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Chapter 693 Three ceremonies (5)

　　Gasps and murmurs were heard among witches when the light around Talia flickered, dimmed, and then it exploded in all directions; all directions except for where Damon was standing. He was acting like a shield that prevented the light energy from advancing. That went beyond sorcery.

　　With one thought from Yasmin, Evanora's falling trajectory changed, and the high priestess fell on Yasmin.

　　Yasmin immediately checked her mother's breathing, and then she turned toward the man who was right next to her. She gave Axel a reassuring smile. "Can you help me take mom to her room? She is exhausted and needs rest."

　　Axel nodded and his eyes roamed over five witches who were also not looking good and then he turned to the fountain to see what was going on with Talia and Damon. He had no intention of leaving before assuring that Talia and Damon were fine.

　　…

　　"Da… Dam… Damon…", Talia's voice drifted toward Damon, her every call sounded clearer than the previous one.

　　Damon saw Talia's silvery eyes full of concern directed at him. Why did she look at him like something really bad happened?

　　"Yes, kitten?", Damon responded while looking around.

　　He saw Evanora's limp form in Axel's arms, and most of the audience was staring at Talia and him.

　　Damon tched in annoyance. Why did Evanora say that she was fine if she couldn't perform the ceremony?

　　"Woah!", Damon exclaimed when Talia threw herself at him.

　　Talia's hug was so tight that her fragile-looking arms were squeezing the air out of his lungs.

　　Damon wondered if Talia was so upset because the ceremony failed. Well, she was looking forward to it. Damon regretted agreeing to this nonsense. It would be better if he refused right away, then Talia wouldn't build up hopes and she wouldn't plunge into this disappointment. But he couldn't allow negativity to take over because his clingy mate needed comforting.

　　"Don't worry, kitten", Damon said. "We will do the ceremony some other time." Maybe never.

　　Talia lifted her head to look at him. "I was so worried. I thought I lost you."

　　Damon was utterly confused. "Lost me? What are you talking about? I am right here."

　　He would reprimand her for those ominous words, but he could sense that her anxiety was genuine, so he hugged her tightly. The lack of clothes allowed for a lot of skin-to-skin contact, and he used the sparks of their bond to assure Talia that everything was alright. One ceremony more or less won't change a thing between them.

　　Talia realized that something was off with Damon. How can he be so calm after this near-fiasco?

　　"Damon?", she called. "Is something wrong with you? Are you in pain? How much do you remember?"

　　The possibility of him losing memories was making her insides tighten, but he was holding her, and he addressed her by that cute nickname only he used so he knew who she was. Hopefully.

　　"What is there to remember? The ceremony started and I saw your eyes glowing", and they were still glowing, but the occasionally flickering told him that it was wearing off. "It barely started, and then I heard you call my name."

　　He turned to frown at the unconscious Evanora. "The old hag overestimated herself." And because of that Talia was sad now.

　　Talia put her hand on his cheek so that he turns his head to look at her. "Really? Nothing else?"

　　"What else is there?"

　　"Damon", Talia's voice was full of concern. "We had a ceremony. At least a few minutes long." She was not really sure how long it lasted, but her being unable to reach Damon felt like an eternity. "The ceremony started, and your golden designs turned black and…" Talia's voice trailed. The golden-then-black designs on his body were completely gone now. His skin was clean like he came out of a shower. Where did the designs go?

　　She looked at herself to see that golden designs were still there on her, so whatever happened it was on Damon only. Was he really OK?

　　"Minutes?", Damon asked while wondering if she got it wrongly, and then he asked his wolf. 'What do you think?'

　　'I agree with you, boy', Sapa responded. 'It was no more than a second.'

　　"It was maybe a second or two, not more.", Damon confirmed to Talia.

　　"The ceremony can mess with your perception of time", Yasmin said, making both Talia and Damon look at her. "But Talia is right about the duration. Are you two alright? Do you need our healers to check on you?"

　　Damon frowned. "Why wouldn't we be alright?" He didn't want any witch to get a chance of doing more mumbo-jumbo on him or on Talia.

　　Did Yasmin confirm that he lost a few minutes? Who knew what else he lost? All this sounded creepily strange and he wanted to talk with Talia and calm her down. The way her fingers dug into his back told him that she was needy to confirm they were together and fine, and he couldn't do much comforting in front of all this audience. He wanted to leave, or maybe it was easier to make all those witches scram.

　　Yasmin raised her hands, palms toward Damon, indicating to him to tone down his hostility. "If you feel fine, we can check on you tomorrow. I was asking because, during the ceremony, Talia was glowing like she was the source of magic, while you acted as a repellent for energies."

　　Damon's frown deepened. Did Yasmin call him a repellent? Why did that remind him of those smelly sticks against mosquitoes?

　　He turned to look at Talia. "Are you OK?"

　　Talia nodded in his chest, and she opened up completely to let him feel her emotions. He smiled helplessly when he sensed that her anxiety was replaced by relief with every heartbeat. She was finding comfort in his proximity and it warmed his heart.

　　'Can we go for a run?', Talia's voice sounded in Damon's head.

　　'Absolutely!', Damon responded enthusiastically. Letting go of negativity with a run sounded like an excellent idea. Of course, they could do it by indulging in carnal pleasures also, but he would rather initiate that activity when both were in a good mood.

　　Talia turned to see Axel, Yasmin, Keith, and other witches, all looking at them. "We will go for a run now."

　　Silvery light flickered with Talia in its center, enveloping both Damon and her, and a few seconds later, two wolves leaped from the fountain, leaving a few silvery fabrics to float on the surface of the water.

　　Witches screamed and moved away because two wolves were shaking their bodies vigorously, making the cold droplets fly in every direction.

　　Talia and Damon paused to look at each other and no one said a word when the black wolf rubbed his head on the neck of the light-gray wolf whose fur was nearly white, and it shone in silvery light under the moonlight.

　　Talia smiled at the affectionate Alpha, but she was in her wolf form and her smile looked more like exposing fangs threateningly, so the witches took another step away from them.

　　Yasmin watched as two majestic wolves dashed out of the garden and she pursed her lips.

　　"What are you thinking about?", Axel asked Yasmin.

　　"Nothing, nothing."

　　Yasmin needed time to think about the events before sharing her observations. But everyone saw that not a speck of light reached Damon during the ceremony, yet now Talia's light enveloped him intimately. Why didn't he repel Talia's energies? Ah, how could Yasmin get more information?

　　Yasmin realized that she will need to think about this some other time. Axel was still holding unconscious Evanora, but first, Yasmin turned to speak to the other witches. "We had three unique ceremonies tonight. Remember them all as they are proof that each of us is different and mother nature treats us as such. Continue the feast in a good mood as we have a lot to celebrate!"

　　After a second of stirring hesitantly, witches cheered, and the crowd moved back to the tables where food and drinks waited for them.

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