Chapter 25 Luciu #3
Strong arms grip me and Ezra from behind. The scent of burning things gives Vyslan away as I’m pulled into a bear hug.
“My two boys making nice. Now that’s what I like to see.” The demon grins at us with his glamor barely intact.
“Vys,” Ezra grumbles.
“Fine. Fine.” Vyslan sighs and sets us down, shoulders slumping in the definition of overexaggerated.
“Are you supposed to be here?” I ask him.
Vyslan shrugs. “Like I’m about to ask permission to be anywhere I want to be. Oh, Ezra? There are two thralls shambling around the garden, mate.”
Ezra groans and rubs his face. “Is that what that was?”
“They’re keeping rodents away. Harmless. I leashed them so they stay where they can’t hurt anything.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?”
Vyslan grins and shrugs again.
“What trouble are you three getting into?” We all turn to look at Gracie smiling at us, her expression at odds with her exasperated tone. “Okay, you two, be useful. I need to steal Luc for a bit.”
Vyslan salutes her like some sort of general. “Yes, ma’am.”
Gracie reaches out and grabs me by the shoulders, turning me in place, and pointing me back down the hallway. I take her direction and end up in the office. Alone with her.
My skin prickles in anticipation of something I’m not going to like. This morning was so well rehearsed, I know it’s something she’s been working on for a while. She always intended to march into the coven and declare herself done with them. And while I wasn’t nervous before, I am now.
“The elders looked like they were going to shit a brick when they saw you,” Gracie says as she moves past me to the sofa.
I cringe inwardly and follow her, sitting on the other side of the sofa.
How can I say this?
“Some of my customers require a binding to make sure I can’t talk about the work.” My body is tense as I speak, but the pinch of pain doesn’t come.
“Ah.” She nods slowly. “That makes a lot of sense. So if you tried you’d probably pass out from the pain or something?”
“Exactly.” I scoot forward, closing the distance a little, and clasp my hands to keep from reaching for her. “Gracie? I’m so sorry—”
She surprises me by reaching out and taking my hand. “Dude. It’s fine. I probably should have anticipated that. Based on their reactions, they’re regretting not paying more attention to the details.”
I sputter a laugh at the memory of the witch’s faces. “I’d say that’s accurate.”
Gracie grins at me. “I guess in the end I really am winning.”
Her words burst the balloon of stress clogging my throat. I blow out a breath and just look at her. Is she serious right now?
“Yikes, I just now realized how stressed you looked. That was why, huh?”
I nod.
“Okay, well. Let’s talk about that. Not the work, I mean. Just—us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah. Luc, I think we should get married.”
Did she just say…?
I blink at Gracie a few moments while she watches me.
She said we should get married. In witch culture, that has a few meanings. But there’s only one that would change things.
I think I just passed out.
We simply stare at each other while my mind goes in circles as reality sets in.
Did I hear her right? Am I imagining things?
She runs her fingers over my hand. “Still with me?”
“Yeah,” I croak. “Are…? Are you serious? I mean…”
“You helped me save Ezra. You have been part of this family since the moment you got here. And at this point, I’m inclined to believe Darius’ visions.
Plus, I kind of like you, and I think you like me, too.
It might not be love, but it could be. And I don’t want to go down that path with things so unbalanced.
Plus, it’s just not fair to you. So, what do you think? ”
“I, um… I’m fucking this up.”
She laughs and scoots closer until her knee presses against my thigh and our fingers are interlaced.
“I get that this isn’t a romantic declaration.
It’s not what either of us envisioned for our future, but I still want to do it right.
Unfortunately, if we want the ritual to be as powerful as possible, our best opportunity is tomorrow night. Is that okay?”
“Tomorrow?”
She winces. “Yeah. Besides the girls and staff, there’s only a small circle of people I’d invite. So this is really up to you.”
“I can tell Mom… Shit. Mom.”
We both cringe.
I still haven’t called her yet, and at this point, her reaction to all of this is going to be nuclear. For about five minutes, and then she’s going to be as obsessed with my wife as I am. But in a motherly way.
“Blame it on me?” Gracie suggests.
I lift our joined hands and kiss her knuckles. “That would never work. Mom knows where the blame lies. So, uh… You’re serious? About all of this? Tomorrow night? Really?”
“Yeah. If it works for you. Briella and Poppy are just waiting for the go-ahead to get started preparing things. We were thinking the park next door for the ceremony. Then we’d make use of the barn apartment for the, ah, private part.”
Gracie is really going to be my hot witch wife. And now she’s blushing talking about our wedding night. How do I say no to that?
I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “I think I’m the luckiest fucking guy on the planet.”