The closet romantic inside Aspenβs head had a sudden desire to kiss him.
She hated the way he managed to do that when she was least expecting it. In class the first time theyβd met, at the Purple Dragon when heβd walked her to the car, and any other time when she forgot, for a nanosecond, that he looked like Marc.
He sat down next to her. Aspen leaned closer to him, wanting to reach out and touch his lips.
βMay I see your tattoo?β he asked, startling her.
βMy what?β
βYour tattoo, the one on your ankle.β
βOh, sure.β Until tonight, sheβd been super careful about keeping the tat covered.
Sid was the first person to see it, and she wanted to show it off a bit.
He slid onto the floor and pulled her foot into his lap. Shivers ran up her spine.
He slowly traced the words with his finger and whispered under his breath.
βObsidian, Nin Meleth, Nin Aran.β
Aspenβs first instinct was to pull her foot away, but she enjoyed it as much as it tortured her.
She bit her lip and waited for him let go. Instead, he adjusted so that he could see her, but he continued to hold her foot in his lap.
βWhen did you get this?β he asked.
βUm, about a month ago. Itβs not really a tattoo.β
He raised his eyebrows.
βItβs gonna sound crazy, but itβs a dragon marking. It appeared when I touched that black dragon, but it didnβt have all those words, only a bunch of loops.
Then today, when I touched that silver dragon in the courtyard, it changed. The only word that makes sense is Obsidian. I think that might be the name of the silver dragon.β
He pursed his lips. βMaybe. But it would make more sense if it was the name of the black one.β
Aspen hadnβt thought of that. βWhy?β
βBecause Obsidian is a black rock, not a silver one.β
βOh.β Now she felt silly.
He let go of her foot, moved onto the couch, and pressed the play button on the remote.
About halfway through the movie, her eyes refused to stay open.
After fighting with them for fifteen minutes, she gave in, allowed them to close, and settled her head into a soft warm pillow.....