"Is it possible to trap people within a painting?"

  Fein narrowed his eyes at the painting in question and took a step closer to it. Something shifted within the paint, and I swore there was movement there.

  "Had you have asked me yesterday, I would have said no. Looking at the magic bound within this piece of art now, I would have to say that yes, it is possible, and yes, that is exactly what has happened here. I will speak to Amelia about this. It could be that they are beings that are better locked away. Not everyone is suited to prison."

  I had to say that I didn't think anyone was suited to prison; it was, after all, a punishment by its very nature.

  Rex put his arm around my shoulders and grinned down at me. "Pizza's on me."

  I didn't think anyone could have much more glorious words than those in that moment.

  47

  Kyra and Keirn's fox were both ecstatic to have Vyx back. They took great pleasure in running around the flat with Vyx in her fox form. They raced around like things possessed, and for once I was glad to see the chaos and havoc they were creating.

  Keirn had ordered the boar and pineapple pizza again. I'd concluded that he did it specifically so that he could have the entire thing to himself. If that was true, he hadn't accounted for Rex. The Cu Sidhe seemed happy to eat anything within arm's reach. He dug into every pizza and relished each slice as though it were the first slice he'd eaten in weeks. The cougars had bounced around with Vyx and the small furries for a while in their cougar forms but had settled back into their human forms for pizza. We had to call Vyx over to shift and eat for fear that she'd starve, if we let her.

  She headed into her room to shift, much to my relief. When she came back out, she flopped onto the sofa, claimed three slices of pizza, and looked around the room.

  "It wasn't too bad being in the Ceremonials’ cell. I was bored out of my mind, and the food was absolutely awful, but it became a game by the end. They thought I was a vapid little girl who wouldn't give them any trouble, so I took great pains to show them just how much trouble I could be. On the first night I sang at the top of my lungs until sunrise. They'd tried shouting at me to shut up, but I just sang louder. Then on the second night, when they dropped off that stuff they called food, I bit the guard. He tasted foul, but it was worth it to see the horror on his face. They tried to reprimand me for that, but I gouged out two of their eyes. I was very happy when I heard that a good number of the guards refused to go near me."

  We all laughed. It was so easy to misjudge her, to think that a delicate, fragile little thing sat there in the pale blue dress. She was the strongest, most vibrant person I’d had the pleasure of meeting.

  "Dacian has invited us to his cottage in the South of France," Keirn said to her.

  "That sounds like fun! My room will be on the other side of the cottage to yours, though, won't it? I don't want to hear you having sex all the time," she said around a bite of pizza.

  Everyone but me roared with laughter at that. Vyx looked the picture of innocence.

  "So, what does this mean for the council and the laws?" I asked Fein and Rex.

  "Things will be difficult for a couple of weeks while the Daire family moves into their new position. Amelia has the paperwork signed and ready, but her family will need to be briefed and establish themselves. She will be meeting with Piper, a very sensible hedgewitch, to arrange new laws regarding the witches. The laws on familiars are being tightened to try and protect them more thoroughly. We are hoping to reduce the legislation that limits shadow walkers," Fein said.

  "That sounds... good. I think," I said.

  Fein smiled.

  "It means that the city will be in a better state of balance. Those who need more freedom will have a good chance of getting it, those who need more protection will have a little more. Unfortunately, there will be room for another two councilmen to step in. It looks as though Alistair Tule will fill one of the roles, an alchemist with a great deal of ambition. He will cause problems for us, if he can. Mr. Tule was already asking far too many questions about the prospect of an ink magician being in the city. We will fight him with everything we can, but he might try and force through a law that would mean you need to register yourself as an ink magician."

  "Why is that bad? Surely that's just a bit of paper," Vyx said as she stole the last of the bacon and tomato pizza that Shadow had been reaching for.

  "If he's registered, then they will have blood on record," Rex explained.

