Page 120 of Magical Midlife Conclave

He did so, only to feel her going higher still. And higher, the magic building, washing back and forth between them, feeding from his, feeding him hers; he felt the crystals in Ivy House sinking power down into the earth, and it flowed around them like a river.

All her connections—no, their connections now—snapped taut and then burst in light and emotion. Something like a thick cord replaced the thread between them and then ballooned out. She was no longer the nexus. Now they both were. She’d rule the sky; he’d rule the land.

Confusion, delight, and excitement filled the bonds, some from very far away. He felt Kingsley clearly. Drex, too. Gerard and Evan. He could easily read their whereabouts—everyone’s, all across the country.

They muted the power, Jess doing it slowly, showing him how.

“It’s not all darkness, this magic,” she murmured to Austin. “It’s a community. It’s a family. We’re all connected, and that’s miraculous.”

Her nose twitched and then her brows drew together. “Wow. You can smell way better than I can.” She grinned. “Or could, I guess.” She wiggled her body. She’d undoubtedly have more strength and speed. Maybe more stamina. There was no telling what else their combined magic would afford her.

As for him? He had no idea what enhancements her magic would give him, besides the ability to direct and monitor their people. That in itself was worth the price of admission.

His breathing slowed. The dark clouds cleared from the sky. The garhettes—apparently called in by Mable and Vera?—and Cyra froze in their assault on the skeletons. What was left of them crawled and scratched their way back into the ground. No dolls were in sight, and no gnomes. The spikes that had sprung up in the grass—he hadn’t realized he’d done that—shook before sinking back into holes that Mimi would not be happy about.

“That was hairy,” he said softly. “I don’t think that would’ve gone well if you hadn’t been here.”

To put it lightly. He shuddered to think what might’ve happened if she hadn’t been grounding him, coaching him through it.

She shook her head in lighthearted reproach. “One of these days you’re going to learn that we are best when we do things together.”

“And until I do, you’ll just keep forcing me to remember.”

“Obviously.”

He let his lips linger on hers, feeling this new buzz of shared magic. His mate’s eyes still shimmered a little, a hint that she was more than she seemed.

“Your eyes sparkle now,” he murmured against her lips. “As if you needed another way to be drop-dead gorgeous.”

She laughed. “So do yours. And…same.”

He hugged her close and turned to look out at the woods. Then the house. Peace and love settled within him, overlaying the darkness that still lurked, volatile and brimming with fire. Ruthless and vicious. Honestly, though, it wasn’t so different than what he’d already learned to control.

“I’m good,” he said with assurance. “I’m okay. I can feel the power buzzing, but I don’t want to”—he shook his head—“destroy the world, I don’t know. Parts of that magic are dark.”

“Darker than yours?”

He looked down at her. “Can’t you feel mine within you?”

A shiver of arousal wound through him as he thought of his mate sharing something so personal, so intimate, as his magic. As his beast.

Her smile was serene and full of love. “Yes. I don’t find it so dark. More…restless, is probably the word. Gargoyles are a battle species. Shifter magic seems more primal. It wants to hunt more than battle.”

He nodded. “That’s a good way to describe it, I guess. I think yours is just unfamiliar. You’re a little more used to dealing with new, strange magic.”

“Oh really, you think?” She laughed. “You might have a wobble when you really use it for the first time.”

He turned to cup her face, looking down into her eyes. “We’ll do it together.” He kissed her softly. “We’ll get our peaceful retirement and happily ever after, Jess. I know we will. We just need to kick a little ass first. Sharing magic will help us do that.”

Her eyes turned glassy as she looked up at him.

“Don’t bother yer arse,” Niamh said behind them somewhere. “Retirement is boring. Less so with a basket of rocks.” She sighed. “Ah sure, might as well go for a pint now. This magic business was anticlimactic.”

Austin snorted, turning toward the house. “Not us. We’re going to take the night off.”

“Muffle the links, please,” Jasper said. “Your stamina is a sore point among some of us.”

“Not me,” Ulric replied. “Too much effort to last that long. Rapid fire Os for the ladies, and then some shut-eye. Seems to work out just fine.”