Page 60 of Wedding the Werepanther

I pull out a small bag filled with what looks like purple glitter. “Dewdrop scales. These are ones he’s naturally shed.”

“How did you get so many?”

“Victoria collected them from all over the house.”

I follow him over to the dining table, which is covered in spell ingredients instead of food. He digs through a stack of parchment before pulling out the one he wants, then combines ingredients in a wooden bowl until he has a rounded mound of herbs, leaves, and stones. Jace creates a small hole in the center, lines it with Dewdrop scales, sets the crystal in place, and covers it with more of the purple scales. Holding up the parchment, he spreads his free hand over the bowl, and waves of magic pound from him so strongly the air vibrates with the force.

When he finishes and pulls the crystal free, it glows. “Let me know if it doesn’t work. I’m expanding upon Lukendevener’sresearch, so is a brand new spell that might need some adjustment.”

“Thank you.” I take my prize, tucking it deep into my jeans pocket. This crystal’s worth far more than gold.

I plan for it to win me another piece of my wife’s heart.

I trot downstairs and into Bling It On.

Glass cases circle the room, full of gorgeous jewelry. The finest gemstones of Faerie sparkle in the evening sunlight pouring through the windows, displaying a rainbow of colors. Gold and silver necklaces drape over colorful geodes, and rings nestle in trays of velvety moss.

In my panther form, I had no need of jewelry—cats are too magnificent to require adornment—but things are different now.

A gnome somersaults toward me, coming to a halt balanced on tiptoe, arms arced over her head in a graceful line. “Cat sith, you’ve come!”

“Hello, Diamond.” I grin down at the woman who approached me the other week in the bakery. “I’m here, exactly as you suggested.”

“Rings!” she cries out, clapping her hands. “Go and get the good engagement rings!”

One of the other gnomes tumbles to the back corner where they’ve cut away the floor and dives into the open square of dirt. He enters without even a ripple, the only evidence of his passage the little moss cap sitting where he went in. Gnome magic allows them to move as freely through dirt as I can walk the shadow roads. They can also tunnel through rock easily, and most workas miners. Their love of the gems and metals they find in the ground also makes them excellent jewelers.

“While he’s fetching those, I wondered if you could help me with something else.” I pull out the crystal and explain what I need.

“I have just the thing!” She snatches it from me and cartwheels around one of the glass cases and up the stairs mounted to the back until she stands about five feet high. Diamond pulls out a jeweler’s kit and sets to work. In moments, she has the crystal mounted to a silver chain that hums with magic. “It’s imbued with a safety spell. If the chain gets tangled on anything, the clasp will release to free the wearer.”

“That’s perfect.”

The clump of moss spirals up from the ground, back on the head of the gnome, who emerges from the dirt without even the tiniest speck of grime besmirching his patchwork leaf clothes. He front flips over to Diamond and offers her the box he kept tucked under one arm.

She opens it to display a glorious selection of rings. Pride fills her voice. “These are the largest and most brilliant diamonds in all of Faerie.”

They’re every bit as lovely as she says, yet I have eyes for only one ring: a square amethyst set in a braided white gold band. The lack of side stones makes it look deceptively simple, which I think Kayla will like, but the size of the amethyst and the richness of its color mean anyone who studies it will see it for the precious beauty it is.

Exactly like my wife.

“This one.” I pluck it from the moss. “And wedding bands to match.”

“An excellent choice.”

“Stories of old tell of jewelry bespelled to change shape with a shifter. Do such skills still exist?” I want to wear a weddingring for Kayla, since it holds meaning for humans. I also like the thought of wearing something that marks me as hers. Yet I need to be able to shift without worrying about losing it.

“Do not fear. We gnomes have not lost the old ways.” She pats my hand with her small, light-green one. “Come back in a few days, and all will be ready.”

We haggle for a bit, and I promise her several of my best raw gemstones as payment before racing along the shadow roads toward Victoria and home and my witchy beauty.

I love the ring and know in my heart it’s perfect for Kayla.

After our glorious night together, I’m more eager than ever to marry her. I’ll discover whatever’s holding her back. I’ll conquer it.

And then I’ll win her and make her mine.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO