CHAPTER EIGHT

 

“WE HAVE SOME news that we’d like to share with everyone,” I said.

After we’d woken that morning, Clay had gone out in search of his Mom, Aiden, Mackenzie, and Louise, and had contacted Ethan to have him return to the court. Within an hour, they were all gathered in our little room. Louise hung at the back of the group, clearly still a little uncomfortable—not that I blamed her; I still wasn’t sure what to say to her half the time either. Ethan barged straight in and made himself at home on the small couch, while Clay and I sat on the bed. Everyone else milled around in the middle of the room.

“We’ve set a date for the wedding,” I continued. It wasn’t the biggest piece of information, but we deliberately made it the first thing we shared, so that even Mackenzie would have something of a surprise.

“April Eighteenth,” Clay added, twisting to give me a smoldering gaze.

“That is only a month away,” Fiona said. “There will be a lot to organize in order to complete a joining ceremony.”

“We just want something simple,” I said.

“Something meaningful,” Clay added.

“Gag!” Ethan joked from the corner. “I’m thrilled you two are loved up and happy, but did this announcement really require gathering all of us together? You couldn’t have come to see me later?”

“There is something else.” I grinned at Clay. Mackenzie’s eyes lit up, clearly understanding what we were about to reveal.

“Evie’s expecting,” Clay said, dragging me into his arms and kissing my cheek.

“Expecting what?” Ethan asked, his face expressionless.

“They are going to have a baby,” Mackenzie said.

Ethan’s jaw fell open. “But I thought—”

“Is that not impossible?” Aiden asked, clearly finishing Ethan’s thought.

I glanced around the room and caught Louise staring at Clay and me, her face set into a frown. Who knew what was going through her head. If it had been only my choice, I probably wouldn’t have invited her into the announcement, but I could hardly deny Clay the chance to reconnect with his twin.

I swallowed down my uncertainty at including her and answered Aiden’s question. “We thought so too, but Clay’s research indicated it was possible when the sunbird returns to slumber.”

“Still, it’s a shock to us too,” Clay said.

“This is truly wonderful,” Fiona said. She had one hand clutched against her chest, and her gaze was full of emotion. “Truly.” She moved forward and Clay and I both stood to embrace her. She came to me first and kissed my forehead. “A blessing on yourself and your child.”

After she let me go, she grabbed Clay’s hands and clasped them between her own. “This information will bring so much joy to the court.”

“We do have one concern,” I said, glancing between Clay and Fiona.

Mackenzie moved closer to the three of us. “What is it that concerns you?”

I rubbed my hand over my stomach. “How the enchantments might affect her?”

Aiden, Mackenzie, and Fiona all looked concerned as they glanced at each other. The concern that passed between them all was palpable.

“What is it?” I asked, even though I had a strong suspicion.

“Do you recall what I told you regarding changelings?” Aiden asked me.

Despite knowing the truth about their heritage, both Louise and Clay shuddered when he said the word.

I thought back to what he’d said, back when he’d found Clay and me in Sweden. Something about less magical children and them not being able to cope with the ethereal plane. The words came to me after a moment. “Existing across multiple planes simultaneously is too much for their bodies and minds to handle.” What did that mean for our daughter? Even without specifics, I knew the answer: nothing good. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Based on the information in the lore surrounding phoenixes and the sunbird, there is every reason to believe your child will be more like yourself than the fae.”

I understood the implications straight away. “So no magic.”

Aiden nodded. “Which means we cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the enchantments.”

“Or what effect they’ll have on her,” I finished, before casting Clay a worried look. Even though neither of us had said anything, I was certain we both had the same thought. Regardless of the safety the court provided, we couldn’t stay.

The mood in the room plummeted. I glanced around at the people who meant the most to Clay and me, and noticed Louise must have slipped out at some point while Aiden and I were discussing my child’s lack of magic. I wondered whether it was too much for her, and why. Had it brought up too many what-ifs about how her life might have been different if she had been raised among the fae? If Clay noticed her absence, he didn’t say anything.

One by one the rest of our guests left, each offering their congratulations and trying to alleviate our concerns.

When we were alone, I turned to Clay. “I think that answers our question, and we need to find somewhere else to live. As soon as possible.”

He nodded in agreement.

 

AS SOON as we’d made the decision to leave the court, preparations for both the wedding and our impending move swung into full force. To ensure we could do everything we needed, Clay and I decided to divide and conquer. He’d search for a house, while I arranged the wedding.

I was certain Clay’s plan was to ensure I stayed at the court, protected and cared for, rather than traipsing around the state trying to find a suitable place to live. Plus, he had a very specific idea of our needs. He wanted somewhere with a strategic advantage, preferably somewhere surrounded by a forest that could be readily defended, but he also didn’t want to be too far from his family.

Even though the fairy ring network made travel instantaneous, and Fiona had the power and authority to create a ring wherever we were, we knew we might not always be able to rely on it. Ethan rarely traveled that way anyway, especially since taking shared control of the operations side of the Bayview Hotel and the New York division of the Rain. He didn’t want a stock of enchanted food at the Rain headquarters just in case it fell into the hands of someone who wanted the old ways reinstated. Someone like that could wreak havoc if they ever found their way into the court.

One day, while Clay was off searching for our new house, Fiona approached me and offered help with the wedding planning. She had some pink fairies who were apparently itching to arrange our wedding—something about believing it would be good luck. The instant I agreed, they readily took over the planning.

Because of how quick and efficient they were, there was very little left for me to do. In fact, because of the exuberance and military-like planning of the two fae helping, all Clay and I had to do on the day of the wedding was show up.

Despite not being as busy as I’d thought I would be, the weeks passed quickly. Sooner than I expected, it was my wedding day. The start to the morning was slightly less than ideal after some tricks Ethan had played on Clay during his bachelor party—one in particular he’d roped me into, but it was soon forgotten as I was whisked away by Rose and Isa, the two pink fairies who’d arranged everything.

They set my hair into long, loose curls and put the smallest amount of natural-looking make-up on me. Once I was made-up, they helped me slip into an understated but stunning empire gown. The capped sleeves sat across my shoulders, the ultra-soft lace covered my chest. At the bottom of my bust-line, the dress fell in layers of chiffon that covered the small swell of my belly. The dress was whiter than white, almost seeming to shimmer and glow in the soft light of the court.

When I glanced in the mirror, I was awestruck. It was me, but more. The slight shimmer of the dress echoed across my skin, and my hair was the embodiment of flames.

They stood back and smiled at their handiwork. With the elegant dress, make-up, and hair, I was the temptress I’d been accused of being by Clay’s father. I felt wild, uninhibited, and so damned ready to be at Clay’s side, not just for the wedding, but for life.

Aiden met me at the entrance to the court. He’d agreed to walk me down the aisle to Clay. “Lynnie, you look positively divine. He is an extraordinarily lucky man.”

I shook my head. “I’m the lucky one.”

“Shall we?” He offered me his arm.

We walked out into the forecourt of the court. With my feet bare, and my senses heightened by the enchantments running through my body, I was energized. Alive in a way I’d never been before.

Because we were on the cusp of the ethereal plane and the human world, I caught the movement of the people in Central Park in my peripheral vision. They couldn’t see us though, so they meant nothing. I focused on the view in front of me instead, remaining fixed on the ethereal plane. Fixed on Clay, standing in front of an archway of magnolias and mistletoe at the end of the short grassy path that trailed between the small gathering of fae.

My smile stretched wide as I caught him staring at me, his jaw slack as his gaze followed the lines of my dress. He mouthed one word to me, “Wow.”

When Aiden and I reached the end of the aisle, he kissed my cheek and placed my hands in Clay’s. Fiona had explained the basics of the fae binding ceremony, so both Clay and I took our positions without further instructions.

Standing face-to-face and hand-in-hand, we grinned at each other.

“Hi,” I whispered. We’d spent the night together the night before, and we’d woken together that morning, and yet all that felt like a lifetime ago already.

“Hi.” He gripped my hands tighter. His face lit up. All I could focus on was the excitement buzzing over his features. It was clear he was as ready to be one as I was.

“Today, we are gathered to join two hearts as one. To bind two lives together for today and into the future,” Fiona said, starting the ceremony. The instant she spoke, a hush fell over everyone there. She glanced at me and then Clay in turn. “It starts with the ring. The symbol of eternity, unbreakable and unbroken. Gold is a precious metal, as you are precious to one another and to this court. The inscription within, as requested by Clay, is a section of the prophecy laid down by the queen Tatania.”

Aiden held out two rings, identical in color and design, except Clay’s was thicker than the one that would rest on my finger. The token was odd for fae custom, not needing things such a jewelry when they had their magic showing their link, but it was something Clay and I had insisted on because we wanted our marriage to be formal—or at least as formal as possible when neither of us really existed legally. When we’d said we wanted rings, Fiona had insisted on including them in the ceremony, so they’d be linked to the rest of the magic.

Fiona selected my ring first and passed it to Clay.

“Do you willingly enter this union?” she asked me as she guided Clay’s hand to mine.

A flutter ran through my stomach and my heart leaped as I nodded, and Clay slid the ring over my finger. “I do.”

She repeated the process with Clay, guiding my hand to his to slide the ring over his finger as he said, “I do.”

“Evelyn and Clay, as a ribbon has two ends, you are two parts. Today as you make your promises, you become one. One heart. One body. One soul.”

As we’d been instructed during the preparation for the event, we held each other’s left hands, palm to palm. Clay’s was underneath, face up, to signify his deference to me, as was the tradition in the matriarchal society of the court. My hand rested over his and in the quiet stillness that had taken over the park, it was almost magical. Like I could feel his heartbeat through his palm, could feel his need through the brush of his fingertips over my wrist, could feel the weight of our upcoming promises in the twin gold bands.

Fiona drew in a breath and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, her aura swirled around her fingertips. “Evelyn, will you forever share in Clay’s pain and always seek to alleviate it?”

“I will.”

