He stopped washing me, dropping the cloth in the water as his eyes snapped to mine. "No, Fawn. I don't mind. I love Bastian like a brother. He would care for you almost as much as I do."
"The twins don't seem to mind it either." My shoulders shook, and he sat up and brushed his nose against mine. "Why is that? How are you all so unbothered by sharing me?"
"If it were any other man than one in the shield, other than our family, we wouldn't be unbothered. Nobody but us will touch you, bug. We've shared everything since finding each other, and you fit into this family perfectly. We areallromantically wanting to pursue you. The twins and I just showed our intentions first." His lips met mine in a soft kiss before he pulled away. "Let's head back into the living room."
My mind buzzed with acceptance. His answer was exactly what I needed. I knew where the twins stood. They made it clear that they were on the same page as Aimon.
I wanted to pursue things with Bastian since he'd shown interest in me the day we broke some of the links of his curse. But the timing had never been right.
Once we were out of the tub and dressed, we made our way back to the rest of the guys, who all seemed to be in high spirits since my cramping had stopped.
Aimon finished making breakfast, and we ate a filling meal in each other's company. Afterward, we lounged around the cottage, letting our food digest as we took a much-needed moment to do nothing before we had to leave for the capital along with my pit stop by the guild.
"Do you want me to give you those runes so that your phantom cats can rest on you when we travel?" Silas asked, fingers drumming against the floor where he sat next to Bastian.
The rest of the guys' heads whipped toward him in surprise.
"You're just going to offer that?" Jasper gaped at him, an offended expression crossing his face. "I've been asking you for runes for my knives! You told me no."
"Because you can carve people up with your darkness," Silas scoffed.
"But it's not the same as carving into someone with a knife." He pouted his lips and crossed his arms.
"You didn't give me a rune for my favorite light glow," Casper added with a grumble.
"You can create light glow anytime you want." Silas rolled his eyes.
"But it's not the same as the one back at the castle... That one can burn retinas with one tiny glance."
"Why are you offering?" Bastian asked, glancing over at Silas with his brows furrowed. "I asked for months before you caved and gave me the rune to store potions in."
"And I asked for half a year before you gave me the rune that I can store my skillet and spatula in." Aimon frowned, scratching his beard. "It is weird."
"She did ask," Silas corrected, rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks tinged pink. "Back in the Demented Cave..."
My lips twitched into a smile. "Thanks for remembering, Silas. I'd love to have the runes." I glanced at the four of my cats that floated above us, lazily snoozing like they had no idea what was going on in the world--and to be fair, they probably didn't. "Especially since we'll be gone for a few days."
"Where do you want them?" he asked, hoisting himself up off the floor and dusting off his pants.
"My arm." I held up my arm, forearm facing him.
"Just stay there on the couch," he requested ever-so-politely that it almost made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I'd been so used to his abrasive attitude that this new, polite version made me uncomfortable.
Jasper and Casper got up from the spots next to me, and Silas took the spot to my left, pulling a jar of ink out of his robe pocket.
"Have you ever had a rune before?" he asked, and I noticed the rest of the guys sitting around us, staring intently.
"No, but I've seen ink mages place permanent runes before." I held out my arm, exposing the area I wanted the runes. My heartbeat was oddly noticeable in my throat the longer I stared at him. "Can we do all four runes here?"
His purple hair fell into his eyes, and he ran a hand through it to push it back before screwing the lid off the jaw of ink. "Of course." He paused to clear his throat, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "The runes won't be very big."
Cosmo floated down into his lap and tapped the ink jar with his paw. He let out an excitedmeow, and Silas chuckled.
My chest warmed at the sight. Cosmo had really taken a liking to Silas, and I wasn't sure it was only because of his water affinity.
"Are you ready?" His eyes met mine, and my heartbeat sped up.
Bless, was I really starting to have feelings for him too? What was with these men?
