Page 83 of Fang & Fury

“Aye.” Kayla focused on her task once more. “We studied together upon the Isle of Arryn.”

“Before you were cast out for improper behavior,” Mairead added with a glint in her eye.

Kayla cast her a grin this time. “Still holding that against me?”

Mairead huffed. “You’ve never respected the rules. I shouldn’t be surprised you went rogue.” She paused then. “For what it’s worth, half of us wished we were as brave as you … we just lacked the nerve.”

Kayla’s grin softened. “Really?”

Mairead pulled a face. “Really.”

Watching them, Ailsa’s mouth twitched, while Darach swallowed a smile.

Nodding to the druid, Kayla picked up her tattooing needle once more. She then bent over Darach’s thigh and resumed singing.

The soft strains of the sain filled the alcove.

Darach braced himself, and a moment later, the agony resumed.

26: A SECOND CHANCE

HE WAS SWEATING heavily by the time Kayla finished.

His thigh throbbed. The entire tattoo pulsed.

“There.” She stepped back from the table, wiping her hands on a damp cloth. “It’s done.”

Propping himself up on his elbow, Darach took a good look at her handiwork. Previously, the snarling clag-doo had been surrounded by a slender bracelet of thorns, but now, inside that circle were several curving sigils, as well as half-moons and sickles with arrows crossing them.

To his eyes, none of them formed a pattern.

Not one he could recognize anyway.

But as the burning subsided just a little, he went inward, checking the whereabouts of his resident beast.

The clag-doo was growling softly. However, the ruckus it had made early on had subsided. Now it felt subdued—far more than it ever had since he’d gotten this cursed tattoo.

“Ailsa did better than she thought with her binding charm,” Kayla said then, flashing her apprentice a smile. “It’s strong, and it will hold, allowing you to shift at will.”

Ailsa gave an embarrassed half-smile at the compliment.

“However,” Kayla went on. “The sigils I have inked here give you the control you need while you’re in its thrall. And you’ll be able to shift back when you wish.”

Darach nodded. “I suppose I should test it out,” he murmured. “Take myself off into the woods tomorrow alone and check to see whether I will be a danger to you all if I shift in battle.”

“A wise idea,” Kayla agreed.

“We need to research that binding sigil, remember?” Mairead interrupted them. “The High Queen said it was important.”

Kayla stifled a yawn. “And we will … tomorrow morning. It’s getting late, and I’m too drained now.”

Indeed, Darach marked the drawn lines of her face. Working on him so intensively had taken it out of her.

“Very well,” Mairead replied, tone brisk. “I’ll meet you up in the archivist’s alcoves … first thing. Don’t make me wait.” With that, she turned, scarlet robes billowing, and exited the alcove.

“See you tomorrow!” Kayla called after her.

When the three of them were alone once more, Ailsa favored Kayla with an arch look. “Were the two of you actually friends once?”