Descension (32 page)

“This is going to be amazing,” he whispered, finding her gaze. Then he kissed, muffling her breathless reply.

Rhosewen melted into his rhythm, lost in deep emeralds as the rest of the world blurred. Then the world as they knew it flipped upside down.

The moment they joined as one, they adhered together like magnets, electrifying energy tingling their fingers, toes and scalps. Then their lungs emptied as a mystical force lifted them from the bed, suspending them in mid-air. The electricity vibrating their extremities flowed inward—one spine-tingling force colliding with another—and heat exploded throughout their veins, surging from their flesh and brightening the atmosphere. Just as beads of sweat started forming, a wave of cool air rushed over them, followed by a flood of incredibly complete physical, mental and emotional euphoria.

Hearts pounding, they tightened their arms around each other as they drifted to the bed, amazed, stunned and changed. They still held each other’s eyes, but saw each other differently, with perfect clarity. What was once beautiful had reached a magical level, and a shimmery golden light surrounded their vibrating bodies, adding to the radiant glow of their delighted auras.

They’d bonded—every intangible piece of them connected together indefinitely.

“Wow,” Rhosewen exclaimed. “That… was… amazing.”

Aedan deeply inhaled, nearing a mindless frenzy. Then he slowly exhaled as he took Rhosewen’s luminous cheek in his palm, whispering against her smiling lips. “We’re not done, my love. Not even close.”

Bonded.
Aedan and Rhosewen couldn’t believe it. Bonding was so rare, it was quite amazing two bonded children had met and fallen in love. For Rhosewen and Aedan to bond as well was nothing short of a miracle. As far as they knew, it was a first.

“That, my beautiful Rose,” Aedan whispered, hugging her languid body close, “was the most amazing moment of my life. I’ve heard about it, but words can’t do it justice.”

“I know!” she agreed, grinning up at him. “It was incredible, absolutely incomparable to anything else I’ve ever experienced. I still can’t believe it. Maybe I’m dreaming.”

“Well do me a favor—don’t wake up.”

“If making love to you didn’t wake me up, nothing will.”

He laughed as he leaned in, drifting his lips across her forehead. “You know what this means, right? You’re stuck with me. Forever.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she assured.

“Good,” he approved, nuzzling her spirals, dreading the moment he’d have to let her go. “We need to start working on a house, my love. Our current living arrangement no longer works for me.”

“Oh no,” she gasped.

Aedan leaned back, finding flushed cheeks and wide eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked. For him, the world was right, so he had no idea what could be upsetting her.

“My parents!” she exclaimed. “They’re going to know. As soon as they see us tomorrow, they’re going to know what we did and when we did it.”

Aedan hadn’t considered that yet, but she was right. As soon as Morrigan and Caitrin saw them together, they’d notice their bonded lights. Therefore, they’d know their daughter had sex in their house while they were asleep down the hall. “I’m sorry, Rose. We couldn’t have known.”

“I know,” she breathed, trying to relax. “It’s okay. It’ll be all right. But that’s embarrassing.”

“And unnerving,” Aedan mumbled, his stomach squirming as he thought about the expression he would see on Caitrin’s face in the morning. How many ways could he mess up when it came to his future in-laws? It seemed he was on a fast track to finding out. Never had he put so much effort into staying in someone’s good graces, yet every time he turned around a kink was thrown into his plan. Not that he would ever regret bonding with his perfect Rose. He would disappoint the whole world to keep her staring at him like he was the only man on earth.

Rhosewen bathed in Aedan’s obvious admiration, her lips curving into a small grin. Then she snuggled into his chest. “If anyone will understand, it should be them, right? They know what it’s like.”

“Yeah,” Aedan laughed. “Maybe your dad will be so impressed with my restraint thus far, he’ll forget to hate me.”

Rhosewen giggled and nipped at his chest. “I hope so, because if he tosses you out, we’ll both be camping on the lawn.”

“You’d banish yourself for me?” he asked.

