Page 110 of The Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland
“She was the mother I knew best.”
“How does the ink feel?”
Through the string of lights, Beatrice saw a star wink down. “Like I was missing it before. Like I didn’t know I needed it until the ink was inside my skin.”
Reno carefully rewrapped the plastic, her touch still incredibly gentle.
Then she said, “I want to show you one of mine.” She reached for the top button on her flannel, undoing it and the one below it. And the one below that.
Electricity sliced through Beatrice’s blood as Reno parted her shirt.
“This is my most important tattoo.”
There, just above the edge of Reno’s black cotton tank, wasthe letterS, done in a curling, lovely script. It was bright red, almost the color of blood against Reno’s deep olive skin.
Beatrice didn’t have to be told that this was the tattoo that held Scarlett’s ashes in its ink. “Scarlett… oh, my god.” Should she say it? “It’s a scarlet letter.”
A rich laugh was her reward. “Not everyone gets it that fast. Scarlett always joked that I should get one, so I did.”
Bravely, Beatrice looked closer. To the left of theSwere two bright little yellow things with wings. Against Reno’s skin, they glowed. “Are those fireflies?”
“She grew up in Tennessee. Loved her fireflies. She hated the fact that we didn’t have them here.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in real life.”
“Yeah, I’d never seen one before we went to visit her family. They were pretty magical. To me, she was the brightest firefly of all.”
Beatrice’s hand rose, as if she were going to touch that brilliant letter inked over Reno’s heart.Shit.Horrified, she raised her hand higher and tucked a nonexistent strand of hair behind her ear. Her pulse throbbed in her ears and her face flared red-hot. What the hell was she thinking? Surely it was wrong to be so attracted to a woman who was literally telling her about the love of her life?
But then Reno caught her hand and drew it to her skin, pressing it gently against theS’s red ink.
Under Beatrice’s fingers, Reno’s heartbeat raced as fast as her own.
Beatrice wasn’t alone in this feeling. Was she?
Summoning all the courage she had, Beatrice reached for Reno’s other hand. She turned Reno’s palm to rest flat against her own chest. She covered Reno’s hand with her own.
Reno’s gaze went smokier. “These fucking damaged hearts, huh?”
“What’s the prognosis, you think?”
“Inevitably fatal, I reckon.”
She was right, of course. “No cure.”
Slowly, ever so slowly, Reno released Beatrice’s hand. The air that hit her palm felt like ice after the touch of Reno’s skin. Matching her, Beatrice let Reno’s hand drop from her skin.
Reno said, “There never was going to be a cure, though, right? Immortality’s hard to come by these days.”
“What about magic?” She knew it was silly to ask, but she asked anyway.
Inclining her head, Reno said, “Magic’s always got a surprise up its sleeve, yeah. But… that thing I felt crash through me, when the darkness blasted through here with you and Minna.” Beatrice almost felt the shudder she saw ripple through Reno’s frame. “It was big. Bigger than I could even explain to Cordelia. It scared me.”
“You think it was the Velamens?”
She shrugged. “I guess maybe? They’re the ones who want to take the Holland power, so I’d think so.”
“Astrid bound the power, though. The thread and the blood.Webound it. Right?”