She repeated the question to Clay. As she spoke, she drew the magic in her aura around our hands, looping from Clay’s wrist to mine in a sweeping figure eight, drawing our auras—which already danced as one—together, forming it into a thread that she wrapped around our wrists. Once Clay had agreed, she said, “So it is bound.”

“Evelyn, will you share in Clay’s happiness and choose to look for the brightness and the positive in life with him?”

“I will.”

Clay and I only broke eye contact to glimpse at the movement of her fingers and her magic as she continued.

“Evelyn, will you share in Clay’s dreams so that your spirits may grow in this union?”

“I will.”

With each new statement she had us agree to, she formed another bond between us. First using her magic, then our combined auras, and then with a gossamer silk ribbon, tying each one as she said we were bound.

“Evelyn, will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of this union?”

Each time I said, “I will,” it was with pure confidence and the knot of excitement in my stomach grew. Fiona added a different colored ribbon with each question, layering and twisting them into loose knots around our joined hands.

“Evelyn, will you honor Clay and always treat him as an equal in this union?”

“I will.”

Clay’s fingers pressed harder against my wrist, and he swallowed heavily. He looked like he was itching to release my hands and claim my lips.

“There is no stronger power in our world than that of entwining auras. There is little that can tear the link asunder. Evelyn and Clay, as your hands are bound together now, so too are your lives and spirits joined in a union of love and trust. The promises made today, the ties bound by the magic of our court, will strengthen that union to ensure none shall split it apart.”

She rested her hand on our joined hands, which was the signal for us to lift our free hands onto our bound hands. With Fiona’s hand on ours, the three auras glowed brighter and brighter. She whispered something under her breath, in a language I didn’t understand. As she did, my hands grew hotter in Clay’s and the ring on my finger glinted with blue and red.

“Your hands have been joined and your union blessed. May you always hold each other. May you retain the fortitude to hold firm during the times of difficulty and when the days seem darkest. May you retain a tender gentleness as you hold one another in love and happiness throughout the years. May your hands be healer, protector, shelter, and guidance for each other today and always.”

There were a few nods and a couple of whispers among the fae and it seemed like the ceremony was over, but there was one moment we’d missed.

Clay glanced between the Fiona and the fae who had started to whisper, and then back at me. A frown crossed his brow momentarily before he said, “Can I kiss her now?”

Fiona laughed. “Of course. It is not our tradition to dictate when you may first kiss your bride.”

She hadn’t even got halfway through her sentence before Clay’s free hand was against my face, guiding me closer for a kiss. When our lips met, a spark burned between us, and I issued a soft moan as it raced through my body, lighting all of my senses on fire.

“I should warn you, the magic used to bind an entwined couple is rather potent.” It was Aiden talking to us as we broke apart. Clay’s eyes were focused on my lips even as Aiden continued, “We have not had such a couple at our court in my time, but the books say the surge of magic from the entwined auras may last a number of weeks.”

I nodded to show I’d understood as Aiden rested his hands around Clay’s and mine. He had a thin ribbon in the hand on top of ours.

“If you could please draw your hands out of the bindings carefully,” he said.

Even though I was reluctant to change anything, or move at all because I didn’t want to break the spell that the day held, I withdrew my hand as Clay moved his. As we slid our hands out of the tangle of ribbons, Aiden gathered them together and bound the knot in shape with the thinner ribbon.

Isa, one of the fae involved in the planning, appeared at his side and gave a small nod.

“Your binding will be preserved and delivered to your room in a keepsake box.”

“Thank you,” I said. “For today. For everything.”

He smiled at me. “On that first day I discovered you half-dead and ready to give up, who could have guessed we would end up here.”

“Not me.” I laughed. It was then I realized Clay’s hand had found mine again even though the ribbons no longer bound us. I met his gaze. “Definitely not me, but I couldn’t be happier.”

“Nor could I be happier for you,” Aiden said.

As soon as Aiden stepped away, Clay whispered in my ear, “I can’t wait to see what that little booster from the binding ceremony feels like when we’re together later tonight.”

If only we didn’t have the feast the court was putting on to celebrate our wedding. The sooner that was over, the better. Then, I could take my husband to bed . . . over and over again.

 

A LITTLE over a week after our wedding, Clay found a house and put in an offer—I didn’t ask where the money had come from because I was sure I wouldn’t want to know.

As soon as the sale closed, we started the preparations to move from Central Park to Greig, New York. The house was still a small rustic shack, but it was almost three times the size of the little love nest we’d shared in Sweden and had enough spare rooms for guests to sleep over, even after converting one of the bedrooms to a nursery.

Two weeks before we were due to move in, a couple of weeks after our wedding, we took a short trip to Charlotte, where I told Dad our story. Before we left the cemetery, a quiet breeze circled around us. It left me instantly at ease. I believed it was Dad giving our union his blessing.

Almost as soon as we were settled into our new house, Clay started taking on more missions with Ethan, something that excited them both and would give him something to fill his time until the baby was born. Although I was a little apprehensive about him being away for long stretches of time, I knew he would never be in safer hands than with Ethan. And I was also certain he wouldn’t leave me alone.

It didn’t seem possible for life to get any better.