp. Clutching it to her chest, she knew she had to choose someone now, or face more and more suitors.

The towel was soft against her skin as she wrapped it around her body. Making her way back to her room. She felt ready now to speak with Dylan. Somehow, Nautilus’ presence had pushed her to make the decision to talk about the suitors with him. Maybe he could help her with this problem. If not, she was pretty sure she could get Soap or even this Nautilus to end this ridiculous courting crap.

“You needed me, Shade?”

Dylan waited just outside her door as she peered at him through the opening. She nodded and opened it wider for him to slip in.

“Yes, thanks for coming.”

Dylan looked around the room, finding them alone. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, couldn’t be better.” She chuckled, but stifled it as she cleared her throat. “I had to ask you something.” She motioned him to sit on the edge of her bed with her. He complied, giving her a warm smile.

“Go for it, anything you need.”

She sighed, hoping she didn’t run out of courage before she could ask him what she wanted.

“Remember what you told me about getting courted by the Teleen men?”

He nodded, his face growing dark as he took in her face. “Yes.”

“You told me I had to choose someone, someone to be ‘engaged’ with, right?”

Again he nodded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Yes. It’s the only way to stop the onslaught of suitors. What’s the matter, Shade? Why do you look so nervous?”

“Do you love me?”

His eyes softened, his fingers reaching up to caress the softness of her cheeks. “Yes, Shade. I love you more than I can ever tell you.”

Shade let out a breath, relief flooding her insides. “You do?”

“Yes. More than anything.” Suddenly, he slipped down before her, grasping her fingers in his hands bringing them to his lips. They were warm and soft, sending her heart racing as they sent a pleasurable tingle upper her arms. “Which is why I must say right now, before I lose my nerve.” He took a deep breath, inching closer to her. She could feel his heat radiating across her skin.

“Would you choose me, Shade? Choose me to be your husband, to marry, to love so I can love you back and cherish you with every part of my being.”

Whoa.

She hadn’t expected that. She was going to ask him to be engaged with her to throw the other suitors off her. But, this…this was more than anything she’d dreamed of and her heart fluttered in her chest, elated at his words.

“You want me to choose you?” Her voice came out soft and almost whispered. Could he really have asked her to be his like that?

“Yes, I love you. Choose me. I want to make you happy, to make your days full of life and love. I want to be the one to be there for you, always, forever.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“I choose you.”

He stood up and pulled her closer to him, embracing her with every cell of his body. “You have no idea how happy you made me, just now.”

“As happy as I feel, I hope.” She traced his jawline with her fingers, cherishing the warmth of his skin.

“Even more! Here…” He held out a silver ring, with dark, blue sapphire embedded in the middle, surrounded by two topaz diamond cut gems. It was brilliant and she stared in awe at it. “It was my mother’s wedding ring. I want you to have it, to represent our promise.” He took her right hand and slipped the ring onto her first finger. She stared at it, a little confused at the placement on a different finger.

Dylan didn’t miss a beat. He pointed to her first finger and explained. “In Faerie, this is the most powerful of fingers, one on each hand. Only on this finger, do we place promises of love, for it is the first you look upon each day.” With that he pulled out another ring, matching the one she was wearing but with the topaz embedded in the silver instead of set as a jewel. “This was my father’s wedding ring. Rings of promise pass down to the oldest child of a Faerie couple. So I get to give my mother’s ring to you and my father’s ring is the one I wear.” He placed it in her palm.

She studied the larger ring, feeling its metallic magic vibrating on her skin. It felt good and matched the magic swirling from its mate on her finger. She took Dylan’s right hand and slipped it onto his first finger too.

“You have to say this after I do, to complete our promise.” He stated. “Our love, as witnessed by the Land of Faerie, now bonded with a promise forged of metal, jewels and blood. We are one.”

Shade nodded, shaking as the words formed on her lips. “Our love, as witnessed by the Land of Faerie, now bonded with a promise forged of metal, jewels and blood. We are one.” With that, Dylan pulled out his dagger, sheathed on his belt, and pricked the same finger. A droplet of blood oozed out as he did the same to her finger. Linking hands, their fingers touched to each other.

“It’
s done.”

Shade gasped, feeling the metal on her finger tighten slightly. Letting go of Dylan, she went to pull the ring off, but it would not budge.

“It will remain there, to show all of Faerie that we are promised. Only breaking the promise will release it.” Dylan watched her, his face turning stoic as he waited for her to speak.

“Oh, okay. I just wasn’t expecting that.” She sighed in relief, glancing down at her finger, now weaving the cut together and healing fast.

“Do you want to turn back?” He asked, his voice cracking at the question.

“Wh−
what? No! Of course not. I love you, this is the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.” She fell into his arms again and snuggled into his chest. They could finally be happy. Finally.

“Me too, Shade, me too.”

Chapter Twenty

WITHOUT CAMULUS TO
teleport them everywhere, there were few options to get places quickly in Faerie. This time, they were using horses. Jade wasn’t fond of being out in the open, especially with Anna and James in tow, but they had no other options. Shade brushed the horse she’d selected, a beautiful tan chocolate female who had the softest looking brown eyes she’d ever seen. She’d chosen Shade actually, in the Teleen stables, the horse had nudged her repeatedly and followed her around like a lost puppy. Her name was Lily. Easy and simple, and it to fit the gentle mare perfectly.