“A Nimenni general to see us?” Dorrin blurted now that he was free to express his surprise more openly.
“Actually, we’re here for her,” Darla replied for her mate.
Dorrin turned to his companion. Sure, she was a human, just like the woman visiting them, but the Nimenni had also come to see her? It made no sense.
“I don’t understand?Her,that makes sense. Butyou?”
Heydar shrugged. “She is my Infala mate, and where she goes, I go. What she desires, so do I.”
At that Dorrin paled. “YourInfalamate?”
“Yep,” Darla confirmed. “Don’t worry, it surprised me too at first.”
Ziana’s confusion was equal, if not greater than her partner’s. “Hang on. That Infala thingy actually worked?”
“Yep. And let me tell you, it’s even better than they say,” Darla replied, sharing a smoldering look with her mate. “Anyway, that’s why we’re here. To see you.”
“Because I have some of that weird ink?”
“Pigment,” Heydar corrected. “And not because you have received the runes, but because yours are incomplete.”
Dorrin and Ziana shared a look. “You know of this?” he blurted. “But how? We realized what the Chancellor’s Skrizzit had done, but we did not dare speak of it aloud.”
Heydar began removing small pouches from his tunic’s inner pockets. “We learned of this gross violation of Dotharian law from another. Maria, she is called.”
Ziana nearly jumped to her feet. “She’s okay? I thought she was being sequestered.”
Heydar nodded, carefully laying out small vials of pigment and the tools with which to apply them. “She was, but she was freed and brought to us by an ally. Her runes were finished properly, but we thought it only fair that yours be seen to as well. And my mate wished very much to meet you, of course.”
Darla rested her hand on Ziana’s arm. “Don’t worry. Heydar’s a skilled Skrizzit, and we got some of the most powerful pigments you can find. He’s gonna fix you right up and complete what that other asshole left unfinished. You’ve been competing at a disadvantage this whole time. We’re going to see to it that changes.”
“I–I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you, and take off your clothes so he can see just how much they left incomplete. We really need to let him get started. He’s fast, but there’s no telling how long we’ve got before they come to take you back.”
Ziana nodded, stripping at once. Despite these two being strangers, one was human, and from Dorrin’s reaction to the other, he was something special, though she’d get that story from him later. Whatever the case, for now she would put any shyness aside and let him do his work.
“Daaamn, girl,” Darla said, noting the love bites and bruises with an appreciative chuckle.
Nowthatmade Ziana blush.
“No judgment. Good on ya, I say,” Darla quickly added.
Heydar paid no attention to that but just leaned in close, examining her skin with an intense gaze. “It is better than I feared. Like Maria’s, it was mostly the Infala that was neglected. It makes sense. That is the key rune binding all others, and if it is not finished just right it can prevent the others from connecting.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked.
“It means that I do not have as much work as I anticipated. And judging by the design, the powerful pigment I was planning on using will settle in nicely. In fact, you should be healed and manifesting your enhancements in no time as the other runes are well set in your flesh. Now, take a seat and relax. I will be as quick as I can.”
He set to work, his hands steady and firm as he began marking her body, completing her nascent Infala so her other runes could thrive. She still had a long way to go where the Infala was concerned, but the rest of her would benefit immediately. In short order the work was done, her runes suddenly tingling in her skin as they really connected for the first time.
“This feels sooooo weird.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Darla assured her. “It just takes a minute is all.”
Heydar turned to Ziana’s partner. “I have pigment remaining, and it is quite powerful. You are protecting thiswoman, and, if you wish, I will add some of it to your own runes to increase your potency as well.”
“You would do that for me?” Dorrin marveled.
