Page 92 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

I grin. “I do.”

Lillith slips the ring off my thumb and places it in front of the dressed candle. My phone buzzes and I take a moment to look at it.

“Roxie and the rest of them are on the way—ETA is ten minutes,” I say.

“We’ll only need five,” Wren says, holding her hand out toward me.

I almost recoil from it. I’m not holding some girl’s hand who isn’t my girlfriend. Lillith lets out a warm little giggle. “We all have to hold hands, Damien. It’s okay.”

Lillith takes my left hand and I take Wren’s hand with my right. Then Lillith and Wren complete a circle by joining their hands on the other side of the candle in front of us.

“Anything I need to do?” I ask.

“Just believe,” Lillith says, closing her eyes.

When I look at Wren, her eyes are closed too.

There’s no weird Latin chanting, or even a gust of phantom wind that displaces my hair. I just watch the unlit candle as I sit between the two witches. The wick suddenly sparks with flame, the little light of it dancing gently before it flickers and grows and—

Lillith’s fingers tighten around mine, and when I glance at her, her brow is shiny with sweat. Wren looks a lot more at ease, but there is a faint wrinkle between her well-shaped brows and a focused purse in her full lips.

The candle pops and blazes, bright and hot as a damn emergency flare. Instinctively, my hands tighten around the girls’ hands and I jolt back. In seconds I watch the candle wax melt into a puddle, devouring the paper and the thread and all the herbs. The wax coats the ring in a thick layer and then hardens right before my eyes.

When the smell of burning paper and herbs and wax finally fades, Wren extricates her hand from mine, still holding onto Lillith’s and brushing the thumbs of both hands over her pale knuckles. “You alright, Lilipad?” she asks.

I look at Lillith, finding her faintly pallid and sweaty. She’s breathing a lot harder than Wren, but she nods, opening her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she says.

“Babe, you didn’t need to put that much into it,” Wren says, concerned. “I told you I could swing most of it on my own.”

“I’m not going to be using that energy anyway,” Lillith says with a wan smile. “I’ll sleep better if I know where it went.”

Wren’s lips press with disapproval and she flits her eyes over to mine. There’s something in the glint there that makes me look away and pick up Lillith’s hand to kiss her knuckle. “Thanks, sweetheart,” I say. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Lillith nods and kisses my hand too. Every knuckle, sweet in a way that makes my heart ache. “Peel back the wax,” she says. “Keep that on and it should protect you.”

I look at the circular shape coated in candle wax and reach out for it, plucking it off of the table with just a bit of effort. When I peel back the wax from the metal within I’m... Frankly, I’m blown away.

When she’d brought out the ring, it was just a simple silver band. But inexplicably—perhaps magically, if you will—the ring has completely changed in appearance. The metal has blackened, and inlaid in a channel through the center is a swirl of violet and gold… something. As I shift it in the light, it twinkles. Not like glitter—like blinking stars. One even flies in an arc like a comet.

“Nice,” Wren says. “Good job, Lilipad.”

“Thanks,” Lillith says, her smile going toothy with pride. “I wanted to make sure it looked good.”

“Holy shit,” I say, slipping it onto my thumb. It’s perfect. Beveled in way that makes it unobstructive. It fits like a glove and looks sick as hell against the blackout I have on my right arm. “I love it, Lillith. Thank you.”

I pull her tighter against my side and kiss her temple, slow and lingering.

Then a honk sounds from outside.

“No,” she whimpers plaintively.

“I know,” I say, wrapping both arms around her and kissing her all over. “Come downstairs and say ‘hi’ to the guys. It’ll buy us some time, and I want them to see your shop.”

“Mnnn—but I hate pants,” she groans.

“Then don’t wear any,” I tell her. “Your sweater’s long enough to cover your ass.”

“Fine,” she says. “Am I a mess?”