Page 837 of End Game

He breathes in, then out, and by the time I finish the outline, he’s almost somewhere else. Not asleep, exactly. Just quiet in that Griffin way where he pulls inward without actually leaving.

His chest rises beneath my hand in slow, even breaths.

Under the skin, his heart keeps beating against the heel of my palm every time I stretch the skin.

That gets me more than I expect.

I slow for half a second.

Griffin notices immediately, and his eyes drop from the ceiling. “You okay?”

I almost laugh. “I’m tattooing you.”

“Still.”

“Yeah.” I wipe away the excess ink. “You?”

He looks back toward the ceiling. “I’m good.”

Dex has gone quiet.

Ronan too.

Neither of them makes a joke as the design becomes clear.

The d20 sits over Griffin’s heart like it was always supposed to be there.

When I’m done, Griffin stands and finally gets a real look in the mirror.

His fingers hover beneath the bandage.

His throat moves.

Dex clears his.

Ronan looks away.

And I suddenly need everyone to stop having emotions in my tattoo station because this is becoming a hostile fucking work environment.

“What?” Griffin asks quietly.

Dex sniffs. “Nothing.”

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

Ronan says, “He is.”

“Traitor.”

I cover Griffin’s tattoo before any of us completely lose the ability to pretend we’re normal adults.

Then it’s my turn.

Jules looks delighted when I call them over.

“Oh, the cult leader gets branded too?”