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It’s not the first time I’ve seen Gideon shirtless in the last month. All the guys have a tendency to walk around shirtless in the early mornings, usually when they come to my room to see if I want to grab breakfast with them. Still, every time he reveals his muscled chest, I get a little quiver in my stomach. My eyes trail over him, appreciating the ridges and valleys of muscles.
Hardin’s arm around my waist tightens, and he chuckles. “She’s got that dreamy look on her face right now, doesn’t she?”
Gideon smirks, the very picture of masculine smugness. “Yeah. Yeah, she does.”
I blink and scowl at him. “You can’t blame me, Brightwater. Warn a girl before you disrobe.”
“Disrobe?” Fielder echos shaking his head.
“Yes.” I say primly, tugging my hands from him and Ezra and then leaning away from Hardin to focus on Gideon. And not on his tattoos, but on what he’s saying. “Explain what you mean, please.”
Gideon keeps smirking at me as he swipes a hand over a tattoo on his stomach, drawing my attention back to his abs. Asshole. “As a member of Hand and Tome, my power resides in the written word, in the ink used. We’ve altered that to have access to spells by tattooing them on our bodies.
I run my eyes over his tattoos again, but this time more assessing. If I look closely enough, I see the runes blending in with the design. If I hadn’t readThe Basics of Witchcraft,I never would have noticed them.
I frown. “So, no one in Hand and Tome ever tried to use elemental runes?” That doesn’t seem right. There must have been someone somewhere that tried it and they would have been successful.
Gideon lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. “We have a list of approved spells. Anyone found with spells other than those approved by the council is swiftly dealt with.”
My brows lower even further. “Why would they want to keep people from accessing certain magic?”
“Power has a lot to do with it,” Fielder says. “The council wants to be seen as the most powerful witches in their regions. It’s pretty imperative that they have an equal amount of power, otherwise one elder might have too much power and the scales will tip in their direction.”
I mull that over for a moment. “So if someone from Hand and Tome could control all four elements like the Avatar—or I guessseven—then they would be more powerful than the others. They don’t like the idea of that.”
Gideon nods. “Yes.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“I’m a little surprised that they didn’t think about doing this, though,” Ezra says. He strokes his finger over the ink on his wrist. “Unless they did and they just haven’t told anyone about it.”Which seems likely,is implied but not spoken out loud.
An idea pops into my head that has me straightening even more. “Does this mean we could give Merritt more power? If we give her the runes?”
Fielder strokes his thumb over his bottom lip as he considers it. “Maybe? It’s worth trying. I would recommend having Gideon draw them on her, though. Since his magic is based in ink, it would likely help. Give it a little boost.”
I nod and look down at my hands. “Or maybe we can find runes that would help strengthen her visions, help her remember them after.” The possibilities are swarming in my brain. “What about one for illusions? You guys could have some of my power. Maybe if we all have access to everything, then we’ll be strong enough to-”
I cut off as Ezra’s fingers press against my lips, stilling their movement. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Ro. This is big, but we also don’t want to spread ourselves too thin by trying to use magic that doesn’t belong to us.”
“But what if it’s like a muscle that just needs exercise?” His hand muffles my words.
Gideon plops down on the couch next to me, still totally shirtless. “I heard a story about Hand and Tome witches being able to bind demons to them through ink.”
“Demons?” Ezra’s still got his hand over my lips, and I suspect it’s because he likes the feel of them more than that he’s trying to keep me from speaking. As a test, I pucker my lips, giving him a gentle kiss. His amber eyes darken with desire.
“Everyone’s heard that story,” Hardin scoffs. “But it’s just a myth, Brightwater. No one’s been able to do that in centuries. If they ever were able. I’m betting it’s bullshit.”
I push Ezra’s hand away from my mouth. “I’m sorry. Can we circle back to where you saiddemons? As inactualdemons? Or in the like everyone has a ‘personal demon’, like drinking or smoking or something like that?”
Ezra slides his hand down to my thigh and gives it a squeeze. “Actualdemons, Ro.”
My eyes widen. “They exist? Real life, actual demonsexist?”
Not one of them actually bothers to answer me, just watch me with smug as fuck smiles on their faces.
“Holy penguins,” I mutter to myself, settling back against the couch. Gideon pulls me closer to his side and his bare chest and my brain short circuits from the contact. The freak out I’d been having over demons’ existing fizzles, and instead I have the insane urge to lick every one of his tattoos. Well, maybe it’s not that insane. He is sexy as hell.
His lips twitch like he knows what I’m thinking and then turns back to the conversation at hand. “I think we should try tattooing the runes on each of us. See if Ro is right and we can get stronger the more we use them.” He side-eyes Fielder. “So long as we’re all smart about it and don’t push it.”
