"Yes," I rasped, my throat tightening.
Silas gently took hold of my arm, and his eyes fluttered shut. "Through the power of the spirits, let these runes be a sanctuary for Cosmo, the phantom cat with an affinity for water."
A small portion of the black ink floated from the jar before taking a shimmering blue glow. It hovered above my forearm, closest to my elbow, and then it shifted, blending hues of deep blues reminiscent of the ocean before sinking into my skin. My skin tingled, but there was no pain as it took the shape of an intricate cat silhouette with a wave splashing behind it. It shimmered blue as it glowed brightly.
Cosmo purred before his spirit form jumped into the rune, and the rune faded into nothing.
"Where did he go?" I traced my fingers over the invisible rune.
"He's in the rune resting. It's like he's in a blank space when he's in the rune. But all you have to do is press your fingers to the rune, and it'll glow, and he'll come out. He can come out on his own too if he chooses."
"That's good." I pressed my fingers over where the rune had glowed.
Sure enough, a blue rune shimmered back at me, and Cosmo jumped through it with a loud purr before curling up on the couch between Silas and me.
The rune faded again, and I smiled. It was going to be so encouraging to have them with me always. "This is amazing, Silas."
His cheeks reddened, and he shrugged. "Anything that helps. Having access to them would help you in a lot of situations."
"What would happen if I die?" I murmured the question with a quick glance at my cats, who didn't seem to care at all. Aloof little phantoms...
"You wouldn't stay dead, for one," he stated, his eyes darkening. "But the cats would have full control to get out of the runes as they wanted or needed to."
I let out a breath of relief and nodded. "Good."
His hold on my arm was both comforting and exciting as he focused on the next rune. "Through the power of the spirits, let these runes be a sanctuary for Karma, the phantom cat with an affinity for fire."
This time, the rune transformed into a shimmering red cat with a flame behind it, and Karma let out a yowl of approval. She didn't bother moving from between Casper and Jasper, who were both rubbing her belly.
His finger glided over the red rune, and it faded. "Through the power of the spirits, let these runes be a sanctuary for Oz, the phantom cat with an affinity for air."
The ink turned a glittering gray as it formed a cat with air waves behind it and sank into my flesh below where the other two runes were.
Oz meowed his approval as Bastian scratched behind his ears.
The guys and the cats were all watching with interest as Silas pressed on Oz's rune, letting it fade before moving on to the last rune. "Through the power of the spirits, let these runes be a sanctuary for Charm, the phantom cat with an affinity for earth."
The ink transformed into a shimmering green cat with a flourishing apple tree behind it.
Charm purred loudly, nuzzling into Aimon's beard as she begged for more pets.
Silas's thumb swept over the last rune, and all four glowed brightly before fading into nothing. "All done, muse."
"Thank you." My arms wound around his neck as I pulled him in for a hug before I could even think about it.
His body turned rigid, but just before I went to pull away, his arms tentatively went around me. "You're welcome."
The rest of the group didn't say anything, but I could feel their gazes on us.
I had been attracted to them all at first, but I only consciously developed feelings for four of them--at least, that was what I had thought. Silas had been such an asshole when he was hexed that I wanted nothing to do with him. But being hexed was one of the lowest moments of his life. He'd shown true regret for how he'd treated me before and continued to make up for it. His initiative made melikehim.
Inhaling his ocean and mineral scent, I realized that my heartbeat wouldn't slow down. I realized how much I liked being wrapped up in his arms with his ink melded with my skin.
Was it really okay for me to be romantically involved with not three, not four, butfivemen?
5
CASPER
