Snow Time for Love Page 5

  Nova and Reygaer stared at each other across the span, and they waited for their portion of the ritual.

  When it came, it was very simple.

  “Tiger shifter, Nova Spalding, do you give yourself, your magic and your life to your mate?”

  “I do.”

  The moment the words were out of her mouth, a wave of blue fire began at her feet and coursed to the centre of the structure, churning and boiling with urgency.

  “Fey of the ice fields, Reygaer Frostwind, Jack Wilson, Lord of Winter, so you give yourself, your magic and your life to your mate?”

  “I do.”

  He flared white, and his power burned to the centre where it met hers and tangled until it formed a tower.

  “By the spell of balance, I gather your power and divide it equally. You shall share, you shall grow and you shall become something that has not been seen in our lifetimes. Shifter and fey in complete balance.”

  The green energy shot out of the woman’s hands and struck the maelstrom in the centre of the structure.

  The white and blue were forced together, melded, and when the wave of energy came back at her, Nova hung onto the podium for dear life.

  Ice and fire climbed up her legs, snaked inside her and ran over her skin. So much energy rippled through her that she stared into the eyes of Reygaer as his muscles trembled with the shock of the power grafting to his body.

  His dark eyes glowed with shifter fire, and she could feel the fey fire bonding to her beast. He was her focus and she was his. They fought the pain, the energy and the force being pressed on them by the mage, but when it was over, another wave of energy lashed out.

  “Nova is bound to the fey; Reygaer is bound to the shifters. They do not lose a people; they gain one. Each has two houses to call upon, two people. It is our great pleasure to have this bonding in our presence with our eyes here to witness. Congratulations to you both and to the communities that welcome you today.”

  Nova unclenched her hands from the podium and walked to meet Reygaer halfway. His arms were trembling when he held her, but his kiss was the cool energy she wanted against her lips.

  Applause broke out. Nova focused on her new mate and the surging power in her blood.

  “That is definitely different.” She bit her lip and looked into his struggling gaze.

  “I would say so. I knew you had power, but this is amazing.” His skin flickered.

  Dira came toward them with her dragon wings out and looking surprisingly appropriate on her human form. “You two need to come with me.”

  Nova looked over her shoulder at the fey and shifter party that was going on. “Isn’t that our party?”

  Dira smiled. “No. That is the celebration because you didn’t explode when the energies combined. You two need to spend time together to let the magic settle.”

  Reygaer kept his arms around her. “A honeymoon?”

  “No. Just a few hours in a separate area where you can try out your new skills while they are still running hot.”

  Dira flared her wings out and a column of green light wrapped around them.

  When the light faded, Nova was still in her mate’s arms but snow lashed them on all sides.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “I think we are going to see what our new beasts and magic can do.”

  “I think we are. Turn off the snow.”

  Nova blinked. “Really?”

  He grinned. “Really. You know how to touch frost, how to embrace the cold? Reach into the snow and find the source and shut it off.”

  She looked around and tried to see the waves of power; nature had a different frequency of magic, but this was not natural. Green was saved for human magic, but this was the bright emerald of Dira’s power.

  She reached out and touched the emerald with the pale blue of her energy. The snow got stronger for a moment, but then, it trickled to light flakes.

  Nova looked at Reygaer. “I did it!”

  He laughed. “You did. My turn.”

  He stepped back and shifted.

  Nova covered her mouth when he looked surprised by his lashing tail and his striped body. “Equal and different.”

  He took a few halting steps, and he turned back to look at her with confusion.

  “Yes, you are a tiger. The tail is for balance. Do you want to race?”

  He huffed his agreement, and she tried to emulate his shift. Her clothing disappeared and remained in her mind as attached objects. She stretched her feline limbs and lashed her tail.

  With a few steps, she passed Reygaer, and then, she took off running across the mountaintop.

  She waited until he caught up with her before she began to jump across chasms. Under her watchful attention, he slowly got proficient enough to jump fifteen feet across an open span.

  Nova found a small cavern and shifted back to her human form with her gown on. It was backward, but it was on.

  Reygaer shifted back to his normal fey form, and there was an excitement in him. “That was amazing! I have never felt that kind of energy from my animal form before.”

  She pulled her arms in from her sleeves and turned her dress around. “You are going to notice yourself becoming moody.”

  “What?”

  “The polar bear is a shape. You move like a bear and have the strength of the bear, but you are still the only mind in the body. Shifters have the soul of their beast inside them. It makes it easier for us to move in a natural manner, but it bleeds out into our lives as bipeds.”

  He blinked. “I have the soul of a tiger inside me?”

  “In theory. It explains the random shifters that occur in nature. Our beast’s soul gives us the shape we can transform into. It shapes our magic. If we were truly blended, you now have a beast soul in you.” She shrugged.

  He paused. “So, can I do that tongue thing?”

  Nova blushed. “With some practice. Watch the claws though. They can pop out when you least expect it. They are hell on shoes.”

  She focused on her dress and changed the colour from blue to the powder blue of his skin, with snowflakes around the hem and cuffs.