  Only the truly powerful and dangerous beings were registered in that way. Having their blood on record meant that a blood magician and potentially an alchemist could control them. They argued that it was just to make sure they knew how many beings of what power type were present within the city. In truth, it was a control measure; they didn't want anyone with too much magic being in a situation that would threaten them.

  "Can't we continue to push the idea that ink magicians are myths?" I asked.

  "We will certainly try," Fein said.

  I pushed aside my new fear over the council and focused on having my little family back where they belonged, right there on the sofa with me.

  48

  Things had been blissfully normal for a few days. I kept expecting to find another handwritten letter in the post, but none came. Keirn had begun painting again, and he allowed me into his process, at least a little. I still wasn't allowed to wander into the art room whenever I pleased, but I was ok with that. Seeing Snow paint and the look of incredible peace and happiness on his face made whatever annoyance I might have had worth it.

  Vyx had thrown herself back into her art with incredible verve. That is, when she was at home; she'd been out helping the ferals where she could, too. We had all gone to the baked goods festival, and I was pleased to see one of the wolf ferals I'd met in the underground there helping out.

  He grinned at me and offered me a free cookie, one he'd baked himself. I had to admit that it was a really good cookie, chewy in the middle and full of rich chocolate and coconut.

  "They've offered me an apprenticeship, thanks to Vyx," he said.

  "I'm glad to see things are looking up for you," I said.

  "Thank you, Dacian. If you hadn't have brought Vyx in off the streets, I wouldn't be here now," he said.

  "Don't forget that, Dacian. Small actions can have big consequences," Keirn whispered in my ear.

  I'd still been worried about the whole hero thing. There was a lot of pressure on me now that more people knew I was an ink magician. There was an expectation that I was going to do something great, like I was going to save the city and everyone in it. Stupid pixies. I'd strangle them, if I figured out which of them had started that little rumour.

  It was a quiet morning with Keirn and Vyx both locked away in the art room when Fein summoned me to his office. A knot formed in my stomach as I followed Isla down the hallway to his familiar door. So much had changed, and yet the anxiety and frustration I felt the moment I stepped into the elf's office remained the same. I still wasn't comfortable working for him, let alone owing him as much as I did. It turns out, I should have been more worried.

  "Take a seat, Dacian," Fein said as he gestured at the chair before his desk.

  I grudgingly sat down and waited. I felt as though he was going to say something awful.

  "I want to be clear on the relationship we have."

  Ah, fuck.

  "I own you, Mr. Corbeaux. I hold the ink orb in my possession, and I hold control of your secret. The pixies have been saying that you're a hero, and under my guidance, you will become one. You might not agree with my stance or my methods, but you are going to put that aside and give your all to working for me. Do you understand?"

  His words hit me a dragon claw to the heart. I had no idea anyone knew where the ink orb was. The fact Fein had it in his possession meant he could control me, and my magic. Ice filled my veins. Just when I was beginning to come around to the idea of his being a good guy, he threw that at me. His expression was entirely blank as I warred between hopeless despair and pure rage. How dare he do this to me!? The ink network remained entirely silent, which was suspicious in and of itself.

  I don’t know how long it took for me to calm myself. I wanted to smash his pretty face into his desk and take the ink orb far away, but I’d seen what he could do. Swallowing down the bile and the fury, I took a deep breath. He was going to make me a hero.

  I thought heroes were supposed to be willing; wasn't that part of the definition?

  "Understood," I said.

  "I'm glad we have that all cleared up. Now, Keirn and Vyx have a rather large art show planned for Cassis in France. I believe your father offered you some time in his cottage there?"

  "Yes, he did."

  "Good. Book it for six weeks. Go and enjoy your time off. Relax, heal, and prepare to become the ink magician this city needs."

  Epilogue

  Keirn smoothed away my fears when I told him about Fein and the ink orb. I allowed myself to be calmed and the thoughts to flutter away. After all, what choice did I really have?

