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All right,” I said. My voice sounded quiet despite the stillness around us. As if the towers absorbed some of the sound with their latent power. A quiver of anticipation passed through me, looking at my guys who were looking back at me in the darkness of theforest.
I was really going to do this. I was going to take not one consort but four. And I couldn’t have loved the men I was linking my heart and my magic tomore.
Assuming this worked. I’d spent the afternoon reading everything I could about the consort ceremonies, figuring out which elements seemed to be necessary and how they were typically combined. In any normal case, a witch who wasn’t involved in the consorting would have directed the ceremony, like Celestine had been meant to for mine with Derek. But I hadn’t seen anything that indicated a witch couldn’t call on those forcesherself.
A spark wanted to be kindled. It only needed all parties involved to show how committed they were, to form those magical bonds between us that would last the rest of our lives if we let them. To appeal to the greater Spark that ran through all of us and through lifeitself.
The eccentric amateur historian had mentioned structures in the wild where the ceremonies had once been held. Considering the etchings I’d found inside the one tower and the symbols of connection and loyalty marked on their outer walls, I had to guess this arch might be one of those. It did feel right standing here near all their history, with all this natural life aroundus.
“I think we should stand beneath the arch,” I said. “Or as close to that as we canget.”
Seth moved forward to push between two of the saplings that blocked the way. “The vegetation isn’t too dense in here.” Now that he’d decided, his eagerness to see our plan through radiated off ofhim.
The rest of us clambered into the space. The towers stood about ten feet apart, the stone arch maybe five feet wide, high above our heads. The ground beneath it held only grass of varying lengths, a few patches of flowering weeds, and a log where a larger tree had fallen beside the structure. The air there had a cooler edge, but it couldn’t penetrate the warmth building just beneath myskin.
I opened my bag and got to work arranging the rest of my supplies. A crystal bowl that I lay on the ground in the middle of the small clearing. Five sticks of charcoal, each the length of my hand. And the five ribbons to match the white one I’d tied to thegate.
Kyler fished in his pocket when he saw those. “I brought it back for you again,” he said with that brilliantsmile.
“Thank you.” I wrapped it around my wrist like I so often did, but left half of the length hanging. Then I handed out the sticks of charcoal and the ribbons, each color to the guy it fit. Yellow for Ky. Green for Seth. Red for Damon. Purple for Jin. The blue one I left in the bag. The ceremonies I’d read had used rope or twine, but they’d also emphasized that symbolism that harmonized with the consorts’ emotions was the key. I couldn’t think of any better material thanthis.
The guys had settled into a natural circle around me. I stood with the bowl at my feet and breathed in deeply. Taking in their scents, the quiet of the arch, and the energy of the forest aroundus.
My spark flickered dimly in my chest, partly lit by the kisses I’d gotten from Ky and Seth. I was going to need more magic than that to begin theceremony.
Damon had offered himself first, so I turned to him first. “I need a little help kick-starting my powers,” Isaid.
Desire lit his eyes. “You don’t have to ask twice, angel,” he said, and tugged me to him, shoving ribbon and charcoal into hispocket.
He kissed me hard and hungry, sliding his fingers into my hair and tilting my head for better access. As his tongue tangled with mine, my spark flared brighter. His other hand slipped up my side to caress my breast through the soft fabric of the dress. Lust spiked between my legs as he tweaked the nipple like he had that night in hisapartment.
Then another presence pressed against me from behind. Kyler, I registered, just before Damon claimed my mouth with an even deeper kiss. Ky lowered his lips to the crook of my jaw, kissing a trail down the side of my neck. His arm circled my waist. His fingers traced over my ribs and up to stroke the curve of my neglectedbreast.
The glow of my spark spread all through my chest. I gasped into Damon’s mouth. He took the opportunity to plunder it even more thoroughly. The combined heat of their bodies enveloped me. Ky’s thumb swiveled around my nipple, and my hips swayed between his and Damon’s. I’d thought getting it on with just one of my guys had been pretty spectacular. This? This wasparadise.
It would have been easy to get lost in the moment, in the rush of our rising desire. But my magic was smoldering behind my sternum now, ready for my use. I had to stay focused, to direct this ceremony as well as succumbing toit.
I eased my head away, and both Damon and Ky immediately drew back. Ky was breathing hard, Damon grinning fiercely. A thrum of arousal seemed to course all through our circle. I knew without having to look that all four of the guys were as hard as my panties were nowdamp.
“Fuck,” Jin said, soundingawed.
“Later,” I said, with a slightly hysterical giggle. I gathered my breath again, sucking the night air deep into my lungs. The flame inside me steadied, still burning hotly. “Follow my lead. It all starts with me. First I have to show that we mean to honor the light that brings life. When I come to you, offer your mouth toaccept.”
I slid my foot across the grass. The ground I stood on was a far cry from the smooth boards of the magicking rooms where I’d done almost all of my practice, but my muscles adjusted, finding the right tension, the right speed. I weaved my hands through the air, from my chest where my spark licked at my ribs up into the air and then down my body from belly to core. All the magic in me, for the world and for me. My blessing to the great Spark that brought life to usall.
“The Spark that guides us, bless this partnering,” Imurmured.
I’d never performed magic on this scale in front of the guys before, nothing but a few little tricks. I couldn’t risk checking their expressions in case they distracted me from my casting. But the atmosphere around me—a breath drawn in, the stirring of feet—held onlywonder.
In a fluid movement, I swooped my arms down and scooped up the bowl from the ground. I turned as I raised it toward the arch and the sky above it. My feet swiveled on the grass at the same time, whirling me in a slow circle. My spark seared to the edges of my body and tingled up myarms.
The gesture was only symbolic. I tipped the bowl as if dribbling the magic I’d sent into it over my mouth. Then I held it to Seth. He raised his head like I had, his lips parting. A tiny jolt of energy passed from him to me. His essence touching my spark directly. The connection starting toform.
I turned to Jin next. As I tilted the bowl, he tipped his face just as Seth had. Another electric tingle passed through my chest. Then Damon. Then Ky. My spark was starting to jitter. An eager quaking, as if something at its center were waiting to snapfree.
I set the bowl down and spun around it again, expelling magic through our ring. Sending it out to each of my guys, opening myself to them and calling them tome.
When I came to a stop, I was facing Jin. I stretched out my arm to offer my stick of charcoal. He copied my gesture, holding out the stick I’d given him. I touched the tip of mine to his and propelled a flash of magic throughme.