  “It seems that my skills are being mastered.”

  Nova twirled as she widened the flare of the skirt. “I am working on it.”

  She finished with her spin, and he obligingly caught her.

  A green flare surrounded them and pulled them back to the gathering.

  Dira smiled. “So, two hours and you already have a grip on it. Well done.”

  “You were monitoring us?” Reygaer didn’t look outraged, merely curious.

  “Of course. We can’t send that much wild magic through a transport; you would blow a hole in the Meditation Centre again. Teal and Tony can only rebuild so many times before the novelty of a shirtless Tony on the roof wears off.”

  Nova glanced over at the lithe but heavily muscled guardian of the Crossroads. “I hope that sort of thing never wears off. I plan on being an admirer of that sort of physique well into my dotage.”

  Dira looked over and sighed. “Me too.”

  Reygaer smirked. “Good to know.”

  She blushed a little and shrugged. “Perhaps we should join the party.”

  He put his arm around her waist. “Perhaps we should.”

  Chapter Eight

  In Nova’s mind, the contract should have been signed before the balance was created, but she signed Nova Spalding with a flourish.

  Reygaer had more names to sign, so it took him longer.

  When they were done, they stepped onto the exit that would take them to the fey-charged areas. Teal and Tony stood to either side, and surprisingly, Teebie took up the third post.

  Teal smiled. “Teebie is the stabilizer. Her power protects ours from the fey energy. It was great seeing you again, Nova.”

  Nova kept herself plastered to Reygaer and waved. “You too, though I have to admit that I am delighted to not be leaving alone.”

  Teebie grinned. “I am so glad you agreed to come back
.”

  Nova looked up at Reygaer. “I am too.”

  Her new mate’s smug grin probably matched the one on her own face.

  The light flared and they were on their way.

  * * * *

  The mage looked a little nervous. “Did they make it?”

  Teebie handed her a glass of wine. “They did. They are bonded, the energy is absorbing and you did a good job on it, Lyra.”

  Lyra sighed in relief. “It is the first time I have done this kind of thing. The guild master normally engages in this sort of work.”

  “He is too powerful to have him popping in and out for every mating. This is going to start going faster. We needed someone who could live here and not cause ripples in the existing magic.”

  Lyra nodded. “I understand. I can only manage enough power for one spell at a time, but I can give it my entire focus.”

  Teebie lifted her glass. “Precisely, Curse Master Lyra Devril. It is the same reason we do not introduce you to the couple. Some magic is better off focused and precise.”

  “And the words Curse Master freak people out.” Lyra sipped at her wine.

  “But it is the most binding magic that there is. When they worked on how to bind a fey and shifter equally, a curse was the best option. No one needs to know what you are, just that it works.”

  Lyra looked around at the shifters and the few fey with enough nerve to try their hand at taming fur and fangs in exchange for a future. Being a mage seemed a simple thing next to the complicated arrangements that were being undertaken. Lyra was going to be here for a one-year shift, and if she got along well, the contract would be extended.

  Since the only person here who would speak with her was Teebie, Lyra stuck close to the djinn for the rest of the celebration. When it was over, she would return to meditate, rest and recover from casting a curse of everlasting equality. She hoped neither of them suffered an injury, because it would be painful for the other.

  Lyra blinked and horror overcame her. She dropped her wineglass as she realized a small, little, minute, tiny, problem with her curse.

  “Lyra, what is it?”

  She gripped Teebie’s arm and whispered the problem.

  The djinn stared at her for a moment before peals of laughter rang out, knocking her to the ground, and she hooted and wailed while she imagined the consequences of what Lyra had told her.

  Dira wandered over and spread her wings for a modicum of privacy. “What has caused my niece this much amusement?”

  Lyra leaned in and explained the problem. Teebie went off again, and to Lyra’s horror, Dira joined her.

  Mak watched the women howling, and he sidled up to Lyra. “Can I get in on the joke?”

  Lyra looked at him and explained. “When I bound them as equals, it included pain and pleasure. If one gets cut, the other feels it. If Nova gives birth...”

  Mak paled.

  Dira and Teebie were still limply giggling on the ground.

  “I will have to alter the ritual for the next couple.”

  Dira raised a hand, “Don’t. Leave it as is.”

  “But...”

  “Okay, change it from feel to sense. It will still be funny but probably more helpful for them.”

  Lyra nodded. “Yes, madam.”

  Mak helped his wife up and tugged Teebie up with her. “Do not worry about it, Lyra. This is a new process and everyone knows it. You have at least six matches to go until you have to get it right.”

  Dira leaned against her husband and smiled. “He is just sensitive, because he thinks I might be carrying, and the idea of dealing with me in labour is freaking him out.”

  Teebie blinked. “Really?”

  “Yes, right before the fey took the Crossroads hostage. It was too soon to tell then, so I shifted anyway, but now, I am fairly sure, so I am sticking to the wings when I need to fly.”

  Lyra smiled as Teebie hugged her aunt and was hugged tightly in return.

  She would get used to being the only human at the Crossroads. It would get better as time went on, and if she were lucky, she would get to see what a dragon’s baby looked like.

