Asher stepped forward with an “accidental” clip across Calen’s head, and he caught me as I dropped. “Enough. Let’s get this started.”
Rone and Jesse looked slightly disappointed not to show off their favorite as well, but I already knew that Jesse’s mark was loyalty. You looked after the water and it would look after you. His was a series of slashes and strikes across his abs. His marks were not as obvious because his skin tone was already dark, but the glittery pigments were still visible.
And Rone’s was family. The swirls in his all connected to each other, because just like the ocean, family was always connected. To Rone, there was nothing more important than the family he had chosen. The one that had chosen him, giving him the security and comfort he’d never had as a child.
I couldn’t read the Atlantean language as well as Asher and the other guys. They’d basically been raised learning the symbol-based language. But I was certainly getting better.
“Where do you want your first tattoo?” Asher asked, still holding me close.
“On my right side?” I asked, and he nodded. There was probably a long story about why the right side; something to ask them another time.
I palmed my hands across my ribs, bared under the swimsuit top. “Here, I think.”
Asher nodded again, and then took my hand and led me down to the water. “It’s easier if I’m close to the ocean. This water was magicked here from where Atlantis sank, by my ancestors, and it’s what I’ve used to ink all of us.”
“How do you ink yourself?” I asked, realizing that he had no one to reciprocate.
Calen laughed from nearby. “With a mirror and great difficulty.”
That was something I really hoped to see one day.
When I was at the water’s edge, I sat with my feet in the ocean and the rest of me on the damp sand. Asher brushed his thumb across the area I’d chosen and I tried my best not to think about his hands on me only a few hours before.
“Close your eyes, Maddi,” he murmured, his gaze already far away, like he was mentally preparing the image. “I promise to create the perfect symbol for you.”
I trusted Asher implicitly. All of them, actually. Calen sat down on one side and took my hand. Axl took the other, and right before I closed my eyes, I saw Jesse and Rone crouch behind my head, like they were protecting me from all sides. Only my feet were not blocked, because none of us feared the ocean.
When Asher moved closer to me, I felt the tingle of energy that always existed between us. It flared to life, rushing along my bare skin. His hands, when they landed on my ribs, were cool—icy even—and I did my best not to jump.
“You can move,” Asher said softly. “This is not like the human way of getting a tattoo.”
I nodded, still nervous.
When Asher’s magic flowed, there was an odd tingle, followed by a burning sensation. As Axl had said, it was not painful, but I felt a mild discomfort. My energy started swirling in hot arcs inside of me, something that usually only happened if I accidentally lost skin contact with the pendant. But since it still rested between my boobs, this was to do with Asher.
“Uh, not to alarm anyone,” I said, eyes still closed, “but my power is … reacting.”
Someone brushed their hand across mine soothingly. “That’s normal,” Jesse said. “The power in your blood is combining with the power Asher is using … with his water magic. It always creates a spark.”
“Try not to blow us up though,” Calen deadpanned, reminding us all that the first time I’d properly touched Asher, we’d almost destroyed the school.
“Will do my best,” I muttered.
5
“Ilove it!” Ilia said, reaching out to touch the mark across my ribs. “I want one immediately. Like … right now.”
I laughed, moving across to the mirror in my room, lifting my uniform to see it again. My tattoo was a crown, but different to Asher’s. Mine was smaller, with spikes across the front, reminiscent of the forks of a trident.A trident crown.Apparently, the trident was the weapon of the royal families, and each family had a slightly different style, with their own crystals and gems infused. Asher had given me the one for my family line: Sonaris. Their royal gems were aquamarine.
“How come yours is a different color to the Atlantean-five?” Ilia asked, having followed me to the mirror. “It’s almost gold.”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s weird. They’re not really sure, but probably something to do with the power in my blood. Since the blood mixes with water and power to form the mark, it’s definitely something in me.”
Ilia nodded like that made sense. She’d been telling me from the first moment we met that my power was strong and unique. She was a one-woman cheer squad. Every person, whether human or supe, needed a friend like her.
“Asher truly has a gift,” she murmured, her eyes tracing the lines. “It almost looks three-dimensional. So real.”
He did. A true gods-given gift. The lines were delicate in some places, thicker in others, each swirling and forming together to make the trident crown. It was about the size of my hand, spanning right across my side, and I was sad to have to cover it up with a shirt today.
