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8
Isaac hated what was coming. He would be forced to make a decision he had promised himself he would never make again. And regardless of the decision he made, he was fucked.
If he agreed to tattoo Kate, he risked killing her. And if he didn’t agree and she couldn’t work with the sword, at least thousands would die. If anyone else presented him with such a problem, he would say the answer was easy—the many over the one. But then, their one wasn’t Kate.
“Isaac?” Jack asked. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone focused on him.
Knowing he was going to piss off Kate, Isaac had to ask the questions on his mind anyway. He cared more about her safety than whether she was angry with him.
“When I tested to see if I could give Kate the protective tattoo, I didn’t like the pushback I got. It could be dangerous for her.”
Isaac felt Kate sit up straighter, putting a few inches between their bodies, but he forged ahead. “I know that Kate is a skilled swordsmith, but is there no one else who can forge the lock?”
Kate didn’t say a word as she scrambled off the table and leaned against the wall. It was better than her stomping out of the room, but not by much.
Since he didn’t have Kate in front of him anymore, he slid off the table as well. Isaac bet on Kate’s desire not to make a scene and took the risk by going over to her. He casually adopted her position and leaned against the wall. If she pulled away now, she would draw more attention to herself.
When Kate stayed where she was, he was thankful he’d taken his own bet.
Jack waited until Isaac settled before he spoke. “While I had the sword, I decided to run a few tests.” He held up his hand toward Kate. “And before you say anything, Kate, I had to look at the problem from all angles.”
In his peripheral vision, Isaac saw Kate nod, which Jack must have taken as acquiescence. If he did, he didn’t know Kate very well, but it didn’t matter, the outcome was still the same.
Jack turned so he was once more addressing everyone in the room. “I had Kate’s old mentor, Henry, inspect the sword. Henry is magic, and I explained the risk to him before presenting the sword. He laid one hand on the sword and collapsed into unconsciousness. Once I revived him, he was fine, but obviously that means he can’t help, and I expect Kate is the only magic swordsmith who can because of her ability to feel emotions in objects.”
Isaac expected that if he was looking at Kate, he would see a smug look on her face, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Jack? What about a non-magic swordsmith?”
“I tried that too. Henry asked two of his former apprentices to look at the sword. They could both pick it up, but when they did, the sword disguised itself. The intricate designs that Henry and I could both clearly see disappeared when the non-magics touched it.”
Jack paused, as if he wanted to let the information sink in with Isaac before he continued. “I also had Reece look for a spell that might protect Kate, instead of having to rely on a tattoo. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be generic to protect against outside forces. They might work, but if Kate is touching the sword and it has her body attack her from the inside, a spell wouldn’t be enough. Your tattoo has the best chance of protecting her since your magic is embedded into her.”
Isaac expected Jack knew Isaac no longer had a choice and was waiting for him to admit it.
Hoping he wasn’t sending Kate to her death, Isaac addressed Jack. “I’ll tattoo the protection onto Kate.” Just the thought of agreeing to something that held such a high risk made him uncomfortable. He just couldn’t see another way.
Jack nodded and turned back to the group with some last-minute instructions about working with Sam on a solution.
A few minutes later, the meeting broke up and one by one, people flashed away or walked out the door.
Isaac was surprised when Kate came to stand in front of him. He’d expected her to leave without saying a word to him.
“You don’t trust me, Isaac. Without trust, there can’t be a relationship between us, regardless of whether or not you care. I’ll be at your shop at nine tomorrow morning.”
She flashed away before Isaac could say a word. Now the only person remaining in the room, he didn’t move. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and wondered how he could avoid giving Kate the same fate he had given his brother.
9
By the time Kate made it back to her house, she felt like she’d been awake for a week. Certain sleep would come quickly, she crawled into bed and prepared to let the day fall away.
And it may have if Isaac’s look of disappointment wasn’t etched into her mind like permanent ink. When he agreed to give her the tattoo only because he was being shoved into a corner, it felt like all the work she’d done over the years to prove herself had been for naught. Isaac didn’t trust her.
He wasn’t going to give her the tattoo because he believed she was skilled and had a job to do or because he trusted her to know what she needed. No, it was because Jack had pushed him into a corner.
Maybe that wasn’t fair. There were many events that had contributed to Isaac’s decision, not just Jack’s request. But even the circumstances couldn’t lessen the bitter resentment she felt at the lack of Isaac’s trust. Which meant he didn’t respect her either.
After he showed up at her place the other night, she thought maybe he was coming around. Instead, he was turning out to be like all the other men she’d met—family and closest friends notwithstanding—who used women.
Kate knew her logic was flawed. She was the one using him for his body since she wanted no-strings sex. But if he had really wanted more, wouldn’t he have pushed for it?
