Page 93 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

The coven surged forward again.

“When did it start?” another magus shouted.

More hushing.

I answered this time. “When I joined the coven and my magic met Wild’s at the initiation. We didn’t know what it was for a while, only that there was a series of steps in the process. After each step, we gained a rune, and from there—with help—we managed to put together some of what was happening.”

Another uproar. That confession had surprised many. Maybe they’d assumed what they saw recently was the first encounter between us.

A battle-strengthened voice boomed. “Might I suggest that if you all want answers from our high esteemed and esteemed advisor, Astar, that you take a seat where you stand?”

I almost laughed at the promptness with which Winona’s suggestion was taken up.

The volume died down, and I glanced up at Wild, who smiled. His smile told me everything would be all right.

He scanned the coven. “Firstly, we’ll start with an apology to the coven. I understand that my behavior in the last few days has alarmed many of you. My excuse is that the mating ritual has a way of making an animal out of the male involved—this step in the ritual was the worst it’s ever been in that regard. I also would like to invite you to imagine what it’s like to be the first—to our knowledge—mated magus. Tempest and I needed to figure out what was going on, what might happen next, and where this would all end up. At every turn. And that only came after we realized this might be a mating ritual—” He paused and cocked a brow. “—and that we weren’t the victims of dark magic.”

There were a few chuckles at that, and some winces.

“What was happening did feel private,” he admitted. “I’m sorry you felt we were lying to you or hiding something important.”

“It is important,” Opal said. “Not just for our coven but all maguskind.”

Wild nodded. “I can understand that. I know that Tempest feels as I do in that it’s an odd feeling to be chosen for such a gift. We don’t wish to be treated in any special way because of it.”

Yet I wondered, as I surveyed the upturned faces, if that wouldn’t be the case. I fought back a grimace.

“In saying that,” Wild said, “it is important to maguskind, particularly if more of us are gifted a mate. With each step in the ritual, Tempest and I grow stronger and more connected.”

“We saw your bond in the eating chamber,” Ruby said in awe. “There are four strands to it. We saw the way you took each other’s magic into yourselves.”

“We saw your ass, too, Wild,” Sven said.

More chuckles.

Was this really going to work out okay? I didn’t want to believe it. And yet if it did, I could only kick myself for not doing it sooner, though I could also see that our light display had been important for the other magus to witness.

“It’s a bond unlike any other known to magus,” Wild answered her after rolling his eyes at Sven’s comment. “At first, I could only feel Tempest’s emotions, and then we gained a three-strand bond. The night the demons attacked, Tempest and I had just completed the latest step in the ritual. The Mother held me in a deep slumber, allowing Tempest to wake. She joined the three-hundred-year anniversary celebration and then fought the leader of the demon army. When the army attacked, the Mother woke me, and at that moment, Tempest was struck by her lightning and the fourth, gold strand in our bond appeared. That’s also when Tempest was given a fourth affinity.”

Understanding dawned on many faces.

“But you don’t possess four affinities?” Winona asked him.

Wild shook his head. “The mating, for us at least, has cast us in two clear roles. Tempest is the ruler, and I am her protector. This is why, when the ritual has gotten the better of me, you might have heard me refer to her as queen.”

I pulled a face, and he flashed a grin, adding, “Which she hates.”

“And is that why you attacked Frond? To protect her?” a young magus asked, perhaps not thinking through his question to the full extent.

I smiled. “Control was hard for Wild as the mating ritual pressed more urgently at him every day. We’d put things off for too long, and yes, with the way Frond has been acting lately, Wild’s mating instincts were telling him to protect me against the danger.”

Some looked taken aback by that.

Frond’s eyes had narrowed at my words, but he didn’t say anything though magus checked him for a reaction. Right now, the coven wasn’t with him. He’d wait.

“It may be hard to grasp the lack of control in a mating ritual with this being a first for our species. From what I can fathom after meeting with Vissimo and Luthers, however, it is much the same for them. We can look to their species to gauge how similar our mating ritual is.”

Wild kissed my temple. “We also plan to record the mating ritual in the near future so that any other magus going through this have some warning of what’s ahead.”

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