Page 51 of The Night Prince 2

But Finley couldn’t even finish the thought. It was too absurd. Or was it? What it did feel like to him was betrayal. Most people treated Declan like a freak or worse. To think he wasn’t even human was horrible. So horrible that Finley would not go there. And, of course, though it was the much smaller part of his brain, cried out that if Declan wasn’t human then his ability to wield magic didn’t matter. Well, not for Finley anyways…

“Let’s get back to Vex,” Gemma said as she gave a brighter smile.

“Of course.” Rhalyf inclined his head.

“You haven’t told Finley what he should wear,” she said.

“Oh, well, the more skin showing the better, as I said–”

“Just so he can seduce them?” Finley asked dryly.

“And put them in their place, too. He doesn’t need to protect himself from them, but then there’s the most obvious reason,” Rhalyf answered.

“Which is?” Finley couldn’t think of anything obvious at all.

“His Blood Weapons and Armor,” Rhalyf answered.

Finley blinked. “His–”

“They appear as tattoos on the skin,” Rhalyf said. “Surely, even the Aravae works you found mentioned this?”

They hadn’t…

Tattoos on the skin? Immediately, Finley thought of the kitchen knife that Declan had used to kill the Kindreth. After the battle it had seemingly disappeared except it really hadn’t. It had become a tattoo on Declan’s skin. Could it be a Blood Weapon? Or can only Kindreth have those? And he’s not… not…

“Kindreth want to show those off. The more Blood Weapons you have the more tattoos appear on your body. The more tattoos you have the more powerful you’re shown as being. Practically everything, but Vex’s face is covered in tattoos,” Rhalyf explained.

“Whoa! So he has full sleeves of tattoos and all the way down to his ankles, too?” Gemma asked.

“Even the tops of his feet and the palms of his hands,” Rhalyf told her. “There is one particular Blood Weapon called Soul Breaker. It’s a whip that you can only see the base of the hilt in the center of his left palm.”

“That’s amazing!” Gemma shook her head.

Rhalyf nodded. “So, as you can imagine, Vex likes to show them off. So clothing is often optional.”

“Ahhhhh.” Gemma’s eyes were really wide.

“You–you shouldn’t be talking to her about this. She’s only thirteen,” Finley objected weakly. The truth was that he was still reeling from the fact that Declan had a Blood Weapon. That had to be what the kitchen knife was. It had to be! But then…

“Well, why not? In human terms, she’s already lived more than one-tenth of her life span. She might have only ninety years of lovemaking to enjoy!” Rhalyf looked horrified at the thought.

Gemma giggled into her hand.

“She’s still a little girl, Rhalyf! Sex and stuff like that is ages away!” Finley protested.

“I don’t know about ages. Mom and Dad want me to hold off dating until I’m fifteen,” Gemma explained. “Truthfully, I’m not in any rush.”

“Yes, but… but you’re missing out!” Rhalyf still looked horrified.

“You are not talking to my little sister about missing out on sex, Rhalyf.” Finley pinched the top of his nose.

“I’m not offering myself! I’m just saying young people her age or–or–”

“It’s okay,” Gemma said with an amused shake of her head. “I’m glad that you think I seem adult enough to be doing that.”

“Dating and romance is overrated anyways,” Finley said.

Rhalyf lifted an eyebrow. “Really? That sounds rather jaded. How many lovers could you have possibly had in your–your what? Decade plus of dating time?”

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