Page 69 of Destiny of the Witch

‘Who’s the dark-winged one?’ Mum asked in a loud stage whisper.

‘Reynard,’ Oscar explained. ‘One of the Dark Seraph, bound to Emory as brethren. It caused a bit of a stir.’ At times, he was king of the understatement. The look that Jinx shot him suggested she agreed with my assessment.

‘No politics!’ Emory interjected. He cleared his throat. ‘Shirdal, Reynard – you want to get a room?’

Reluctantly the two men pulled apart but Shirdal didn’t take his eyes off Reynard as he replied, ‘We are able to control ourselves.’ He grinned as he added a muttered, ‘For now anyway, my Azhdar.’ He laced his fingers through Reynard’s then turned back to us.

That was when he noticed the ring on my finger. A genuine beam lit across his face. ‘Bah bah doostam!’ he clapped Bastion on his shoulder.‘Mobârake!’

Bastion bowed a little. ‘Thank you,rahbar.’

Shirdal let go of Reynard and pulled me into a hug. ‘Congratulations, Amber. I do not need to tell you of the worth of the man you are marrying.’

I smiled. ‘No, you do not.’

He grinned at me and lightly rapped his knuckles against my head. ‘Took you long enough,’ he teased.

‘In fairness, he didn’t make it easy.’

‘Nothing easy is worth working for.’ Shirdal grinned. ‘This calls for rum! Where is the rum?’ He started rummaging in our kitchen cupboards.

I held up my hand to our assembled friends and family. ‘We’re engaged,’ I announced happily, even though the announcement was now somewhat otiose. My mum let out a happy noise reminiscent of the shriek Jinx had given on my doorstop. Oscar hugged Bastion, whilst Mum hugged me, then Bastionand I swapped hug partners. I saw Mum murmur something to Bastion, making him pale slightly.

Oscar hugged me tightly. ‘Wonderful news,’ he murmured gruffly.

‘I expect you to follow suit,’ I whispered back. Oscar winked, making my heart swell. ‘There’s no time like the present,’ I prodded.

We both knew that more than so many others. For so long, Mum had been lost to us – present and alive, but not the woman we knew or needed. It was a miracle that she was back, a miracle I would never take for granted. There were still some conversations to be had, like discussing her choice to hide my familiar from me and get my mind cleared, but we had time now for those words.

I had no doubt that Mum’s application to the council would pass because she was a formidable witch, one I was looking forward to seeing in action.

‘This is your day,’ Oscar replied. ‘I wouldn’t steal your thunder for anything. But soon.’

I grinned. Bastion and I had said ‘soon’ and he’d proposed the next day. I wondered how long Oscar would be able tohold off.

Shirdal was mixing rum and Cokes whilst Reynard balanced little cocktail umbrellas on the glasses and handed them out. Emory and Jinx were animatedly telling a story which, judging by Benji’s guffaws, was hilarious. Frogmatch was under the table, surreptitiously making shoelace art out of Jinx’s boots. Charlize – my stepdaughter-to-be – was laughing with Mum about something.

Warm arms encircled me. ‘I love you, witch,’ Bastion whispered into the shell of my ear, making a delicious shudder run through me.

‘I love you too, griffin.’ I turned my head to kiss one of the hard biceps curled around me. ‘What did my mum say to you?’ I asked curiously.

‘She said that if I ever hurt you she would kill me and destroy any evidence that I ever lived.’

‘Nice.’

He grinned. ‘Don’t tell anyone, but she’s about the only person that’s ever scared me.’

I laughed. ‘Your secret’s safe with me.’ I turned to face him. ‘Thank you.’

‘For what?’

‘For everything. It’s perfect.’

He lowered his lips to my ear, ‘You can make it up tome later. I thought we could play “sexy librarian and overdue-book-returner”.’

I studied the man I loved, ‘In this scenario … you’re the sexy librarian, aren’t you?’

He smirked. ‘I’ve got some glasses especially.’

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