Page 98 of Moody as a Minotaur

“Good. Now, I’m going to wrap my hands around yours.”

Teague’s hands were almost as warm as Levi’s.

“Parker, please confirm before Levi, me, and the Eternal Magic that you’re here of your own free will and that you wish to bind your life with Levi.”

“I am.” God, now my voice was shaky.

“Levi, please confirm before Parker, me, and the Eternal Magic that you’re here of your own free will and that you wish to bind your life with Parker.”

Levi grinned at me. “I am.”

“Let’s begin.”

As soon as Teague spoke, an intangible presence filled the air, pressing around us. Strange hieroglyphics in black and white appeared on his now glowing skin. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck quiveredunder the weight of… well, I didn’t know what. The magic, I guess.

“Look into one another’s eyes,” Teague intoned. The timbre of his voice had deepened as the magic grew.

Levi’s gaze locked on mine. And in that moment, it was like I could see our lives stretch out before us. The joys and the sorrows. The beautiful moments and the ugly ones. But mostly, I saw the enduring love. It was breathtaking. I clutched Levi’s hands tighter. I hadn’t known what to expect, but nothing would have prepared me for this.

Magic whirled around us. I recognized the striking blue of Levi’s magic from when we made love. It was always there, always with us. But then a soft white ribbon wove through it. Was that the Eternal Magic? Or Teague’s magic? As soon as I asked those questions, the answer came to me. That white was mine.

I didn’t have magic, so I didn’t know what it was. My soul maybe? The essence of who I was?

It wasn’t as vibrant and vivid as Levi’s blue, but it danced with his like it belonged. It was the crest on the top of an ocean wave. It was the cloud in the sky.

Teague spoke in a language I didn’t know.

As each foreign word fell from his tongue, the magical energies around us grew more frenetic. They crashed into one another, weaving together so tightly it was impossible to see where one stopped and the other began. The power in Teague’s words—incantation was the better word—became bolder. His voice rose in a crescendo.

Just as I felt we were reaching a pinnacle, the magicplunged into me. I gasped as invisible, questing fingers dug into my chest, wrapped around my heart and yanked on it. It was the only way I could describe the sensation.

As my eyes fluttered shut under the intense pressure, I saw Levi throw his head back. A grimace of pain contorted his face.

“Levi,” I shouted.

“I love you,” he said as his hands squeezed mine tight.

I tried to tug my hands away. If I stopped this now, he wouldn’t be hurt anymore, except whatever magic had been invoked wouldn’t release me.

“Please,” I choked out as the pain ripped at my chest. “I beg you. Don’t hurt him.”

“Give me his pain,” Levi shouted. “Leave him alone.”

And then the magic simply vanished. The absence of its power made my legs weak. My ears were ringing. Tears cascaded down my cheeks.

Teague collapsed beside us, his hands releasing ours as he fell.

The sun had set now, and without the magic whirling around us, the forest was eerily dark. Levi grabbed me by the shoulders, and I felt the weight of his gaze as he studied me. “Fuck, Parker. You okay? Are you injured?”

I wiggled my fingers and toes. They were okay. The painful ache in my chest was gone. In fact, I felt pretty good, all things considered. “I’m… okay.”

Levi pulled me into his arms and crushed me to his chest.

“What about you?” I asked. “You were in pain.”

“I’m okay,” Levi assured me.

“Are you sure?”