Page 96 of Shackled to the World
“I’m here to see Rick.” She brushed her hands along the counter, only to have Logan link their fingers together to stop her nervous gesture.
A man came out of the back. His beard shadowing most of his face, while his eyes were a deep brown that matched his long, shaggy hair. What startled her the most was he practically oozed magic.
The man stopped a good foot away from the counter, crossed his arms as he surveyed them, then grunted. “I’m Rick.”
Annora chewed her lip and glanced up at Logan. “This was a dumb idea. You don’t have to do this.”
“Hush.” Logan leaned down, brushing a kiss across her lips, effectively shutting her up. Then he straightened and gave the man a nod. “I’d like to get a piercing.”
Annora could feel her eyes widen, and she spun to gape at Logan.
For some reason, that was the last thing she expected.
Rick tipped his head to the side to study them with narrowed eyes. Magic splashed into the room, licking at them. With a sigh, he dropped his arm and lifted part of the counter, then stepped back. “Follow me.”
When Annora went to obey, Mason grabbed her from behind, easily picking her up off her feet and carting her away. Logan gave her a wink and disappeared into the back with Rick.
The guys seated themselves at various spots around the room, but Annora couldn’t sit still and began pacing. The other people in the place watched them for a few minutes, then seemed to decide they were harmless and continued to page through the books, talking quietly among themselves.
It was over in only a few minutes but it seemed to take forever for Logan to appear again. As he emerged from the back room, she scanned his face, then frowned.
She couldn’t see any piercings.
Then understanding dawned and her eyes widened. Her glance dropped to survey his body, and her cheeks heated while her mind hummed with possibilities.
Mason came to her side and snorted, waving his hand in front of her face until she blinked. “I think you broke her.”
The guys snickered and snorted at her expense, while Logan just gave her a smile. He stopped right in front of her, his spine straight, his shoulders back. “It…helped. I just need one more thing.”
“What?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She’d do whatever was in her power to make him feel like himself again instead of a prisoner.
“This.” Logan picked up her hand, then turned her arm up and ran his thumb over the small tree that was branded into her skin. “I want you to mark me.”
The rest of the guys gathered closer and nodded.
Sadie stood in the back, her mouth hanging open as she looked back and forth between Annora and Edgar and the mark. Instead of looking pissed for once, she sighed and glanced at Edgar. “You could’ve done a lot worse.”
Something inside Annora eased at the acceptance on the young phantom’s face.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still think you’re an idiot.” She shrugged, nudging her friend with her shoulder, giving him a smirk. “But at least you’re a happy idiot.”
Edgar snorted but didn’t protest, pure happiness blazing from his eyes.
Annora studied him, wondering if it would bother him to have the other guys wear the symbol he’d shared with her. He nodded at her silent question and gave her a slight smile in understanding.
She went through the same process that Edgar had shown her, slicing her palm and then theirs, wincing when she cut them despite their encouragement. When they tried to do it themselves, she shook her head.
It was her mark, her responsibility.
The afterworld rose at her call, marking each of them with the same tree. The guys either grimaced at the pain or grinned, but none of them protested as a tree was branded on their wrist, each a different color. She wasn’t sure what the colors meant, but she liked seeing them bear her mark. With each new tattoo, a leaf on her tree changed colors to match theirs.
If she looked closely enough, she could see their names etched into her skin…and she could feel their joy and possessiveness at being claimed, the warm glow of their love filling her heart.
They were finally hers, and she was determined to keep it that way.
It was time to go home and prepare for war.
Chapter Twenty-four
