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She opened her eyes and looked at her shoulder. “He did the head last, on the final day, and he didn’t tattoo the entire animal and then go back and fill it in. He worked on me without a break between sessions. Well, I mean, he scheduled me for consecutive days, and I guess you can’t tattoo over a spot until it’s had a few weeks to heal. So, the outline of the head was on there temporarily from the first day, but it wasn’t tattooed until day before yesterday, and I guess that was when it was—” She motioned out with her palms up. “I don’t know. Born? Brought into being? I didn’t really notice a difference for about eighteen hours, though. His name is Ying. I don’t know why he’s a he, but I’m certain he is.”
“What else can he do?”
“Mordecai seems to think that once the tattoo is fully healed, Ying will be able to fly away and return. He says he isn’t certain if I’ll know what Ying sees and hears as it happens, or if Ying will have to merge with me again before I’ll know everything he saw and heard while gone.”
“When did you see Mordecai?”
“Ambrose wouldn’t promise to keep my secret, and he pointed out that he doesn’t fall under the Concilio’s domain. Once I called Mordecai in, Ambrose changed his tune a bit and said he’s obligated to tell you, but that he would keep my secret otherwise.”
Gavin was happy to hear Ambrose had proven trustworthy. They’d been friends for centuries, but it was always good to hear your friends had your back.
“So are you telling me because you knew Ambrose would if you didn’t, or because you wanted to share this with me?”
“I’m telling you because it would hurt your feelings if I didn’t. We’re trying for a relationship, right? I mean, we don’t know what it might look like, if we can make it work, but people who care about each other share this kind of thing.” She looked away a second, met his gaze again. “Technically, I’m supposed to tell you because you’re Master of the City and now I’m a supernatural living in your territory, but I’m not sure I’d tell you if I didn’t trust you and care about you on a personal level.”
Gavin hadn’t realized just how worried he’d been about this conversation until a fist relaxed around his heart.Lauren was admitting she cared about him. He pushed away from the wall, took two steps toward her bed, sat, and motioned for her to come to him. Without another word, she stepped to him and curled into his lap.
He kissed her forehead, cupped her cheek a few seconds, and then stroked the hawk on her bare shoulder. “Good evening, Ying. It’s very nice to meet you, but you can sleep while I’m here to watch over her.”
And because Lauren didn’t know to put a shield around the hawk’s mind, Gavin put the suggestion into the bird that he would sleep when Gavin stroked him exactly like this — and the bird slept.
“What did you do?”
“You heard me. I told him to sleep.”
“No. You did something else. I felt you inside me for a second, as if you got past my shields.”
“I didn’t go through a single shield.”
Her entire body tensed. “No, because I’m not shielding his mind, and apparently neither is he.”
“Well, it seems you have your first task, then. I’ll help you all I can, but I don’t know much about the huàsheng.”
She went very still. “You know enough to know what they’re called.”
“I’ve fought them, and was nearly killed when a snow leopard jumped off a man and attacked me, before I knew to watch out for tattoos that could animate for real. You have an affinity for bears, so you may want to consider a bear tattoo.”
“Ambrose said as much. He also recommended a bat, because of the echolocation, so I can see in the dark better. Copperheads have infrared vision though, so I’m thinking that might be a better choice.” She sighed. “First, I have to figure out how to handle Ying. I mean, I struggle to handle my own sensory input, and now I have his vision layered over the top of mine when he’s awake.”
Gavin had wondered how that worked. “I have every confidence you’ll figure it out. I’ve never known you to not accomplish something you set your mind to.”
She was quiet, and Gavin just held her. He desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. He felt as if he was flying blind, without knowing.
He wanted to point out that Nick had been her friend for a long time, and that she needed to repair that relationship, but he didn’t think she was ready to hear it yet. Or, that’s what he told himself. In a perfect world, he’d have Lauren all to himself, but he was smart enough to know that wouldn’t work. Lauren would never agree not to fuck other people when she knew he wasn’t agreeing to do the same. No way could he send her out to fuck just anyone, but he could live in a poly group with Nick. The lion had honor and intelligence, and he loved Lauren.
Lauren, who wasn’t completely human, after all.
“Did Mordecai mention whether you’ll have magical healing abilities?”
“No. I can’t imagine I will, though.”
“It’s probably something to look at, especially if there’s a member of the animal kingdom in particular that can help with that. A jellyfish, maybe.”
“An axolotl would be an adorable tattoo, but I’d need to research their other qualities. If one could layer their healing abilities over me the way the hawk’s vision layers itself in my brain, it’d totally be worth it.” She sat up and looked at him. “There’s a problem brewing with the supernatural show, and I’m probably going to need help. I can deal with personality conflicts, but unless you give me the ability to adequately reprimand a vampire, I can’t stop him from terrifying one of the deer shifters. She’s one of the primo acrobats, and it’s becoming a problem.”
“Eventually, as my lover, you’ll be able to reprimand my people, but we’ll create a tempest if we implement it so soon. For now, I’ll make an example of him and be clear that disrespecting you is not acceptable.”
“Why not reprimand him for being an ass to the deer shifter?”
