25. Darcy

Chapter 25

Darcy

S omething was going on. Lyndon had been acting off for the last few days, and then he'd suddenly sprung a private coven meeting on me. That wouldn't have been weird on its own. It had happened before. But the fact that I couldn't even go to coven lands and hang out, that had been odd. Then Ambrose and Aria had shown up with specially made dress pants and shirt for me. They were being groomed to take over the coven. Why wouldn't they be at this super-secret coven meeting? I peppered them with questions, trying to get answers, but of course, the twins wouldn't budge.

Now, we were on the road because oh, by the way, we were driving. A car. I hadn't realized Ambrose even had a license. Actually, I still wasn't sure by the way he was driving.

"Issss there a reason we're driving? You portal from one room to the other. Why wouldn't you do it now?"

Ambrose shrugged causally. "I felt like driving. I never get to drive."

"Yeah, we can tell," Aria muttered but didn't offer to drive or portal us over there.

"Neither of you are going to sssshare what Lyndon is up to?"

"Nope."

Aria turned around and smiled softly at me. "It's a good thing. I promise."

I guessed that was as good as I was going to get right now.

It didn't take much longer to pull onto coven lands. It was always a strange sensation for me when I first entered them. The lingering magic was heavy in the air, and the first few times I'd come here, I'd been constantly thirsty until I'd adjusted to all the different magics layered on top of each other. Ambrose kept driving past the main house, and even past Lyndon's parents' home.

We drove farther than I had ever been on their lands. I rolled down the window, tasting the air. Lyndon. His magic was everywhere. I tasted some others' as well, ones that had that familiarity of family. But it was mainly Lyndon's. I breathed it in. I could live off the taste of his magic.

I was so lost in it that I didn't realize we'd stopped. Flowers were everywhere. White, yellow, and pink wildflowers cover the ground further than I could see. There didn't seem to be an area that wasn't covered in flowers. A lattice archway was built in the center. The same flowers twisted around and through the archway in a way that could only be done with magic.

Standing in the middle of the archway was Lyndon. He looked so stunning, I was glued to the spot, just taking him in. His dark gray dress pants fit perfectly, and he was wearing a navy-blue button-down with his sleeves rolled up. I was practically salivating by the time I walked up to him.

"What issss all thisss? It lookssss beautiful."

Lyndon's hands were shaking, and I could feel his nerves through the bond. I took them in mine.

I smiled softly at him. "It's okay, bright eyes. Whatever it is, we got it."

Lyndon huffed out a breath. "Darcy, when we first met, I was a fucking idiot. I wanted no part of you, of the goddess's plan, of my meddling family. I just wanted to live alone with my plants in peace. But in a short few months, you rocked the foundation of everything I knew. You made me realize I could trust and believe in other people. You reminded me that I was lovable and deserved love. I'm the luckiest man alive, Darcy. I love you."

What were words? I was glad Lyndon kept talking because I couldn't speak even if I wanted to.

He released one of my hands and reached behind him and into his back pocket. He pulled out a long velvet box. "Witches don't do traditional weddings and marriages. Instead, we still embrace our ancestors' traditions and have a handfasting ceremony."

Lyndon opened the box. Beautiful green silk ribbons sat inside. The design had tiny tendrils trailing up it, and I nearly started to cry when I realized it was tomato plants.

"These ribbons have been blessed by every member of the coven. After we complete the ceremony, they will become permanent, unbreakable cuffs that we will both wear. It will not only fully tie us together, but it will tie you to the coven and make you a full member." Lyndon cleared his throat. "That is, if, um, you'd be willing of handfasting with me."

I nearly laughed. This crazy man. He was out of his mind if he ever thought I'd say no. I threw my arms around him and kissed him senseless. By the time we broke apart, Lyndon's whole family was surrounding us.

"Is that a yes, sunshine?"

Now I did laugh. "Yesss, Lyndon, it'sss most definitely a yesssss."

Lyndon's mother appeared wearing a flowy white dress and yellow flowers in her hair. The rest of his family and coven followed. They were all wearing white with yellow flowers. We were the only ones who weren't.

Tears filled my eyes. Everyone was here?

"Don't start without us!"

I whirled around to see Rafe and Kennedy, also in white, land in the field, next to Aria and Ambrose.

"You guysss are here too?" Now I really was going to cry.

"You're out of your mind if you thought we'd miss this," Rafe told me solemnly, "You deserve this, Darcy."

I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. I turned back to Lyndon. "You did all thisssss? I—" I had no idea what else I was going to say as I choked on my words. I was just to overcome by emotion.

Lyndon held me tight and kissed the top of my head. "Yes, sunshine. Well, my mother and Aunt Belinda did most of the prep, but it was my idea."

"I—thank you."

"I love you, Darc."

"I-I love you, too."

Lyndon held out his hand to me and I walked under the archway with him. Belinda stepped into the archway and smiled fondly at us before addressing the coven.

"Performing handfasting's are one of my favorite jobs as your leader," she told them, "Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my people all join together to witness the love and bonding of our coven. This one, of course, is extra special to me, as it's my nephew, Lyndon."

The rest of Belinda's words washed over me as I only had space in my mind for Lyndon. I was aware of the crowd watching us, but they all faded to the background as I stared into my mate's purple eyes. We were already bonded. I thought that was as close as we could possibly get, but I was wrong. Lyndon was finding a way to tie us even more. Every day I fell more and more in love with this man.

Finally Belinda stopped talking, and Lyndon handed her the box with the ribbons.

"Just do what I do," Lyndon whispered.

I nodded, and grasped his wrists, after he took mine. Belinda started to speak the other language, which I learned was ancient Gaelic, and the other coven members followed suit. She placed one end of the ribbon on Lyndon's left arm and with a practiced hand, began making a pattern as she continued to chant. By the time she started the pattern around my arms, the ribbon was glowing, and a soft humming sound was coming from it.

When she was all done, Belinda stepped back. I watched in fascination as the ribbons began to transform. The light coming from it was warm, but comforting, making me feel safe and loved. Like Lyndon had said, the ribbon physically tying us together separated, and became two. The pattern undone as it solidified into one cuff on my left wrist.

Within minutes it was done, but everything had changed. I couldn't look away from the cuff. That was until Lyndon's hand circled my wrist and I saw his matching one. Meeting my eyes, he smiled.

"Do you feel it, sunshine? Do you feel our coven?"

I closed my eyes, letting everything else wash away. There it was. There was a connection to every single coven member now. I could feel their warm wishes and happiness. I could feel their strength. I was part of them now. I may never have the magic they all possessed, but I had never felt anything but welcomed by them. In a place where being different was bad and dangerous, these people never made me feel different or wrong. Even from the beginning they felt like family and now it was official.

"Kiss!" Someone, probably Ambrose, yelled from the back.

Lyndon's laugh was a little water, as was his eyes as he clutched the back of my neck and kissed me in front of his entire family. No, our family.

The goddess couldn't stop smiling as she waved the image on the lake away. Watching the two men as the ribbon wove its way around their wrists would be one of her proudest moments. Perhaps Mother was right, and she was a little too heavy handed with her meddling but look where it got them! The stubborn witch would have never taken the leap if she hadn't gotten involved. They may not have ever met! It was simply unacceptable.

The goddess would do it all over again if given the chance, even if it meant dealing with Mother's wrath again. Clearly Mother wasn't as angry as she claimed, otherwise she'd have undone all the hard work.

The goddess shook her head. Even Mother couldn't shake her good mood today. She practically skipped away from the lake. This worked so well, perhaps there was another reluctant mating she could give just a little push to? What could possibly go wrong?