“In a heartbeat,” she confirmed, touching her lips to his pulsing pecs. Then they both stilled, saying nothing as they reveled in their newly discovered happiness, love and unity.

Aedan eventually worked his lips through her curls, softly whispering as he kissed her ear. “Will you be returning to your bedroom soon?”

She smiled and turned her head, suggestively raising her eyebrows. “Do you have a better idea?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” he said, taking her with him as he rolled onto his back. And with that, the two of them began making the most perfect love imaginable.

~ * * * ~

The following morning, in order to get the embarrassing ordeal over with, Aedan and Rhosewen entered the kitchen hand in hand, looking guilty as they paused in the doorway.

When Morrigan glanced up, her mouth fell open and an egg dropped to the floor. “Rhosewen,” she breathed, clutching her chest as she swept toward them.

She took Rhosewen’s cheeks, intently searching her eyes. Then she showered her face in kisses. “Oh, sweetie… I’m so… happy for you.” She moved to Aedan, kissing him as well. “For both… of you.”

The crack of eggshell compelled Caitrin to look up, and like his wife, his mouth fell open. He scanned the golden haze around his daughter then flipped his gaze to Aedan, clearing his throat as he rose from his chair.

“Congratulations,” he offered, holding his heart as he moved around the table. After shaking Aedan’s hand, he cradled Rhosewen’s face, searching it with misty eyes. “I’m happy for you, sweetheart. This is an amazing union.” He kissed her rosy cheeks then glanced at Aedan. “Not to mention unbelievable.”

“We were pretty stunned ourselves,” Aedan agreed. “Have you heard of another like it?”

“No. If this has happened before, it’s remained a well kept secret. This could be history in the making.”

“I don’t want to make history,” Aedan countered. “I just want to take care of Rose and keep our lives to ourselves. This isn’t the world’s business.”

“True,” Caitrin conceded, “but anyone who knows you will know what an anomaly this is.”

“Yes, but I’m not worried about them. I’d prefer it if word doesn’t spread beyond our friends and family.”

“A reasonable request,” Caitrin approved. “I’ll do my part to make it so, but it would seem the Heavens are already smiling on you—a gift mere mortals like me simply cannot match.”

Aedan smiled at Rhosewen. “Rose and I are very lucky—blessed by the Heavens and loved by our families.”

Caitrin watched the new bonded mates for a moment then cleared his throat. “Is there a wedding in the stars?”

“Yes,” Aedan answered. “I asked Rose to marry me last night, and she accepted. You and Morrigan’s blessing would mean the world to us.”

“Of course you have our blessing,” Caitrin approved, wrapping his arm around Morrigan’s shoulders. “We would be fools to think we could keep a bonded couple apart. We wouldn’t want to try.”

“Never,” Morrigan agreed, “lest the Goddess Willa smite us down.”

“The goddess of mercy?” Aedan laughed. “If she didn’t smite the lord of the underworld, she won’t be targeting anyone around here. And thank you for your blessing. We’ll keep it close to our hearts.”

“Thank you, daddy,” Rhosewen added, hovering from the ground to kiss his cheek.

Morrigan was beside herself with joy, bouncing in anticipation. “We have a lot to do if we’re going to plan a wedding. We’ll need a dress, flowers, a ring…”

“I have a ring,” Rhosewen interjected. “He gave it to me last night.”

She proudly flashed her ring, and Morrigan gasped as she took her wrist, demanding a closer look. “What is this stone?” she asked, twisting Rhosewen’s hand side to side. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Zultanite,” Rhosewen answered, grinning from ear to ear.

Her parents looked at her face, making sure they’d heard correctly.

“I know!” she exclaimed. “Isn’t he amazing?” She hovered from the ground and threw her arms around Aedan’s neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. “And he’s mine.”

~ * * * ~

With no reason to delay, the wedding was planned and scheduled within a month; set for the third weekend in July. The vows would be said on the coven’s lawn, and dozens of guests would fly in to witness.

