Buzzing filled the air, and when the needle met my skin, I almost gasped. Not from pain—it was nothing like the Bind, when the ink seemed to be rooting itself into my bones, twisting through my blood.
This was everything I experienced during the Undertaking slamming into me at once. The shock of the fall melding with the vindication of solving the riddles. The pain of being torn apart in the Spirit Fire tempered by all of my loose ends being forged back together. All of my senses heightened. All of my dreams fulfilled.
The ink bolstered everything the Undertaking had planted in me and pushed it to the surface. I was a canvas for the memories, the tattoo painting an image of my future.
And when the buzzing ceased, when the mountains were forever printed on my skin, those feelings rooted in me for eternity.
I rose from the table, finding Cyph, Jez, and Tol staring at me expectantly. We didn’t have to say anything.
We felt it, too, the gazes confirmed.We made it.
Vale nodded in silent understanding.
The twisting fluttered along my bones, the magic adjusting to its new home. I was curious to see how it differed from the magic in my Bind. Biting my lip, I shoved away the worry that this promise, too, would malfunction, and indulged in the empowering ink.
The high faded, though, when a bell above the shop door cut through the noise.
Malakai rushed by the window, disappearing into the night.
I tore from the parlor,cool night air tickling the back of my neck where the ink was still settling. Selfish guilt trickled down my spine with the magic.
“Malakai!” I called, but the city soaked up my voice.
Why had I thought this was a good idea? Of course, it would be hard for him to watch us receive the Bond. I’d known that—known he wouldn’t voice that pain—and yet I’d done it anyway.
Tolek and Cypherion appeared behind me. “Where did he go?” the latter asked.
“There.” Tol pointed as Malakai rounded a corner down an alley, and they started after him.
“No.” I put a hand on both their chests, a defeated sigh coating my voice. “Let me.”
Taking off down the cobbled streets, I followed the direction Malakai disappeared. A subtle scent of honeysuckle and leather clung to the air, the only way I knew he was heading back toward the palace.
As I crossed into our grounds, I was so homed in on that familiar aura and the sound of his distant steps, I didn’t notice another broad chest until I smacked into it.
I bounced back, hand immediately reaching for a weapon—until I saw?—
“Aird?”
The Mindshaper chancellor stood on my soil, looking down at me. Platinum hair braided back, thick beard reaching his chest, all attempting intimidation.
“What are you doing here?” Danger seeped into my voice, hand within reach of the dagger at my thigh.
“Evening, Miss Alabath.” There was condescension in the way his lips curled around my name, I was certain of it. His wolf’s cloak bristled with the rise and fall of his shoulders. “Lovely to run into you.”
“In my home. I can imagine the surprise.” I waited for him to respond. When he didn’t, I added, “You were supposed to have returned to your territory days ago.”
“I had business to resolve here.” A casual shrug. “But I’ve found what I needed, and I’ll be on my way.”
I didn’t like it. Didn’t like him being in my city without my knowledge. Didn’t like the entitlement in the lift of his chin or the way he eyed me, begging for an outburst. A reaction that would justify all of his beliefs about my hotheaded actions and subsequent inability to rule.
Uncurling my fingers from the dagger, I blinked up at him, unaware I’d even grabbed it. I deliberately coated my voice in saccharine sweet mockery. “I do hope you enjoyed your stay. The path through the Merchant Quarter will be the most direct for your exit.”
“Thank you for the advice,” he bit out. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”
He left then, cloak dragging across the dirt and stones. With each step, my anger bubbled beneath the surface, uncertainty fueling it, until he was nothing but a silhouette, and the force of the Spirit Volcano roared within me.
Groaning, I stomped up the path to the palace, nearly forgetting the other battle that awaited me inside.
