Page 32 of Light in Your Eyes
"You must be Layla." He reaches out his arm and gives me a firm handshake. "I'm Stas, Zoe's father. Welcome to our home."
I return his smile, appreciating his warm hospitality. This humble man has inked countless tattoos for the leaders and members of Black Wings.
“You must have wondered about this place,” Stas says,guiding me to follow him. “Come here. I’ll tell you from the beginning.” He walks further into his studio, toward a desk in the corner of the room.
The wall next to the desk has photos attached to it. Lots of them. My gaze darts to some photos, most of which are of men. Stas’ finger hovers over one of them, focusing on a photo of a handsome middle-aged man with a woman by his side.
“Black Wings was found by Magnus. He’s Jaxon’s and Kellan’s father,” Stas says.
My eyes zoom in on the photo. I’m guessing that the woman beside him is his wife, who is none other than Kellan’s mother. They look happy together.
“When Black Wings started, it was many years ago,” Stas says. “Magnus created it as a secret organization teaming up with the government to get rid of large-scale crimes and illegal acts, before it became corrupted.” He sighs. “At least, that’s what I thought it is now.”
I frown. I never thought that Black Wings had such a history. I can’t help but ask, “Why would you think so? Why is it corrupted now?”
“Even though the missions are always top secret, I hear a lot from the recruits,” Stas says. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of missions they do.”
I nod before I focus my attention to the photos again. There’s another photo of Kellan’s parents, but in this one, they are with another man. “Who is this man?” I point at the photo.
“That’s Fenrir,” Stas says. “He’s Magnus’ best friend. They used to run Black Wings together.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s not in the country,” Stas says. “Fenrir has been in a secret mission for years. A search mission, to be exact. He assigned Luca to run this place.”
I gasp in disbelief. “Luca?” Mentioning his name sends shivers down my spine. I can’t help but think about the incident near the fountain, where he almost made me drown.
I snap my head toward Zoe, who only nods quietly.
“But how come Fenrir entrusted such a person to run this place?” I protest. “That guy is the definition of cruel.”
Stas shrugs. “Our leaders, except Kellan, are focusing on their missions abroad that they don’t really pay attention to what’s happening in this mansion. Besides, what Luca did was considered as play time to most of the members.”
I swallow.
“You don’t have to be afraid of Luca,” Stas says firmly. “Except for the fact that Fenrir assigned him to run this place, he has no power in terms of his position. Luca is just a regular member, whereas Kellan is a king. You shouldn’t worry too much if you stay with Kellan.”
“Regular member?” I echo.
“Yes,” Stas says. “The tattoo is the identity of every Black Wings member, and it defines their position. A king is identified by a black wings tattoo with silver streaks, while a knight a tattoo with red streaks. Luca doesn’t have any streaks in his tattoo—I was the one who inked it onto his skin. He’s just a regular member, hired by Fenrir.”
I remember Nina telling me about the Black Wings tattoo. Now I understand why she said that it was crucial identity of every Black Wings member.
“The tattoo can only be crafted by either me or Zoe,” Stas says proudly. “It’s made with special inks, and no one else can copy what we do.”
I nod. Stas and Zoe must be so talented that no other artists can copy what they do. It's because of them that Black Wings can maintain their tattoo exclusivity. Nobody can have a Black Wings identity unless it's made by them.
Zoe and her father must be considered very important to Black Wings. It's no wonder that they seem close to Kellan and that Kellan trusts them.
“So, the kings are Jaxon, Kellan, and Fenrir?” I ask.
Stas shakes his head. “Only Jaxon and Kellan. The kings can only be claimed by those who are related by blood to Magnus. Even Fenrir isn’t. He’s a knight.”
My brows furrow. “A knight?”
“A knight is a position directly reporting to the king and can only be assigned by the king himself. Magnus assigned Fenrir to be a knight, while Jaxon assigned Cole and Levi.”
Stas taps a photo of Cole on the wall. “We have the photos of our leaders here, so you can have a better idea about what I’m talking about.”
