Darkest Shadows

28) Never Felt More Beautiful

"Stay away from me and my family."--Jax

♡

2989

"Lookin' good Jax."

He puffs out his leather jacket and adjusts the chains when Rhea slaps the back of his head. "Stop complimenting yourself."

"Hey! I do look good thank you very much," he grumbles and rubs the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah, come on."

"Jeez, did Gemini not satisfy you enough-" He blinks and suddenly Rhea is directly in front of him, staring down at him from her seven-inch heels.

"Do not talk about my sex life or my husband, or I can guarantee you that you will be deprived of both," Rhea threatens sweetly and pats his cheek. "Now are you coming or am I leaving without you?"

"Coming!" he squeaks. Ascelin wanted to get more tattoos, so Rhea agreed to go with him...and then dragged Jax with them too. Why couldn't it have been a sibling thing? By the time they got out of Rhea's Ferrari at the tattoo shop an idea popped into Jax's head, he loves looking at Ambrose's tattoo and knowing he wrote it, quite a few times Ambrose has shown his love for Jax's tattoo also. Those days always bled into desirable nights and those nights led into wonderful mornings, in light of that he decided he is going to get another tattoo, maybe even a piercing...

"What are you getting Lin?" Rhea asks, hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and clicking her high heels on the linoleum. "I think I will get another."

Without another word Rhea is in the chair with her left wrist on the bench and ink is being carved into her skin, a fancy S, G, and T intertwined in a cool design, the letters of her three favorite people. The g is in gold, the t in blue, and the s in pink, altogether it looks really good. Then Ascelin is next with a snake-a Black Mamba, specifically-weaved over and under a thorny crown in red. It doesn't take a genius to know that he got it for Ashaura, his true sister who is now gone because Rhea was able to kill her Other, the one who plagued her for years and cost her so much of her life. Rhea hugs her brother briefly and whispers, "It looks great."

"Thanks."

It seems like seconds pass when Rhea and Ascelin gasp, their eyes are drawn to the new tattoo adorning his chest. "What? Is it bad?"

The wings of the bird on his chest fade out to different words, the right says Our darkest shadows and the left says fade with light, and under the bird itself written in delicate ink is Forever my light is love. The bird is pretty big, it spreads entirely over his left pec but is certainly beautiful with its sharp green eyes. "You see it too, don't you?" Ascelin whispers.

"See what?"

"The Queen of Hell, my step-sister Nyx's Hellhound is a falcon and Antarctica's was a panther with stunning green eyes. That is not what is odd though, there is a scar on the bird's left-wing and throat in distinct patterns. You did not hear this from me, but Ambrose had a sister, Rainie, who was older than him but died of a drug overdose. Sybella has had dreams about her, and I taught her how to draw down what she sees, and she drew that exact bird with the same markings and a girl who looks just like Ambrose. He knows nothing more than he had a sister who is now dead, my problem is how the hell did my daughter see that and then you get it tatted on you?"

"I just drew it while you were getting your tatt Ascelin, I've never seen it before."

"Do you think this means-" Ascelin begins but is cut off by Rhea's sigh.