“Your talesm prim will be much better this time,” Leo said with a smile, holding up his hand. “For scribes, our first tattoo is always the shakiest, because we do it when we’re young and first starting. Nothing can really prepare you for the pain of jabbing an ivory needle into your own skin over and over again.”

Malachi tried to remain stoic. “I suppose not.”

“We get better with practice, of course. But your writing is very good. Muscle memory, I imagine. We’ll have to see how you do with the needle.”

Malachi wrote carefully, always stopping short of completely finishing a sequence. Leo told him he must only finish the spell when he was casting it on his body. For now, he would simply practice. He looked at the book the other man had given him, a scribe’s primer with dotted lines instead solid, to train the boys who would become warriors and scholars.

“What was your first spell?” Malachi asked. “After your talesm prim, what was your first?”

Leo smiled bashfully. “To be taller.”

Malachi laughed. The man towered over everyone in the house except his cousin, who matched him in height. Yet, despite his great size, there was a playfulness about Leo that Malachi found endearing.

“Well done. It worked.”

“You think it’s funny now, but the summer I started scribing my talesm, Max had shot up a few inches on me. I was worried.”

“You’re cousins?”

He nodded. “Our mothers were twin sisters. Most Irin couples only have one pregnancy, but twins do happen. It’s considered a great blessing. Our mothers were very close. Max and I were born within months of each other, so we’re really more like brothers than cousins.”

“Always a competition?”

“When we were younger. Not as much now. We’re very different.”

“Max is… intense.”

Leo smiled. “He’s very passionate about the future. He questions everything, especially the politicians.”

“It’s good that someone does.”

“And I know he desperately wants a mate,” Leo said in a quieter voice. “We all do.”

“It must be frustrating.” Malachi knew that Irin males couldn’t touch humans. He had no desire for anyone except Ava—even though he barely remembered her—but for unmated males like Leo and Max…

Malachi saw a faint tinge of red on Leo’s cheekbones. “I believe that heaven has already chosen my reshon. I must simply be patient and wait for her. Though human females are… tempting. I cannot lie.”

Malachi stopped his practice and put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “She will be worthy of your patience, brother.”

“Thank you.” Leo pointed back to the paper he’d been using. “Your letters are well formed. I really can’t help you any more with them. I can answer any questions you have about the tattooing, but I suspect your muscle memory will hold true in the ritual room, as well.”

“And you’ll be there?”

“I’m not your father, but we don’t do our first talesm alone, so yes.” Leo smiled. “I’d be honored to witness for you. It won’t be too much. Just the talesm prim to activate your magic and call on our forefathers’ magic, then the basic protection spells and a few others. You’re a good runner already—very fast—so I’d focus on eyesight, reflexes, and protection from blades. Those would be the most important if we encounter any fighting. After that, you can improvise spells as you need them. You’ll find all the basics in that book.”

Malachi paged through the book for a moment, then looked up. “Thank you, Leo. You’ve been very patient with all this.”

“You’re welcome.”

They both read in silence a bit longer, then Malachi said, “Rhys told me when I first started watching Ava, before I knew she was Irina, that you were the one to help me guard her.”

“I was.”

“Would you tell me about her? Can you?”

Leo smiled. “Of course. I liked Ava very much. Even when we thought she was human.”

“What is she like?”

“She’s… unpredictable. She never really does what you expect.”

Malachi frowned. “Oh?”

“But then, looking back, you aren’t surprised at all.”

“Why not?” He listened, rapt to hear any crumb of who this woman was. She’d captured Malachi’s heart without him knowing anything about her. He wanted to. Desperately.

Leo continued, “I think it’s how she throws people off. By being unpredictable. She likes to keep others off-balance so they don’t look too closely.”

That made him smile. “She doesn’t like being the center of attention?”

“No, definitely not.” Leo grinned, then his smile fell. “Ava is, more than anything, a survivor.”

“What do you mean?”

“She had to be. She heard voices her whole life—like the Irina do—but she didn’t know what they were. Her parents thought she was mentally ill. I think she still thinks that sometimes. She makes jokes about being crazy.”

“I think I remember that,” he said, recalling the password he’d typed into her computer.

“You hated it; I could tell. Max and Damien say she’s actually very powerful. They think it’s because she has so much power bound up from living a life away from magic. I always thought it was because she’s not like other Irina.”