Page 238 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

A titter of laughter ran through the room, and even Alric looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face. “I’ve got your back,” Alric murmured. He then fed Nikki the vows line by line, but Gunter didn’t hear Alric’s voice. Only Nikki’s.

“I, Nikki Bos, vow to always love you with all my heart and my soul. I vow to devote my life to your happiness and the happiness of our children. I vow to lay down my life to keep you safe and protect you always. You are the joy from which our lives will grow and which gives my soul eternal life.”

Gunter’s heart stuttered in his chest, and he sucked in a breath. The magic in the air grew denser, and he could already feel the little ties looping between his heart and Nikki’s. There were only the final words of the spell to say.

With a little help from Cameron, Nikki smiled so widely fresh tears trickled down their cheeks, but their voice was loud and clear. “Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi.”

I claim you as my mate and bind your soul to mine.

Gunter was confident no more beautiful words had ever been spoken by his mate. “Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae,” he replied loud enough that all in the hall could hear.

I claim you as my mate and give my soul to you.

A flash of brilliant gold crossed Nikki’s gorgeous purple eyes, briefly changing them to gold coins that glowed with an inner light. Magical energy rushed like a torrent through Gunter’s right arm and through Nikki’s body to exit out his left, completing the circle and officially binding them together.

Gunter couldn’t wait a single second longer. He pulled Nikki forward and wrapped his arms around them before capturing their mouth in a blistering kiss. Both his emotions and Nikki’s rebounded between them, doubling and tripling until Gunter was sure he was drowning in pure love and joy. Nikki was truly and forever his at last.

Around them there was cheering and laughing and shouts of happiness, but it was just a dull roar in his ears.

Only when Alric finally patted him on the back did Gunter lift his head to look at his king’s smiling face.

“Come along, Gunter. There will be time for kissing later. We have a small celebration in the dining hall pulled together, and everyone wishes to congratulate you.”

All Gunter wanted to do was escape with his mate to their rooms and explore this new bond, but Alric was right. His mage deserved such a celebration, to be surrounded by their new family so that they knew how completely they were loved and accepted.

And then he planned to spend many hours showing Nikki how much he loved them.

Nikki had done a lot of crazy things in their life. But this one, well….

What was that American saying? This one took the cake? That was an understatement. This one might well take the whole bakery.

Sneaking into a Jaeggi town in order to take down the ward sounded easy on paper. Well, okay, no, that was a lie. It didn’t even sound easy on paper. But Nikki hadn’t been properly braced for the reality of it. That became very obvious the moment they came within sight of the town. Nikki looked it over, and despite the fact it hadn’t been occupied for long, it had the Jaeggi stamp all over it. All of their towns looked similar to each other. Small, somewhat remote, and off the beaten path. There were signs of recent moves everywhere in the stacked boxes on the curb, new signs up for businesses, and a sort of organized chaos reflected in the buildings. Nikki had seen this exact thing a hundred times, at least.

There were a few other advantages in play too. Even before Nikki slid into town, their clan and the Sodalicium mages were already at work outside. The massive glamour they put over this area would make sure no human cops would respond to the shit show that was about to go down. For this, they didn’t want interruptions or well-intended law enforcement. And a ward would lay over the glamour, keeping everyone within.

This time, there was no possibility of escape.

And that made Nikki’s soul sing with demented joy.

Streetlights provided illumination, as did open doors, but there were a few spots not lit up. Nikki entered the ward from the darker side of town, the area the least occupied. The buildings were more rundown here, and they didn’t seem to be easily usable without some renovations. It could be why the Jaeggi were choosing not to utilize this section. Why fix something when you’d move within a few weeks, after all?

Nikki only paused once when reaching the edges of the ward. It was clearly visible to their eyes, thrumming with quiet power—like a translucent film blanketed the town in a dome overhead. Make or break, right here. If the Jaeggi had changed the ward’s parameters, Nikki had no hope of getting in. And then they were really screwed. As far as Nikki knew, there was no Plan B.

They tried a single finger first, poking at it gently, but there was no flashback. No shock. The finger slid through, in fact, and Nikki dared to put a whole hand in, eyeing the entire ward cautiously. Still nothing.

So, they really hadn’t changed parameters at all?

Maybe they thought those who’d escaped from them would never return of their own volition. Even so, this was incredibly stupid. Nikki would never have banked on that off chance. They knew the dragon kings certainly wouldn’t have. They were more careful with their clan’s lives than this.

But, as some ancient philosopher once said (Nikki had no idea who, frankly), never interrupt your enemy while they were making a mistake.

Or was it never correct your enemy while they made a mistake?

Nikki would look that up later. Things needed exploding first.

Alright, the ward was not an obstacle. Yay, Plan A! And score one for the good guys. Nikki slipped through, then hugged the shadows and walls as they made their way around the perimeter.

Because they’d had to explode things before to get out, Nikki knew a few things about the ward generator. Cameron had at first assumed it was a singular device, but in fact it was a series of devices all connected to each other to form a grid. It was why Nikki could explode one and open a gate on that first night of escape. Frankly, no one machine would have the power to protect an entire town—not and still stay portable in size. It would take a huge generator, something the size of a building, to be the singular power source of a ward.