Page 53 of Vicious Little Vows
I tilted my head, perplexed. “Is it… decorating?”
“How charming,” Crispin said. “Creepy, but charming.”
“Are you sure about this?” Mistral asked.
It was a big decision to make so abruptly, but we couldn’t leave the Bogs until things were stabilized. “Yes, as long as I’ll still be able to leave.”
“You will. My blood is that of the land, and my connection will remain the stronger of the two.”
Gabriel gave my shoulder a squeeze, having no need for words. I knew how much what I was doing meant to him. He and Mistral met each other’s eyes over my head.
While no words were muttered, Mistral nodded at some unspoken exchange.
“I told you they were telepathic,” Crispin whispered conspiratorially behind us.
“Shut up,” Sebastian sighed.
I felt lightheaded with nerves, or maybe it was just the remnants of hundred year old carrots in my stomach. “Okay,” I said, my mind whirring. I was willing to do this, but maybe I should have at least spoken to the other guys first. Since we were all connected, what I did involved them too.
I looked back at Sebastian to find him already watching me. Our eyes met for a long moment, then he nodded.
With Ringo on his shoulder, Crispin had opened his shirt turned tote bag again and was looking curiously down at the vortex.
Yeah, I didn’t think he minded.
With his arm still wrapped around me, Mistral whispered in my ear, “I love you, Eva Nix.”
Mistraland I knelt before the altar, a gentle breeze carrying flowery scents to sweep back through our loose hair. Gabriel, Crispin, and Sebastian stood at our backs. Apparently we didn’t need an officiant. The Bogs would take care of that.
I startled as two silver chalices appeared on the altar, a distinct blue glow emanating from their rims. Apparently it wasn’t enough that I had almost drowned in the glow stick juice. Now I was going to have to drink it.
My eyes widened further as an ornate silver dagger appeared, the gems on the hilt glowing that same blue. Delicate vine patterns surrounded the gems.
Kneeling at my side, Mistral took my hand in his. “I’m sorry, but the ritual does require a bit of blood.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What good ritual doesn’t?”
Mistral smirked, then took up the dagger. A small dish appeared upon the altar.
Oh joy, now not only did the Bogs want me to drink glow stick juice, but it wanted my blood. Mistral examined the dagger, its sharp blade glinting in the setting sun. “Our hand-fasting ritual has little to do with human customs,” he explained, “and everything to do with our connection to the magic of the land.The land blesses us, and binds us.” He hesitated with the dagger over my palm. “You’re truly sure?”
I didn’t like getting my hand sliced, but as for the rest of it, I knew that I was. I looked at each of the guys again, then turned toward Mistral. “I’m sure.”
Mistral lifted my palm to his lips, his light kiss pulling forth my magic. Before I knew what happened, he’d moved his lips and sliced my palm, the cool tingling of my magic numbing the pain. I felt the land beneath our feet like a second heartbeat as my blood welled, Mistral slicing his opposite palm to match mine.
With his uninjured hand, Mistral held the dish below our bleeding palms. He lightly took my hand, sealing our wounds together, our blood indistinguishable as it all dripped down into the dish. I tensed for a moment at movement around us, then realized it was squirrels, birds, and all the little creatures of the forest moving in to watch us. They were all entirely silent. A captive audience.
Mistral placed the filled dish on the earth, and it disappeared. “With blood, we are bound.”
Gabriel walked around the altar, handing us each one of the chalices. I took mine with trembling fingers. I had the sense of the land holding its breath, waiting anxiously to see if I would actually go through with it.
“With the land’s blessing, we are bound.” Mistral lifted his chalice to his lips, waiting for me to do the same.
Together, we drank, the liquid sweet and warm, and not tasting like the magical pool at all. This was something different. This was pure power.
As it slid down my throat, I thought I could sense my blood seeping into the earth, creating small tendrils downward like roots. Just as the roots burrowed all the way down, magic erupted within me. A fresh weave surrounded the golden cordbetween us. At some point clouds had moved in to darken the sun, making the magical stars now twinkling around us all the brighter.
With our hands still gripped, Mistral leaned forward and kissed me, his mouth tasting like the sweet elixir from the chalice.
