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will be going. As you have so astutely realized, Titania and I are not friends. She s
always felt that I wasn t good enough to be queen. Too bad for her, I ve been queen for
sixty thousand years and I m not dead yet. She s not a big lover of humans but she ll
see, as I do, that Con is deeply in love with you. You two are fated and now you are no
longer human anyway, you re one of us. Blessings upon the both of you, Aine said
with a brief touch of her lips to Em s cheek and shimmered away.
Hearing laughter coming from the direction of the house, Em walked toward it. She
came around the back of the house and saw the full expanse of the lake down a grassy
embankment. It smelled so clean and fresh. She felt the joy and the love and it reminded
her of her own family get-togethers.
A small boy with reddish-brown hair toddled toward her.  Hi, lady! he called out
gaily.
 Hi, mister, she called back with a smile. Con was standing nearby and turned
when he heard her voice. The smile he gave her made her knees weak.
It wasn t until then that she noticed the small crowd of people who had all turned
to look at her. The meadow suddenly exploded in flowers.
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Lauren Dane
A woman with blonde ringlets came toward her as Con did.  You must be Em! I m
Magda, sister-in-law to Con. The little woman pulled her into an embrace.  You re
even more beautiful than I d imagined. I always wanted black hair, yours is the color of
a raven s wing.
 Nice to meet you, Magda, Em said with a smile. There was a glimmer of mischief
in Magda s eye and Em responded to it with a grin.
Con leaned down to kiss her lips and swing her around.  Em, a ghra, this is Finn,
my older brother.
The other man was nearly identical to Con. The small differences were that his hair
was a bit more red and rather than the whiskey gold of Con s eyes, Finn s were a
startling ice blue. He grinned and kissed her cheeks.  Welcome to our home, Em.
Welcome to our family and to our world. You ve made Con so happy we can t help but
love you already.
Em gave him a smile and before she could respond the small crowd parted and she
was face-to-face with a regal golden blonde-haired woman who had to be their mother.
 Mother, this is Em. Em, this is my mother, Titania, Con said, giving his mother a
look over Em s shoulder that she couldn t see.
Em could feel the other woman quite clearly. She thought Em was beneath her son
but she also saw that fate had meant for the two of them to be together. Em gave a
mental snort. It sucked when fate threw you the opposite of what you wanted.
 I m very pleased to meet you, Con has spoken of you with great love and respect,
Em said, holding out her hand.
The other woman gave her the once-over and gave a smile that didn t quite reach
her eyes in return.  I m pleased Con is happy, she said with a nod and moved back
away.
Con narrowed his eyes at his mother but Em touched his arm to stop him from
speaking. Her family had just savaged him the night before. It didn t matter, they were
together and everyone would simply have to get used to it. She saw that Jayce was
there and gave him a wave and her head spun as Con introduced her to the rest of the
group.
Finally, he turned to her,  Em, last chance before I snap you up forever. If you
haven t changed your mind, shall we speak the Joining?
 Joining?
 It s like a marriage. He hesitated a moment, looking for the right words.  Well, a
bit more complicated than that. It s like a ritual, we speak the world and our souls
weave together, he said, golden eyes twinkling.
 I m game if you are, she said with a grin and he led her to the center of the group.
Of course she couldn t wait to hear it, to learn a new spell and a new kind of magic.
 Finn will serve as finné, the witness, he said and his brother stepped forward and
had them clasp hands and placed his over theirs.
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A Touch of Fae
 May the blessing of light be on you light without and light within. May the
blessed sunlight shine on you and warm your heart  til it glows like a great peat fire.
Con smiled at his brother and then down at her.  Tá mo chroí istigh ionat go deo.
And she understood. She didn t quite know why but the Gaelic was as
understandable in her brain as English and French were. The spell was there, her part to
speak came to her as if she d known it all her life. She d really have to marvel at that
later.  My heart is within you forever as well, fear cheile, she repeated back.
 You do me a great honor to call me husband, bean cheile, he said in his silky voice.
She reached up to kiss his chin.  I like you calling me wife.
Finn grinned at them both.  Joined in light and in love for eternity and a day.
And it was as if he d pulled her to him and into his heart and mind. She felt him
like he was a part of her own heart. She looked up into his eyes and saw her face
reflected there and understood that the spell had worked and that more than just a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]