Page 13 of Fool's Bargain

She let out a husky laugh. “I did, though the entire concept is pretty new to me too. But I don’t think I’d trust anyone more than you to give me this. And I absolutely intend to return the favor.”

I prepped my tattoo machine, wrapping everything in protective plastic and securing the battery pack around my wrist. When I was ready to start, Deva reached out a hand.

“May I?” she asked, touching my wrist. “I need to temper the needles so they’ll break my skin.”

I nodded and held the tip up for her. With the barest pucker of her lips, she blew. A brilliant white flame licked out and was gone so fast I could have imagined it, except that for a few seconds the needles glowed like stars.

My inkpots were already lined up and I finally reached for the filigree vial I’d avoided touching until now. My gloved hand shook slightly and I gritted my teeth. This wasnotthe time for me to be nervous. Squeezing my fingers into a fist, then opening them again, I pulled out the stopper. It was like an old-fashioned scent bottle, a long glass rod extending down into the contents. A small drop of glowing liquid hovered at the end and I held it over the first of the inkpots, marveling at the way it seemed to defy gravity for a second as it fell. When it plopped into the dark liquid below, steam rose up.

“This is your blood?” I asked. “It looks like a chemistry experiment.”

“It’s divine blood. Only use what you need. No more.”

“Divine. You mentioned something about that. So, there’s such a thing as God?”

“Gods, plural. And goddesses. And other creatures who don’t identify as either one but who are every bit as powerful. I’m not even the strongest of us. I’m just a baby compared to the rest. But even baby god blood is powerful stuff, so be careful, okay?”

“Duly noted,” I said as I siphoned off a droplet into each of the colors I’d set out. I replaced the stopper after the last one and handed the bottle back to Deva. “Better hang on to this.”

After that, it was business as usual. I always went into a kind of trance when I worked, the conversation continuing but only half my mind involved while I traced the pattern into my client’s skin, the design coming to life beneath my fingers. After seeing Bodhi’s tattoos for the first time in two years, I understood now that this buzzing sensation I felt wasn’t just the rhythm of the needles transferring up my arm, but something that came from deep within and extended outward.

The ink with Deva’s blood seemed to be even more malleable than usual, flowing into her skin with the barest prick of the needle as though obeying my very will. The process went far more quickly than I expected, and when I’d completed the last bit of shading on the lotus blossom, it was only sunset. My hand didn’t feel cramped like it usually did when I tattooed my normal clients.

After the tattoo was finished, I began cleaning her up. I wiped a damp cloth down her sternum between her breasts, clearing away the remnants of ink to reveal the beauty of the intricate pattern that graced her pristine, brown skin. The colors seemed to shimmer with inner light, the ink moving like it had a life of its own. I gently smeared ointment over the design, realizing as I did that her skin had already healed. Beneath my touch, the flower’s petals unfurled even further, revealing a brilliant core of light that undulated with purple fire.

I reached for a hand mirror for her to take a look herself and stared in abject wonder as she examined the final product.

“I almost don’t believe that came from me,” I said, dumbstruck.

“You definitely created it, Zarya. This was why it had to be you.” She stared into the mirror, touching the tattoo.

My gaze swept up to her face, then back down over her torso. Her dark nipples were hard peaks and a brief, dirty fantasy shot through my mind of indulging in another make-out session with her still topless. I turned away, cheeks heating. This closeness I felt for her would get me nowhere, but despite knowing as much, I let out an involuntary sigh of longing before I could catch myself.

“What is it you’re hoping for, Zarya?” she asked in a gentle voice, setting the mirror aside. “Your desire shows, but you also know it isn’t for me. Do you miss him that much?”

“It isn’t about Bodhi. Itisyou, but I don’t think it’s just desire. It feels deeper. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll deal.” I pushed back on my stool and busied myself cleaning up. Thankfully Deva took the hint and slipped back into her shirt.

“It does matter. We’re connected. All of the bloodline are, so it isn’t surprising that you’d feel drawn to me. I’m at the center. Picture it like a web—a network of threads that bind us. You’ll still feel it for Bodhi too, since he’s part of it. Rohan is part of it. Even Llyr in a way. He’s descended from the god whose power runs in your veins. But that’s all it is.”

“Like a brotherhood?” I asked, relaxing thanks to her explanation. “I can grasp that concept at least.”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “Like that. We’re family, in a sense. Tied by the magic in our blood. But the bloodline tend to be loose ends, which Fate has a problem with. My job is to tie up those loose ends. Find soul mates to bind you to.”

I turned on my stool to face her as I peeled off my gloves and stared down at my hands. “I thought Bodhi was my soul mate when we were first together, but that feeling faded faster than I expected. I’d never tell him this, but before we split up, some part of me knew he was never going to be enough. It just feels... ungrateful of me to admit, because he was...isa wonderful man. He helped me through a dark time I might not have survived otherwise. You’re very lucky, and I’m happy he found his soul mate in you.”

“We’ll find yours, Zarya,” she said in a gentle voice, reaching out to rest a hand on my arm. “The hounds have probably already located whoever it is. It’s just a matter of bringing you together. Do you feel anything yet? Usually it starts here.” She reached out and took my hand, pressing my own palm to my sternum just beneath my breasts. Then she started humming the song once again, nodding at me.

My voice cracked when I sang, and beneath my hand my midsection felt light and warm, with a steady pulling sensation like a leash had been wrapped around some inner piece of me.

My soul.

And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was connected to someone now, that I was done brooding for a man who was never meant to be mine, and I had Deva to thank for it.

By the time I said goodbye to her, my entire world had changed, as if every cell in my body had been replaced by one made entirely of cool ocean spray shot through with sunlight.

7

Theo

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