Page 115 of Mage Massacres

“Yes,” I gasped in answer.

I was unable to stop the ensuing curses flowing from my mouth as I reached my climax before him. He tumbled behind me, growling my name as he threw his head back.

Our panting was loud in the silence of his room, and I fought to slow my breathing and heart rate. He released his hold on my legs, easing them onto the bed as he tumbled to his back.

Vaughn patted his hand around the nightstand, picking up where we’d left off. “As I was saying…”

“Playtime is over?” I chuckled, shaking my head at him as I snatched his phone off the pillow beside me. “We can take a break.”

The screen awoke as he took it from me, recognizing his face and opening to the main display. He started to open his photo app, but I narrowed my eyes on him. A smile stretched across his mouth.

“Where did you get that?”

“I blame the vampire,” he commented, clicking the photo icon. “He sent them to us.”

“He went through my phone?”

“No.” Vaughn shrugged. “Mmm, yes. I’m surprised it took him as long as it did. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but he doesn’t comprehend privacy very well. At this point, he’s probably gone through everything of yours that he can get his hands on.”

I snorted. “It’s only a matter of time before he shows up at work to go through my office. I’m sure it’s killing him not to know what’s in my desk drawers.”

“You have no idea,” he muttered, pinching the screen and spreading his fingers to zoom in on the picture of his tattoo.

“So, what do the symbols mean?”

“Some of them are words; the rest are phrases.” He tilted his head left and right. “My father used to tell us that we’d never know all the true meanings behind the images we got.”

My brows scrunched. “They’re ideograms?”

“In a way,” he acknowledged. “I guess that’s correct, but these are open for interpretation, depending on how you read them.”

“Explain.”

“These two symbols are side by side—fire and desires of the heart. You could say that fire is the heart’s desire or that it burns, destroying the desires. If you read desires upside down, then you could say that it’s a weakness, but right side up could be seen as a strength.”

“What’s this one?” I asked, pointing to the left of the fire symbol.

Vaughn pursed his lips. “Animal.”

“So, an animal of fire is the desire of your heart?” I inquired, before giggling. “You do have a soft spot for Helios, and he hates everyone.”

“That’s one interpretation.” He rolled his eyes. “The possibilities are near endless since the symbols can be matched with any of the others. They don’t always line up with the ones on the left or right.”

I took the phone from his hand, moving the picture around to study all the ideograms. Some of them looked vaguely familiar, but runes were common in many supernatural species’ history. I’d seen hundreds of them in books and glossed over the meanings.

“Then what’s the purpose?”

He sighed. “Some ancient fae would say it’s to tell the story of one’s life. Others say it’s to guide us on our most difficult journey. A few think it’s a gift from the Fates to help us not make the same mistake we made in a previous life.”

I nodded along. It made some sort of sense, except... “This one isn’t Fae. It’s demonic.”

“It’s neither. The beginning of supernatural history was documented using a set of special hieroglyphics so humans couldn’t translate. At one point in time, all the species lived amongst each other, and they used the same language to communicate. That’s what this is. The magic in the fae realm refuses to forget its origins. So it imbues its natives with pieces of the past.”

“Right,” I drawled. “But this isn’t an old hieroglyphic. Well, not the beginning of time old. It means cross, to blend, or intersect. The symbol to the right means territory or kingdom, depending on which book of runes you read the translation from. But I’m curious about something…”

A crease formed between his brows as he pulled the phone closer to his face. He glanced at me, and I shrugged.

“I’ve not studied anything fae, but Lilith made me study runes until my eyes bled. The lines in between each symbol? Are some of them thinner than others, or is it just me?”