Born to be Witchy - A.J. Macey Page 0,18

my attention to the end of the aisle, I took in my guys, all looking amazing in their dark suits. Prime Minister Gennady stood between them as they flanked the runed circle. It was such an honor to have him doing this for us. We’d grown so close over the past several years, there was no one else I’d rather ask, and he’d accepted immediately.

When we reached the edge of the circle, Mr. Stripes patted my leg, and I crouched down, wrapping him in a hug and adjusting his adorable pink bow tie before he scurried off to join the other familiars, who stood with matching pink accessories in the front row of the crowd. I blew them a kiss before putting my focus on my future husbands.

Each one of them had a look of such pure love and adoration, it nearly brought me to my knees. Even my grumpy Kye and stoic Xan were happy and excited. My heart beat faster in my chest as reality settled in. They were about to be mine… forever.

Don’t cry, Aris, or you won’t be able to properly see this!

Gennady gestured for me to move into the middle of the pentagram he’d drawn, putting me in the center of the rune circle, then directed my guys to the five points of the star. Generally, the groom would stand at the northern point, where Torryn currently stood, but the five points worked in our favor.

The groom was also supposed to say five magical words to bind the couple together, following the bride’s introductory word, but since I was lucky enough to have five grooms, it was split among them. Five was the lucky number in Akasha, and they were the perfect group of five wonderful men.

Having rehearsed this ahead of time, I took a deep breath and let my eyes dance over each of them in turn before I faced Torryn at the top of the star, my spelled word falling from my lips.

“Aeternum.”

The center of the star glowed a soft white around my feet, making my lips curl up into a smile as I twisted around to meet Caspian’s eyes.

“Amare,” he said.

The two lines forming his point of the star glowed brighter as they melded with mine. I turned to Xan next, who stood between Torryn and Caspian, his soft smile making my chest warm as our eyes met.

“Vita,” he called out, his voice clear as it resonated through the air.

His point of the star joined ours, the glow continuing to grow.

Following the instructions we’d practiced, I turned around once again to face behind me where Drayce stood at the point next to Cas. His lazy smile brightened his features as he took a deep breath, eyes shining with happiness.

“Familia,” he sang out, his happiness practically palpable in the air, my entire being humming with the love they projected my way.

Next, I faced Kye, who stood there with his cocky half-grin and eyes boring into mine, their expression showing me without words how truly blissful he was at the moment.

“Felix,” he said.

The glow now at near blinding levels with the addition of his line. The magic was growing so strong, it wavered in the air around us like a mirage. Finally, I faced Torryn once more, his hand reaching up to wipe a stray tear that had one of my own falling free. My emotions were already high, thanks to the ceremony, and the witchling growing in my stomach was making it even more intense.

“Gratus,” he choked out, his voice cracking as another tear fell. The sheer amount of love in his voice made me feel like the luckiest witch in Akasha.

As Torryn’s word was uttered, the entire star glowed fiercely, and an audible gasp echoed from our guests as we were enveloped in light. Something within us snapped into place, and I could actually feel them all in my being. Their emotions mixed with mine, and I knew I would always be able to experience their feelings without having to physically see them. Our bond became significantly stronger than before.

The light faded slowly, and my legs wobbled as the magic dissipated, but my coven stepped forward as one unit to catch me, our love pulsing through our bond as we let the magic flow through us, filling empty spaces we hadn’t even realized we had.

When the magic had dulled to a soft hum, we finally broke apart, and Prime Minister Gennady turned to the crowd to announce our new coven as one