Rhosewen had taken a leave of absence from work, partly because she hated the thought of being away from Aedan every day, and partly to help with wedding arrangements, but her aid proved unnecessary. With so many witches scrambling to offer help, the bride and groom merely made choices, and they agreed on everything, so decisions were made easily and immediately.

With their wedding being organized by others, Aedan and Rhosewen concentrated on building their house. Everything in, on and around it was touched by their hands and magic, reflecting their tastes and talent.

Three days before the wedding, they hung their porch swing, successfully completing their new home. As they stood in the rose garden, admiring their handiwork, Daleen and Serafin arrived, glancing around as they alighted in the middle of the lawn. When they spotted Aedan and Rhosewen, they beamed and flew forward, arms outstretched.

“I can’t believe it,” Daleen exclaimed, tightly hugging Aedan’s waist. “What are the odds?”

“On this,” Serafin said, giving Rhosewen a gentle hug, “there are no odds.” He stepped back, taking a moment to scan the happy couple. “The bonded lights look lovely and absolutely right on you guys. The Heavens smile on my son and his bride-to-be.”

“They bathe us in blessings,” Aedan agreed, taking Daleen and Rhosewen under his arms.

After a tour of the community, Aedan showed his parents to Caitrin and Morrigan’s guestroom. Then he suggested Daleen view the wedding preparations with Morrigan and Rhosewen while the wizards take a trip to Cannon Beach.

Thirty minutes later, the three men sat in an uncrowded corner of the café owned by Caitrin’s sister, Cinnia Giles.

Aedan had led Rhosewen to believe this was a pleasure trip, but it was anything but pleasurable. Ignoring his fresh coffee, he looked to his dad, his jaw and shoulders tense. “Where’s Medea?” he demanded.

For two weeks they’d been tracking Medea’s movements. She’d turned nomadic, leaving home the same day Aedan had. One week into her solo travels, Serafin received terrifying news.

Aedan vividly remembered his dad’s phone call.

“I just got word from south Texas,” Serafin had revealed. “Medea was there yesterday.”

At first Aedan was relieved to hear Medea was so far away. Three days earlier she’d been spotted twenty miles east of Portland. To hear she was in America’s heartland loosened the knot in his stomach.

But Serafin had more to say. “She’s searching for the Unforgivables, Aedan.”

Aedan’s heart had stopped. And forget the knot; his stomach had churned and flipped, its contents licking his swollen throat
.
“No,” he’d croaked.

The sadness in Serafin’s voice had revealed far more than his words. “I’m afraid so, son.”

The Unforgivables—a villainous coalition assembled in 1947 by a ruthless and determined wizard named Agro; the most feared group of magicians to haunt the continent since the 1600’s.

According to rumors, Agro had been a rebellious teenager defiant of morals and self-control, angered by the boundaries placed on his magic. He felt magicians should reign rather than hide, but the majority of covens, his own included, disagreed, so he left home and began searching out individuals who shared his wicked convictions. He sought out unconventionally strong magicians, those with unusual abilities. Then he did everything in his power to spread his gospel. Naturally charismatic and abnormally conniving, he was good at convincing people his cause was just. And if he truly desired the obedience of someone unwilling to fall for his lies, he would simply force them to join, using torture, blackmail or his ever increasing man power. He pretentiously called his clan the Dark Elite, urging them to abuse their magical power and rush to the aid of evildoers. He soon grew fond of welcoming bonded children into his ranks and made a point to search them out, adding as many to his trophy case as possible. His numbers grew until they were too big to safely evade their enemies, so he split his troops, choosing bonded children to lead the others. They stayed hidden, coming out to wreak havoc and spark rumors of magic among the hexless. Then they’d vanish, not to be seen again until the innocents least expected them. Their unspeakable and murderous acts had earned them the title
Unforgivables
, and just the name struck fear into peoples’ hearts. Magical families did what they could to protect themselves, which wasn’t much. Their only defense was to avoid giving the Unforgivables a reason to come around. Bonded families in particular heeded this advice.