Page 22 of When the Weaver Met the Gargoyle (Leafshire Cove Monsters #1)

With Rom on one side and Rustion on the other, I stare up at my finished Leafshire Cove tapestry. It hangs in the mayor’s great hall, in a place of ultimate honor.

I see the moment Rom notices the gargoyle I wove into the town. His lips part, and his hold on my hand tightens, his talons pinching at my skin just a bit. He turns.

“Laini, thank you.” His cheeks rise high with his broad smile.

I bump his arm with my shoulder. “You belong. I was just being historically accurate.”

Rustion chuckles and crosses his arms. “It’s exactly what I wanted, Laini, my dear. And you are good for completing the series of woodland ones by the end of the next growing season? If you need more time, I can give it.”

“I’ll finish. That’s plenty of time. Thanks again for the opportunity.”

Rustion reaches for my free hand and shakes it. “It’s been wonderful doing business with you so far. Now, about that chapel usage request…”

“Yes,” Rom says, his gray cheeks going a shade darker. “We would like to have our public mating bond ceremony as soon as possible.”

“It’s already booked!” Nisa calls as she walks toward us from the direction of the bedchambers in the back of the large home.

She hugs me, and I hug her back, grateful for these two elders in our lives. I feel like we are some sort of a family. That’s another wish of mine granted, a wish I never thought to ask for.

We spend the rest of the day planning the ceremony and eating what appears to be every type of food the manor has to offer. Spark sits in my lap, napping like nothing of import is even happening. Such a cute little brat.

“Life is good,” I whisper to Rom as he sips some elderberry wine and offers me a glass. “I’m so happy I get to spend it with you.”

“I’m blessed beyond measure, my flower. Thank you for believing in me.” He drops a wine-scented kiss on my head, and I scratch Spark’s head.

I’m precisely where I belong.

Bonus Epilogue

Tully

Shortly Thereafter

“Tully, can you give me a hand here?” Kaya asks me. She lifts another twine-tied pine bough and cluster of wishberries, and her hair slips from the knot on top of her head. She blows a lock out of her eyes.

I snicker and wave my wand to secure the natural decoration to the chapel. Laini and Rom’s mating ceremony will begin soon, and we are behind schedule. Good thing these fools have a witch to aid them.

With another flick of my wand, I cast frost over the chapel door, and I lengthen the icicles already on the roofline.

Kaya clasps her hands under her chin. “That is lovely, Tully. She is going to be thrilled.”

“I doubt she’ll notice with that delicious gargoyle on her arm. All I’d be thinking about would be getting back in bed.”

A laugh bubbles from Kaya, and I grin at her. I’m not usually into these silly traditions, but I am truly happy for Laini. Plus, their romance was my main goal for the month, and I’m ready to see the completion of my success. I wonder if there is something I can do to the pies Kaya is setting up at the table beside the chapel.

Kaya glances at me. “I don’t love that look, Tully.”

I frown at the desserts. “Those pies are going to be too cold to eat by the time the ceremony is over.”

“Could you bespell them to remain warm?” Kaya asks.

“Yep.”

I can also make everyone who eats one feel just a little bit happier. No harm there. Plus, I only promised Laini I wouldn’t put a love potion in tea. This is completely different. Focusing on what I want the magic to do, I cast my power over the steaming apple, fig, and blueberry pies. They glitter like someone just dusted them in starlight. Hmm. I didn’t know that was going to happen.

“It’s a common problem,” a deep voice says behind me .

I turn to see a minotaur with broad horns, a large nose ring, light brown skin, and wavy hair. Iron bands circle his horns in two places each. On his left horn, a chain runs from one band to the other. He’s handsome, but what in the hell is he talking about?

“I’m sorry, but did you think I was asking for advice? What could a minotaur possibly know about magic?”

He simply shrugs and continues on his way, disappearing beyond the chandler’s shop.

Kaya joins me in staring. “Who is he?”

“No idea. Don’t care. Now, what else should we do before the happy couple arrives?” I force my gaze away from where the minotaur entered the market. I have much, much better things to do than bother with someone who thinks they know more than I do about magic. Ridiculous.

Before Kaya can say anything, though, Rom and Laini are walking up to us. They look destroyed with joy.

I lean close to Laini. “Did you get any sleep last night, or was it all fucking all the time?”

She gasps and huffs a laugh, slapping my arm. “Behave, Tully. This is a sacred event.”

“I bet last night was too.”

Shaking her head, she urges Rom toward the chapel door, and soon, the rest of the town is streaming down the streets toward the ceremony.

At the chapel’s threshold, the couple stops and faces one another. As Spark and his dragonfox girlfriend fly in circles overhead, Rom takes Laini’s face in his big hands and kisses her soundly.

We all clap with approval, and I glance toward the market just to make sure that asshat minotaur isn’t coming back to rain on our parade.

Once they finish the traditional snogging on the steps, they enter the chapel, and I prepare to do my part—promising to give them aid when they need it and to honor their mating bond.

I love our little town. There’s nowhere else like it.