Edric raised his staff to the sky.“We gather here, upon this soil, upon this dayTo witness and bless this union destinedby stars and earth and love unending.With hearts full and power steadfast,We call into the circle those who will stand with Devin Sullivan and Lauren McCready.”Hand in hand, she and Jamie stepped forward into the circle’s interior, as did Matt and Sophie. Her husband squeezed her hand one last time and took his place with Matt. They would complete Devin’s trio. She and Sophie would stand for Lauren.Devin blasted them all a hundred-watt grin from his place on the rock, and then turned to the south.Every head present did the same. And waited, in collective held breath, for the arrival of the bride.The circle quietly parted at the far end. She was here.-o0o-Devin grinned as his nephew came into sight, walking with surprising reverence, his feet six inches off the ground and shiny red cape fluttering in his wake. Lines of magic flared and swirled, a spell in the making.Aervyn moved through the parted crowd, a carpet of flower petals floating up on the summer winds. No one moved—they were well aware the magic had only begun.Two last steps and Aervyn slid to a stop in front of the wedding party. He looked up, face a blend of awe and adorable love. “She’s really beautiful, Uncle Devin.”Whatever glue had been holding Devin’s emotions together cracked. Aervyn turned, fingers flittering lightly in the air. The fingers weren’t for power—they were for care. For gentleness. With the magic of absolute five-year-old love, he pulled on the flows that would carry Lauren and her father into the circle.Devin felt the waters of his heart swirl.It should have been high comedy—his witch wife-to-be, wedding dress flowing, riding down the makeshift aisle on a broomstick.It was anything but.He was vaguely aware of Lauren’s father—proud and choked up and clutching his broomstick with one desperate hand. The other offered his daughter the steadfast support that had emanated from both of Lauren’s parents since the moment they’d arrived.He caught the edges of crowd amusement as Leo ducked under the broomsticks and threw an excited handful of purple rice at the bride, about twenty minutes too early.And he felt the pulsing energy of love and awe, dozens strong, shining at his back.But when Devin forever remembered this moment, all he would see were her eyes.His world shrunk to the ineffable link blazing to life between his soul and hers. The two who would become—in some tangible way he had never truly known existed—one.Her broomstick settled to the ground in front of him, light as fairy dust on spun glass. A gentle kiss on her father’s cheek, and she stepped onto the flat rock that would be the place of their union.He reached for her hands, needing to touch. And, overwhelmed for the first time in his life, pulled her close.-o0o-Her knees were trembling.Lauren leaned into the strong arms of the man waiting for her—and realized it wasn’t her knees at all.Wild and fearless Devin Sullivan was shaking like a leaf. His mind and heart stripped naked, he was offering all that he was. All that he would be. Deep love and searing need, and a promise to be water to her soul.Her heart sang with the joy and rightness of it. And knew it wasn’t complete. He offered everything—except for the one thing critical to the soul of the man who had made happy wreckage of her life.Wordless, she cupped his face in her hands, lifted his eyes up to hers, planted her feet deep into the rock beneath their feet, and dared his sense of adventure to come out to play.
