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“It’s perfect.” His voice tinged with admiration, and the approval in his eyes gave me a surge of confidence.
The sharp antiseptic smell filled the room as I cleaned the area on his chest. I shaved the skin meticulously, ensuring a smooth canvas for the artwork to come. “Let me know if you need a break at any point.” He gave me a reassuring nod, his lips curving upwards.
I transferred the stencil onto Lux, the purple lines stark against his skin. I wiggled my toes and began tracing the outline, the needle’s buzz filling the room. The first touch of the needle to his skin was always thehardest part, the moment when ink met flesh, and the transformation began.
The ink joined with the metallic tang of blood as I worked, the machine’s vibration running up my arm. I focused on each line, the world narrowing down to the small section of skin beneath my hands. The rhythmic hum of the machine was almost hypnotic, the sound blending with the atmospheric music and the soft hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
“I’m next,” Maverick urged from behind me.
“No way. You go into stasis, and I get a break from you. Win-win.”
“That’s not how win-win works, Tess.”
I grinned, remaining focused on my work. “Isn’t it?”
I paused the tattoo gun as an unexpected silence fell over the room. His lack of laughter unsettled me. Had I angered him? Despite my seething resentment—and my desperate wish to truly hate him—the thought of him being upset with me was surprisingly distressing. Confused by my conflicting emotions, I needed to gauge his reaction. I lifted the needle and turned to catch his eye.
He simply shook his head. “Please.”
I sighed, turning back to Lux’s tattoo and the dagger’s design. “Don’t you want to wait and see if it kills Lux first?”
“It’s not going to kill Lux.”
Lux remained still, his breathing steady, and his muscles relaxed. He was a perfect canvas, trusting and resilient. He’d suggested that he be the test subject, but I didn’t like the idea of tattooing all three of them without knowing what the effect would be. If they were so confident, I thought, maybe I should tattoo myself before them. That way, if anything went wrong, I wouldn’t have to feel guilty.
As I continued, the dagger took form, each line and curve adding to the overall design. The atmosphere in the room was charged withconcentration, the intensity of the moment broken only by the occasional soft exhale from Lux or the rustle of my equipment.
I broke the silence with my idea about going next with an enchanted tattoo. “Maybe I should do me first.”
“You do me, I’ll do you,” Maverick responded without hesitation. It sounded to me like he was confessing an undisclosed experience with tattooing.
I pulled the gun back and turned to him. “You know how to use a tattoo gun?”
“I’m sure I can figure it out.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to Lux’s tattoo. “Oh, if a girl can do it, you can, huh?”
He groaned. “No, Tess, but I’ve been alive for thousands of years, and eventually, you learn how to learn things quickly. There’s a lot of misogynist assholes out there, but I’m not one of them. I swear to every goddess that has ever graced the universe to strike me dead here and now.”
I stopped again, gazed up at the ceiling and then out the window. I stretched my back, waited, and watched outside a little longer. Stone laughed. I did a little shifty eye movement to make it clear I was watching for his lightning bolt. When it didn’t come, I raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite an oath.”
“And here I stand. Happy?”
I returned to Lux, who was smiling at us, amused with our antics. “Quite disappointed, actually.”
Stone laughed. “She is perfect for you, asshole.”
I didn’t break away from my work as I responded to Stone. “Um, excuse me. Take that back.”
“Sorry, Tess, it’s true.” Stone chuckled with his hand on his stomach.
“Yeah well, there’s a reason for that,” I muttered. It wasn’t like we just happened to find each other and fit together well. No, my soul was cursed and tied to his so we could both be miserable forever. What a destiny to have.
Hours seemed to blur into minutes as I worked and we chatted, the dagger on Lux’s chest slowly coming to life. The shading added depth, the blade appearing almost three-dimensional against his skin. When I finally finished, I leaned back, admiring the piece. It was a work of art, a dedication to the future.
“Done.” My voice was thin with exhaustion and pride as Lux examined his new tattoo. A broad smile spread across his face.
“Very good, Tess. Thank you.”
