with some power. She said it would dissipate after a few years. I wasn’t expecting it to jump out now.”
Kris looked at the silvery tracing on her hand and smiled. “Well, I was hoping for an old fashioned-type of wedding. This definitely qualifies.”
Tobias nodded. “I suppose so, though no one has worn this kind of mark for centuries.”
Ezzy blinked, “It was a very old shifter.”
“Then that explains it, though not exactly the nature of the gift.” Tobias straightened.
Kris cleared her throat, and Ezzy remembered the final part of the ceremony.
“And so I pronounce Krisia and Tobias formally bound to one another and to the power of the world beneath our feet. May they live long and share their joy and power with all around them.”
A cheer rang out from the magic users as power flared between Tobias and Krisia until the light filled the room.
Ezzy stepped back and joined Buzz in the gathered crowd. He took her hand, and they watched while Kris and Tobias leaned in for their first kiss.
Ezzy could feel the attraction between her friend and the man who held her as if she was a piece of fine porcelain. She leaned against Buzz and listened to the steady thump of his heart. As long as they lived, if she could hear that thudding metronome in her ear, she would know that her world was all right.
Once the kiss of joining was over, Kris smiled up at her new mate with a slow smile that bloomed out of her heart and spread across every inch of her body.
Ezmerelda had seen that smile once before, the day that they made the silence pact and agreed that nothing that happened in their other lives would come between them. Kris’s young face had had that same smile.
Buzz whispered, “You think that she will be happy?”
“I think that her smile will blind the universe. Yes, she will be happy, and she will drag me along for the ride.”
The new couple turned and went to sign the legal documents that would bind them in the human world, and when that was done, Kris turned, and smiled at Ezzy. “Your turn.”
Ezmerelda stood with her sister Doria behind her, facing Edgar and his sister Ystine. Edgar wore a bearskin wrap and nothing else. Ezmerelda wore a cloak made of owl feathers.
Krisia was wearing a long robe covered with embroidered symbols and had an air of power around her.
“When shifters come together, they usually form alliances on lines of commonality, but when two souls call to each other across the universe, there is no other course but to bind two dissimilar bodies into one union. Ezmerelda, you have flown through night and day, still and storm. Your wings are part of you, and you need them every moment of every day.
“Edgar, your fur and claws have taken you through forests, over rocks and mountains, in the trees and through the rivers. Your fur protects you and is a part of you in everything that you do. You cannot separate yourself from your bear, as Ezzy cannot separate from her owl.
“This is not something that can be done often, but if you will allow me to gift to you, I offer you equality.”
The crowd of magic users gasped, but Tobias merely smiled.
Ezzy looked at Buzz and grinned. “I will take it. I will remove my owl and accept a bear in its place.”
“I will remove my bear and take wings instead.”
Krisia smiled, “Neither of you need lose what you are. I am offering you more. Take my hands, and be bound to each other for eternity.”
Ezzy took Buzz’s left hand with her right and reached for Krisia’s right with her left. Buzz did the same, and power raced through the circuit around and around until every part of Ezzy was tingling and glowing with power that she wanted to focus.
Krisia released their hands.
Ezzy looked up into Buzz’s eyes, and she felt the energy of a shift take her over. Her skin tingled as fur sprouted, and in a moment, she was on all fours, a bear in an owl cloak.
Buzz disappeared, and the heap of bear cloak puddled on the floor with a lump under
Kris looked at the silvery tracing on her hand and smiled. “Well, I was hoping for an old fashioned-type of wedding. This definitely qualifies.”
Tobias nodded. “I suppose so, though no one has worn this kind of mark for centuries.”
Ezzy blinked, “It was a very old shifter.”
“Then that explains it, though not exactly the nature of the gift.” Tobias straightened.
Kris cleared her throat, and Ezzy remembered the final part of the ceremony.
“And so I pronounce Krisia and Tobias formally bound to one another and to the power of the world beneath our feet. May they live long and share their joy and power with all around them.”
A cheer rang out from the magic users as power flared between Tobias and Krisia until the light filled the room.
Ezzy stepped back and joined Buzz in the gathered crowd. He took her hand, and they watched while Kris and Tobias leaned in for their first kiss.
Ezzy could feel the attraction between her friend and the man who held her as if she was a piece of fine porcelain. She leaned against Buzz and listened to the steady thump of his heart. As long as they lived, if she could hear that thudding metronome in her ear, she would know that her world was all right.
Once the kiss of joining was over, Kris smiled up at her new mate with a slow smile that bloomed out of her heart and spread across every inch of her body.
Ezmerelda had seen that smile once before, the day that they made the silence pact and agreed that nothing that happened in their other lives would come between them. Kris’s young face had had that same smile.
Buzz whispered, “You think that she will be happy?”
“I think that her smile will blind the universe. Yes, she will be happy, and she will drag me along for the ride.”
The new couple turned and went to sign the legal documents that would bind them in the human world, and when that was done, Kris turned, and smiled at Ezzy. “Your turn.”
Ezmerelda stood with her sister Doria behind her, facing Edgar and his sister Ystine. Edgar wore a bearskin wrap and nothing else. Ezmerelda wore a cloak made of owl feathers.
Krisia was wearing a long robe covered with embroidered symbols and had an air of power around her.
“When shifters come together, they usually form alliances on lines of commonality, but when two souls call to each other across the universe, there is no other course but to bind two dissimilar bodies into one union. Ezmerelda, you have flown through night and day, still and storm. Your wings are part of you, and you need them every moment of every day.
“Edgar, your fur and claws have taken you through forests, over rocks and mountains, in the trees and through the rivers. Your fur protects you and is a part of you in everything that you do. You cannot separate yourself from your bear, as Ezzy cannot separate from her owl.
“This is not something that can be done often, but if you will allow me to gift to you, I offer you equality.”
The crowd of magic users gasped, but Tobias merely smiled.
Ezzy looked at Buzz and grinned. “I will take it. I will remove my owl and accept a bear in its place.”
“I will remove my bear and take wings instead.”
Krisia smiled, “Neither of you need lose what you are. I am offering you more. Take my hands, and be bound to each other for eternity.”
Ezzy took Buzz’s left hand with her right and reached for Krisia’s right with her left. Buzz did the same, and power raced through the circuit around and around until every part of Ezzy was tingling and glowing with power that she wanted to focus.
Krisia released their hands.
Ezzy looked up into Buzz’s eyes, and she felt the energy of a shift take her over. Her skin tingled as fur sprouted, and in a moment, she was on all fours, a bear in an owl cloak.
Buzz disappeared, and the heap of bear cloak puddled on the floor with a lump under
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