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“As long asyou’resure you’d want to make that kind of commitment yourself,” Seth started, and a choked laugh escaped Rose’s lips.

“The five of you—you’ve always felt like home,” she said. “When we were kids, all the time I spent with you, it was the only time I ever got to be completely myself. Every day that we were apart, I missed that feeling. I missed you and who I could be with you. If I’d thought it was possible back then, I’d have been ready years ago. I just want to do what’s best for you.”

“I think what’s best for us is kicking some demon ass—or at least, watching the love of our lives do that with all the strength we can give you.” Kyler straightened up and touched Rose’s cheek. “We’re in this. One hundred percent.”

Seth nodded. “You always want people to be able to make their own choices—this is ours. You just have to accept it.”

A liquid gleam shone in Rose’s eyes. I released her hand so she could swipe at them. “Spark help me. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to find all of you, and then find you again. Of course. I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”

Chapter Fifteen

Rose

The garden behind Thalia’s estate house on the outskirts of Portland was a little wild—I couldn’t tell how much by accident or by design. Between the winding hedges, flowers that some people might have called weeds dappled the overgrown but soft grass. A blooming vine looped up and over the central ring of shrubs. The nearest tree bowed close, its branches gnarled but its leaves bright green. A sweet scent, both floral and mossy, carried in the warm early morning air.

I drank that air deep into my lungs. “It’s perfect,” I said to Thalia. “Are you sure…”

I didn’t know how to finish that question. I suspected it was in this garden that Thalia would have taken her former husband as consort—the consort who’d fed her magic to the demons. She’d told me she could help us carry out the soul-bond ceremony, that she’d studied the rituals before out of curiosity, but I hadn’t realized until right now just how painful participating might be for her.

“I can’t think of anything better that could happen in this space,” the older witch said now, turning to me with a gentle smile. “My home should have had more love in it. You and your men can bring some back to it. Make it a place where maybe I could see finding another love of my own, a true one, someday.”

When she put it that way, I couldn’t argue. “All right then.” I smoothed my hands over the silky fabric of my dress, a new one I’d had to buy for this purpose, since there hadn’t been time to drive home and raid my wardrobe for a suitable outfit. Instead of the pale gold that was traditional for the regular consorting ceremony, this one was pure white. Symbolic of the total openness, the dissolving of all boundaries, that a soul-bound consorting meant. “How do we start?”

“I’ll need to arrange the supplies,” Thalia said. “It should only take a few minutes. Why don’t you and your consorts get settled in here while you wait. Everything will go more smoothly the more comfortable you feel.”

Maybe it would have been better if we could have returned to the Hallowell estate, then. On the other hand, my family home came with a lot of mixed memories. The joyful times when I’d roamed the grounds with the guys as kids, sure. I’d never forget the ecstasy of our first consorting ceremony in those woods either.

But it was also the place where my father had manipulated my mother until her death, where he’d lied to me and tried to ensnare me. It was the place where I’d had to fend off not one but two false consorts-to-be.

No, being here, in this place brand new to all of us, seemed like the right decision. Which was a good thing, because we didn’t have time to change course now. We were doing this out of love, but not just for each other. It was for all the fellow human beings our strengthened bond might help me save as well.

Thalia went to grab the supplies she’d brought, and I left the circle of hedges to find the guys. They were ambling through the grounds, looking more at ease than they had for most of the last week. We’d gotten more traditional consorting clothes for them too: light shirts and loose trousers, all as white as my dress. It was a little strange seeing them dressed as if they were witching men, but the sight sent a tickle of affection through me too.

Gabriel came over to me first, the deep auburn of his hair even darker in the thin dawn light. He took my hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed my knuckles—easily, without a second’s hesitation. The affection in me swelled into an ache.

“No second thoughts?” I said—with a smile, but I meant the question too. Gabriel hadn’t been consorted to me the regular way for anywhere near as long as the other four guys. He felt like an ineffable part of our group, and he’d taken his usual place within our circle of friendship after just a few minutes of arriving back in town, but he couldn’t ever have imagined he’d be taking a step like this.

“Not one,” he said. “You know…” His gaze traveled across the other guys, who were starting to make their way over. “I think I’ve been missing the sense of having a family for a long time. After my mom left, after my dad fell apart… The last few months, it’s the first time I’ve felt like I was really part of something bigger, something good.” His fingers tightened around mine. “Knowing I’m going to have this forever, or at least as long as I live? I couldn’t imagine anything better.”

A lump rose in my throat. I touched his jaw to draw him into a kiss. He kissed me back tenderly, but with the hot slide of his hand down my side like a promise of things to come.

Thalia had assured me that the center of the garden was completely private. When she finished the ceremony and retreated to the house, we wouldn’t have to worry about any spectators as our new bond fully took hold.

“Hey!” Damon said. “Aiming to get a head start?” When I turned to mock-glower at him, he grinned. Ever since I’d accepted their proposal yesterday evening, he’d seemed looser, less wound-up. The thought struck me with a pang: Maybe up until now some part of him had still been a little worried that I might not keep him with me. Damon knew how to put on a tough front, but I’d seen how vulnerable he could be underneath.

“I suppose I’ll just have to kiss all of you to make it even,” I said, arching my eyebrows. “Poor me.”

He laughed and swooped in to make good on that suggestion. I gripped the collar of his shirt and kissed him back hard, as if he’d need more convincing of how much I meant it.

“All right, love birds,” Thalia said, sounding amused, as she returned. “We’re ready to begin.”

The six of us followed her back to the center of the garden. “You’d think a ceremony like this should be terribly complicated,” she said. “But especially with you all already bonded with each other, it’s really quite simple. Mostly it depends on the willingness and emotion inside you. If you can’t open yourself up and accept the connection, it won’t form.”

“Okay,” I said. My own worries had faded, but it was still good to know there was some sort of a safeguard in place. No one could enter this sort of consorting unless they were completely sure.

She arranged the guys in a ring with me in the center. The grass between us was carved with glyphs. Crisply herbal incense smoke drifted from the sticks she’d set burning around the border of hedges.

“You remember the form I had you practice last night?” she said. “We’ll take it one at a time, each of you passing Rose on to the next. When it’s time for the clasping of hands, you’ll need to pause for me to bring the dagger. Speak when I prompt you to. That’s all there is to it. I’ll begin.”

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