  We had a week to pack and prepare before we headed off to Cassis. I'd spoken to my father, who reminded me about the ring.

  "Propose to him, Dacian, you know he's the one," he'd said.

  With that, he'd booked us a table at Noire and booked me an appointment to get a new suit made. It was a good thing I loved my father, because he really pushed the limits sometimes.

  I'd told Keirn that my father was sending us to the restaurant to celebrate his safe return. Keirn had been absolutely delighted. The place was usually booked up three months in advance. The fitting for the suit had gone smoothly enough; I hadn't enjoyed the process, but the tailor had done truly beautiful work. My father had insisted that I get a good suit, complete with threads of night woven into the black fabric. I'd picked out a tie with small pieces of starlight in it, to bring out my eyes.

  Keirn looked stunning in his suit. He'd tied his hair back in a silver ribbon. I wanted nothing more than to undress him again and spend the night in the bed. I kissed him tenderly.

  "I am blessed in you," I whispered.

  He grinned back at me. "And I in you."

  I'd slipped the ring into my pocket while he'd been in the bathroom. To say I was nervous was a huge understatement. What if the restaurant was too much? What if he said no? I couldn't sit still as we took a taxi over to the restaurant. Keirn entwined his fingers with mine and smoothed away some of the anxiety. Still, I forgot my own name when we walked into the restaurant, and Keirn had to tell the maître d’. The waiter led us to a quiet table near the back complete with candlelight. A string quartet was playing beautiful elf music that brought a smile to Keirn's face. It was perfect. I desperately hoped I didn't fuck it up.

  We ordered a small starter each, and I asked the sommelier to choose the wines for each course for us. My father had instilled the manners of high society in me, but he hadn’t gotten as far as wine pairings. It seemed such a shame to screw up good food with a poor pairing. The sommelier had been happy to choose for us and told us the full history of each wine as he brought them out to us. The passion shone from the man's eyes and only added to the experience.

  Conversation flowed between Keirn and me, mostly. I couldn’t help wondering what I’d do if he said no. What would I do if he thought it was too much? My heart kept trying to climb into my throat, and my hands trembled when I didn’t focus. I kept losing my words and fidgeting until we'd finished dessert and Keirn finally cracked.

  "Dacian, what's wrong with you?"

  It wasn't quite how I'd hoped this would happen, but it was now or never. There wasn’t going to be a better moment than this. I swallowed down my terror and pulled out the ring from my pocket before I got down on one knee at Keirn's side. I couldn't look at his face. I was too scared to see horror or anger there. It felt as though the large room was closing in on me, and the silence was suffocating. All eyes were on me. Gods be with me, please let him say yes.

  I opened the box to reveal the Corbeaux ring and said in a shaky voice, "Keirn, you're the love of my life. Will you marry me?"

  My heart stopped dead in my chest as time seemed to stretch on for infinity. I had frozen, my eyes cast down at the white wooden flooring, too terrified to look up at Keirn. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was more likely a few seconds, I raised my eyes to see his reaction. A delicate smile had spread across his pale pink lips and his silver eyes were shining with unshed tears.

  Slowly he reached his hand out to my cheek and said, "Of course I will, you fool!"

  I finally breathed again. My heart was threatening to burst out of my chest as I placed the ring on Keirn's finger. The elegant blue threads looked perfect on his slender fingers. It was real. He'd said yes. I was going to marry the man of my dreams.

  Everyone in the restaurant erupted into cheers, and I looked away from embarrassment. Maybe I should have proposed somewhere quiet and personal. Keirn leaned up and kissed me tenderly.

  "I love you, Dacian Corbeaux, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

  Grab your copy of the final book in the Ink Born series now!

  Other books by Holly Evans.

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  If you’d like to read other books set in the Feinverse, (the world the Ink Born books are set in), try Seers Stone.

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  Holly Evans, Ritual Ink

 

 

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