  * * * *

  Reygaer smiled, “How much do you know about the fey world, Nova?”

  “Only what makes it to the news.”

  He walked her into his home, and she stared at the sculpted stone. “Well, higher-station fey have servants of the under-fey. They can be a little difficult to get used to.”

  “What do you have as servants?”

  “Brownies, gnomes and some goblins.”

  She nodded. “I am assuming you will tell me which is which?”

  “As necessary. Hora is my housekeeper. She is a spider goblin. They are very loyal and rather cruel.”

  “Oh. Good.” Dealing with others had not really been in her plans.

  He grinned. “Don’t worry. She has been after me to start my own brood.”

  A woman stepped out with thin arms and another set of thin arms. It was the four eyes staring at Nova that unnerved her. “This is the new mistress?”

  Nova looked at the woman and said, “This is the only and last mistress.”

  Frost crept along the stone floor and up the walls, rushing toward Hora and coating her dress.

  “Hora, allow me to introduce my wife, Nova Frostwind, Lady of Winter.”

  Hora picked up her frostbitten skirts and she curtsied. “Mistress. Welcome to the house of Winter.”

  “Thank you, Hora. I am new to the world of the fey, and I will depend on you to tell me what Reygaer will not.”

  Hora inclined her head. “My honour and privilege.”

  Nova sighed in relief. She pulled back the frost and her inner cat chuffed proudly.

  “I will show Nova to our chambers, and we would like dinner in two hours. Is that possible, Hora?”

  The goblin flapped her apron. “Of course. Shoo. I can see that you two are eager to get under each other’s skin.”

  Nova grinned at the phrase, but Reygaer shivered as he led her away.

  “What is up with the shiver?”

  “That is how goblins mate; they dig in and hold on, under the skin.”

  Nova caught his shiver.

  His room was pleasantly sized, and a wardrobe stood against one wall. Feeling amused, Nova wandered to the wardrobe just in time to open it and see the lingerie from other women as well as several gowns transform into clothing more suited to a lady.

  “Nice one, Reygaer.”

  He shrugged. “Still honest, but not stupid.”

  She laughed and looked over at his bed. “What about the bed? How much mileage is on it?”

  A wave of cool magic swept through the room. The bedding turned from inky black to white and blue.

  “Brand new. I have never even slept on it.” He beamed.

  She walked over and pressed her hand on it. “Nice and springy. I wouldn’t mind taking it for a test drive.”

  He grinned. “A very human term, and I can definitely get behind it.”

  Their clothing disappeared in a wisp of her thoughts, and he lifted her in his arms and placed her on the bed with care and attention.

  It took him three tries, but eventually, he got the hang of the cat tongue and her cries echoed against the walls.

  Two days later, they met the court of the High Lord West. The fey were curious about her, and some eyed her with combinations of lust and hope. It was a very weird mix, and she stayed close to Reygaer.

  Four days after their arrival at his home, they visited her family.

  Nova watched her sisters ogle Reygaer, and she sat with her mother for a moment in the kitchen while her mate watched the incredible sight of ten children in the small living room.

  “Oh, Nova, he seems lovely, but are you sure?” Her mother scowled with a worried expression.

  “Sure about what? I am sure, my beast is sure, nothing else even registers with me.” She smiled.

  “But can you even have children with him? He’s fey, Nova.” />
  Little Harold was currently climbing Reygaer’s shoulder and chewing on his pointed ear. Her mate simply held the child and winced.

  “I had noticed, Mom. I am hoping we can have children together, because otherwise, I am the victim of an immaculate conception.”

  Reygaer’s head whipped around, and his dark eyes stared at her in shock. He was fifteen feet away and surrounded by shrieking children, but he had been listening to her.

  Her mother stared. “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. The six tests I have taken were all positive.” She kept her tone conversational, but she was looking at her mate.

  Tears pricked his eyes, and he swallowed, blinking rapidly and placing Harold down with the rest of his cousins and siblings.

  “Mom, I think Reygaer and I need to have a little talk. The wedding will need to be soon.”

  She kissed her mother’s cheek and went to her mate, taking him outside into the cold and walking him into the forest behind the large farmhouse. The greenhouses spread out as far as the eye could see, but right now, Nova only had an interest in the woods.

  When she paused, she pressed him against a tree. It was easy; he was still stunned.

  “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. Mom was working up to a tirade and I wanted to head her off.”

  “You are carrying my child.”

  She twisted her lips and finally nodded. “Yes. Probably. I will need to see a doctor for blood tests, but yes. I am pregnant.”

  He laughed and hugged her carefully. “I did not think it would happen that quickly.”

  “It just takes the right timing, and since I have been unable to find a mate, my cycle has been coming rather frequently. This is the reason that they make the female candidates wear the bracelets with the gems. Part of it is to make it easier for the fey; the other part is to hide us from the shifters. Even a lukewarm relationship would have been fine with a shifter who had been seeking without finding for long enough.”

  She laughed and stroked his face, smiling at the joy spreading through him.