Spell Cat by Tara Lain Page 0,72

Music started playing. Chopin. He loved Chopin. He looked at her. “Are you ready?”

“Oh yes. So ready.”

He slipped her arm through his and walked her out into the entry. The music swelled. Two young witches scampered through the arch into the living room, grinning at them like loons. He took the few steps to the archway, feeling the rustle of Lavender’s gown against his leg.

The music changed and blossomed. He loved that part of the human tradition. Faces turned toward them. He smiled at those he knew and many he didn’t. His gaze traveled forward. Jimmy’s friend Sammy and his family. Shah Mugal. Good. Glad he was there. His wife was very pretty. Jimmy’s parents and precocious little sister. There was Evangeline. His mother. Maybe there was a chance for them to be friends, and—

Oh my God. His heart. His gaze stopped traveling, and he stared.

He started walking down the long green path, but his feet didn’t feel the ground. Maybe there were three hundred people here. Maybe none. Because to him, there was only Blaine. The amazing, smart, free, beautiful physics professor stood under the canopy, to one side of the presiding witch. He wore a black tuxedo that somehow managed to look casual and comfortable on him. It was so inky, Killian almost didn’t see that the collar on the tux was made of fur with crossed blue eyes. Aloysius wouldn’t be left out.

Blaine’s mouth opened just a little and his eyes widened when he saw Killian. The black glasses outlined those eyes that glistened with tears. Did he like what he saw? Oh yes, it looked like he did.

Two steps toward a life of happiness. Two steps toward joy. Two steps toward companionship and the end of loneliness. A final step toward the moment of his dreams. He placed Lavender’s hand into Jimmy’s. “Take good care of her, young witch.”

The young witch in question wore his blazing smile as he wiped at tears streaming down his face. He leaned down to Lavender. “Oh my gods, I didn’t know anyone could be so beautiful.” He walked her under the canopy.

And then the moment came. Blaine stepped down from the small platform and took Killian’s hand. “I love you, Killian.”

No words were big enough. The feeling of Blaine’s hand in his consumed all other thought. He just nodded, and together they stepped under the canopy of stars.

The words flowed over him. Eternity, truth, love, light. A commitment beyond time and the grave—all were real because Blaine held his hand.

The presiding witch held up a flame. “Forever bound in the purity of love. United in the eternal circle.” The four of them held out the rings, and the presiding witch passed the cool flame through each opening. Jimmy placed the ring on Lavender’s finger, and she on his.

Killian’s hands shook. He looked down at the ring he had manifested for the occasion. He’d wanted to go out and buy it, but he and Blaine had been together every minute since the party, getting the license, filling out the forms. No alone time. So he and Aloysius had slipped out of bed last night, sat on the rug, and created the ring together. A circlet of diamonds, each casted perfectly, but only a shadow of the perfection of the hand that would wear them.

As the flame passed out of the circlet, he turned Blaine’s hand and slipped the ring onto the tip of his finger. Killian looked up. The green eyes met his. Tears glistened above a huge smile.

Blaine whispered, “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever.”

Killian slid the ring home. “I have been waiting forever.”

Blaine held the antique ring he’d bought. “I have a ring. Will you wear it, my love?”

Killian held out his hand. The ring went on. Click. The great puzzle of the universe fell into place.

“By the powers vested in me by the state of New York and the gods of our ancestors, I pronounce you forever wed. You may kiss.”

Blaine’s lips touched Killian’s as the music swelled in the background. The only thing louder was the purr coming from Blaine’s shoulder.

Killian snuggled closer to Blaine under the covers and held up his left hand in the soft light coming through the window. Beautiful.

“Admiring your finery, Dr. Barth-Genneau?”

“Yes. Always.” He looked up into that handsome face. “It was a perfect day.”

Blaine laughed. “It was pretty great, even if I never expected to be married in front of three hundred witches in a ceremony invoking the Powers of