Page 45 of Tragic Ink
“I’ll make the call.” He was already grabbing his phone from the coffee table as hespoke.
I stood stiffly, watching Rhys move as he punched in things on his phone. I noticed his glamour tattoo inked onto his right shoulder and wentstill.
“Rhys, what’s your tattoo?” I asked, sharply enough that he looked up from thephone.
“An arrow,” he said. “Why?”
I licked my lips, thoughts whirring. Arrows. My weapon of choice. Rhys liked knives, but I could do that too. And rope—to bind him.And—
“Gwen?” Rhys wandered closer, his eyes studying me, his brows knitting at my silence. “If you’re upset, don’t be. I got it for you. For your love of archery and because it reminded me when I came here that I needed to stay focused on mytarget—”
“I’m not upset,” I said. “Ijust...”
“Gwen, what isit?”
I hesitated, wondering whether I was being too impulsive or reckless. That maybe I should stand back and let Rhys ask Elsmed for help. Hide inside this apartment and wait for the Court to find this guy and take him out. But the reality was that whatever semblance of personal safety I’d had had vanished the moment I’d seen those photos. Even inside this apartment, we were just waiting for this guy to decide he was ready. It was all on his terms, and I hated that most ofall.
Fear held me back. Rhys believed in me. In my ability to use my own magic to defeat this guy. But could I really? My mother thought so, I realized, remembering theletter.
When the time comes, she will not have to hide. They will hide fromher.
“I don’t know yet. I need a second to think,” I said slowly. I bit my lip, adding, “I have an idea but... Go make your call and then we can talk aboutit.”
“Okay,” he said uncertainly, but he backed off and went about sending the message he’d been typing. A moment later, his phone buzzed with an incomingcall.
I waited while Rhys spoke to Elsmed or his bodyguard-slash-driver, thinking again about that arrow tattoo. I had no idea if my plan would work, but I did know that making a damned phone call was not enough. It was time to take action. It was time to finish this once and for all. On our terms. And I finally knew a way to doit.
