Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1)

by Callie Hart

The Fae healer had lowered her hands again, but I was staring at them, eyes fixed on them. They were marked with runes. Some of her fingers bore one or two runes. Others had none. There was an elegant design on the back of her right hand, but the other was bare. Louder, the ringing in my ears intensified. I hadn’t even realized that I was crossing the forge until I was standing in front of Te Léna and I was gesturing to her hands. “Do you… I’m sorry, I, uhh, I’ve never seen such pretty tattoos before. Would you mind showing them to me?” “You sound weird,” Carrion said. “And I’m trying to help her forget the tattoos, not make a big deal out of them. Gods, you sure know how to ruin a guy’s chance of getting laid.” Te Léna laughed again. “Carrion, let me put this as plainly as I possibly can. So long as the sun still rises and sets every night, I am never going to sleep with you.” To me, she said, “Of course. Thank you, Saeris. I think they’re pretty, too. My husband and I designed them together.” She had beautiful hands. Graceful and slender, with long fingers. Three out of the five fingers on her left hand bore runes. Two on her index finger, two on her middle finger, and only one on her little finger. On her right hand, there was a single rune on her index finger and another on her ring finger, and that was it. She traced her fingers over the ink on the back of her right hand, beaming as she extended it out for me to see properly. “It’s a Fae custom to mark our skin on our...