Page 27 of Entwined

Epilogue

“No. Glynny. I need more of the lavender and white ones.”

Glynnis considered the basket of pink and yellow roses she had just retrieved from the garden with a frown. “Well, I think these are better.”

Bram turned from his mirror that now hung in the home he had built with Darby. They’d constructed it with some help in the tree next to where Callum had been born. He placed his hands on his hips.

“When you have your entwinement ceremony, you can have all the pink and yellow flowers you wish. This is my special day and I’ll have the ones I want!”

Bram’s ma entered the bedroom. “Come along, Glynnis. Why don’t you let your brother finish getting ready and go down to greet the guests instead?”

Glynnis stuck out her bottom lip. “That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“You could hand out the favors, the tiny pots of maple butter.”

She seemed to perk up at that suggestion. “All right. Then I can tell them how I helped make the butter.”

His ma gave Glynnis a hug. “That’s a splendid idea.”

After Glynnis bounded out of the room, his ma gazed at him with tears in her eyes. “Oh, my darling Bram. Don’t you look magnificent. Those colors are perfect for you.”

Bram was surprised at how shy he became under her stare. Their relationship would never be the same now that he was a life-giver with an alpha and a home of his own. Despite all of Darby’s fears that his parents would hate him, he couldn’t have been more wrong. While he’d been certain that everyone would adore Darby, it had been a joy to witness Darby’s relief when it became clear that they did.

“Thank you, Ma. You’ve been the best life-giver ever.”

She put her arm through the handle of the entwinement basket, the one that held the long garlands of glowing flowers that Darby would wrap around him as part of the ceremony.

“And you’re the best son.” She placed a kiss on his forehead. “Let’s get you entwined to your mate, shall we?”

Bram thought he might burst from excitement. As if in confirmation of that fact, puffs of sparkling dust flew all around him as he left his and Darby’s bedroom.

Darby shifted from foot to foot as he waited at the archway of branches, ferns and glowing flowers that a group of Bram’s cousins had crafted that morning. They’d set it up at the edge of the creek where Callum had been born and he was working very hard at not breaking down and crying in front of everyone.

Not in the wildest corner of his imagination could he have dreamed up where fate had taken him. Plain, ol’ Darby, boring nerd, dissatisfied with life Darby. Here he was about to get entwined to the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen, and he had a wonderful son as well. Not only that, but he lived in a beautiful, fantasy land that was better than any fictional world he’d ever immersed himself in.

That’s how I know it’s real. I never could’ve invented this on my own.

A tiny cry sounded from the front row of guests, and Darby glanced in the direction of one of the many grandparents of Callum. The stern-looking woman had been put in charge of watching over Callum during the ceremony. Darby still didn’t know which relative belonged to who, but he figured he’d have plenty of time to get them all figured out since Bram had explained that they’d be living together forever.

So strange.

But he’d also been assured that the joy and peace of existing in the enchanted plane made their endless lives a pleasure.

I can think of lots of pleasures that will give me joy.

Darby cleared his throat as he attempted to steer his dirty thoughts away from the sacred ceremony he was about to share with his mate. They’d have plenty of time for loveplay later on. The last thing he needed was to be sporting an obvious erection beneath the sheer robe he wore.

Not that anyone would probably care.

He’d been amazed at how free and open the fairies were with their sexuality.

Could be why there’s so many of them.

Everyone turned toward his and Bram’s home and Darby held in a gasp as Bram slowly descended to the ground. He folded his luminescent wings as soon as his feet touched the carpet of moss they’d encouraged to grow, then made his toward Darby, a happy grin splitting his face.

Bram’s ma handed him a large basket with more of the glowing flowers like the ones in the arch peeking over the top. Each step of the entwinement ceremony had been explained to him, but at the sight of his beloved, they all fell from his mind. Beads of sweat formed at his hair line, including his nape where his hair had grown quite long since his arrival on the other side of the veil.

When Bram reached him, he held out the basket for him to take. Darby stared at it, trying to recall why Bram was doing such a thing.