The ability to breathe was beyond him as Caerwyn watched her sort through a multitude of emotions. Everything he wanted hung on this moment.
Then her features smoothed out, the tension in her body disappeared and she took a fluid, graceful step back. He had to lock every muscle tight to keep from following her into the Circle.
She smiled, a bright, open, welcoming smile and reached out her hand.
He whooped with laughter and sprinted into the Circle, ignoring her hand and sweeping her up into a tight, unbreakable embrace.
Their lips collided, her hands tangled in his hair and he pulled her as close against his body as he could manage. His tongue dipped into her mouth and she teased and tempted him with pleasure. He chased the taste of her, drowning and enjoying every second of his immersion in her.
Around them, energy crackled and a faint hint of silver shimmered in the air.
When she pulled back, he scrabbled to keep her close, to hold on, moaning in protest.
"I have to complete the ritual. And then…"
"Then we can bond for life. I'm guessing that doesn't mean I get out of the wedding melee, though, huh?"
She laughed and dropped a quick kiss on his lips. "If it were up to me… But Nel is never going to let either of us get away with that."
Reluctantly, he released her and stepped back. Watched her set out her altar items and murmur words, felt the energy within the Circle become nearly unbearable and yet so very familiar.
When she was done, Lia turned to him. The silver shimmer came from inside her, not just resting on her skin. She slid back into his arms and he eased her to the ground. The glow, the electric tingle of unfamiliar magic, engulfed him too.
When lips met lips, skin met skin, the bond connecting them exploded open. Love and hope, want and need raced between and Caer knew, without a doubt, no matter what obstacles got in their way, the future was theirs.
Together, they'd forge a path with the hand of the Goddess guiding them.
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Book Two, BY DESTINY BOUND, will be available in November 2016
By Vengeance Guided (The Lost Shrines Book 1) Page 17