Cass, topless, was laying on her bed as Lord Hall prepared the needles behind her. When she thought back to the first time she had a glyph tattooed she smiled, then laughed.

  “You know Master,” Cass said jokingly. “You never did give me that coin you promised me.”

  “Hmmm, oh!” Her Master laughed as he put a hand on Cass’s back and chuckled as well. “I forgot about that, I guess I owe you one Cass. That doesn’t bother you, does it Cass?”

  With his hand stroking her back, Cass caved faster than she had planned. Hall had gotten into the habit of lightly using his power whenever he touched Cass, which made it difficult for her to think.

  “Master,” Cass said as she shivered, despite being warm. “You like teasing me a bit much I think.”

  Sarius just laughed and began his work. The glyphs were not particularly large, but they were more complex than the other Cass had- especially after the extra adjustments Cass and her Master had made to them. And of course, her Master did enjoy teasing her, he continued to pour his power into her as he worked. Again, Cass thought back to that day in the dungeon. Back then, she had been trying her best not to scream and pass out, whereas now she was trying not to moan!

  Cass reflected over the past half of a year or so of her life. It was a strange twist of fate that had led her to this place, and despite her worries and fears, when she thought about it she was happier now than she had ever been before meeting her Master. Not that there were not problems, but right now, at this moment- Cass felt hopeful, and happy. Even after what happened with Claire, her Master had moved to protect her and given her even more.

  She would absolutely not let her generous Master down and would be certain to live up to his expectations in her potential.

  Hours later, her Master finished and wiped the blood away from her new glyphs. Her incredible healing took care of the rest and Cass was able to sit up without needing to worry and stretched.

  “Well go ahead and test it out,” Hall encouraged. “I would like to see, or I suppose not see, the result.”

  Before her chuckling Master, Cass began to feed power into the glyphs and started to fade. There were several adjustments made to the glyphs that her Master had applied to Cass’s back that allowed for several new features. With a great deal of the burden of forming the systems taken off of her shoulders, Cass was now able to control the degree to which she faded. Cass slowly became more translucent, seeming more shadow than solid object, before fading away entirely.

  “Fascinating,” Hall muttered. “This is an incredible discovery- it makes me wonder just how much potential we are missing. When the political situation stabilizes, there is so much research to be done…”

  Cass faded back into sight, smiling widely and her Master grinned as well- though for different reasons.

  “Master,” Cass admonished jokingly. “Enjoying the view?”

  “Just thinking that I would have to be careful about any glyphs there,” Hall replied. “I am completely innocent, I assure you.”

  “Of course you are, Master.” Cass laughed and stood up to get dressed, noting that her Master looked rather sad as he watched her dress. “What is next on the agenda today?”

  “Ah,” her Master came back to reality, stood up and began to put the inks away. “I will be introducing you to your escort, not that you need it personally. Though you might find them useful at some point.”

  “Did they receive glyphs already?” Cass asked curiously, and Hall nodded. “That is good, combined with their training I will not have any reason to worry about threats.”

  “Would you anyways?” Hall laughed, “with your magic you could slip away from any situation without much of a worry.”

  “Until Natalie has her glyphs, I will always be a little worried.”

  “Ah, her.” Her Master had a pensive expression, “the only issue is her age. You know that the application is unpleasant, to say the least.”

  “But you could use your magic to remove the pain right?” Cass asked, and then narrowed her eyes, “and that is all you would do with your magic, right?”

  Hall could not help but laugh as Cass was close to threatening him, she had changed so much over the time he had known her.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Cass, I was not even planning on apply the glyphs myself.” He was still laughing, “You will be, and I will be supervising.”

  “Master!?” Cass was shocked, “are you sure?”

  “No, are you sure, Cass.” Lord Hall corrected her, “I own you, but you are stepping onto a different stage now- you have your own decisions to make, and you do not need me to make them for you.”

  “Then, in that case…” Cass took a deep breath, “by your leave Master, I will go discuss that with her now.”

  At Hall’s nod, Cass curtsied and left the room. Again, she thought about how many things have changed. She was no longer followed by guards and whenever she passed a servant in the halls they made way and bowed slightly to her. It was a strange feeling.

  Even the way she walked was different, her tutors had spent a lot of time correcting the way she moved in public. Though to be honest, Cass did not think she would ever achieve the grace and poise they desired in her- she was too assertive apparently. Natalie, however, had taken to the lessons incredibly well. It would be interesting to see how well she moved after the glyphs were applied…

  Cass was interrupting one of Natalie’s lessons, but as her Master had reminded her, she could do that now. “Excuse me please, I will be borrowing Natalie for a moment.”

  The senior mage bowed and Natalie left with Cass who took her to a nearby parlor.

  “Lady Cass?” Natalie sounded a little worried, “is there something wrong?”

  “As I have said before, you do not need to call me Lady Nat.” Cass soothed, “and no, there is nothing wrong- but I have to have an important discussion with you.”

  They sat down and made themselves comfortable, Cass even sent a maid to bring them tea. Cass had actually become rather addicted to Gyakura tea that was imported from some of the southern territories that were not in rebellion. It was quite expensive, each cup was worth enough to feed a family for a few days, and Cass considered it to be one of the single biggest benefits of her new position. It also had a sweet taste so Natalie did not mind sharing it with her.

  They made small talk until the tea arrived, and Cass savored her first taste of the tea before diving into the main issue.

  “Nat,” Cass set her teacup down. “I want to give you glyphs like mine. Would you be ok with that?”

  “Glyphs?” Natalie’s eyes widened, “but those are magic…”

  “How much do you know about my glyphs Natalie?” Cass asked.

  “Not much Lady,” Natalie admitted. “I know that they make you strong and fast, and that they are magic.”

  Cass smiled and held out her arm so that Natalie could look at the glyph that twisted around it.

  “You are not wrong, but there is more to it than that.” Cass explained as Natalie cautiously touched the glyph where it ended on the inside of Cass’s wrist. “Before, soldiers with glyphs had to have them charged by mages- and it was not very efficient. My Master and I developed a way to apply a new glyph that draws in ambient magic and powers them without a need to be charged. So yes, they are magic, but you do need to have magic to use them.”

  “That is amazing,” Natalie’s voice was filled with awe.

  Cass nodded and smiled, “I agree, and I would like you to have them to.”

  “But… Wouldn’t it hurt?” Natalie asked cautiously, “they are tattoos right?”

  “Normally, yes.” Cass did not lie to Natalie. “When I went through it for the first time, it hurt a lot and I was terrified.”

  Cass took Nat’s hand and spoke calmly, “but my Master can prevent there from being any pain at all, and he will do that for you when I apply the glyphs.”

  Natalie seemed to be unsure, but in the end she agreed faster than Cass had thought she would. She felt there was more going on than what she was aware of, but Cass decided not to pry. She would ask after the glyphs were applied.

  Later that evening, Cass was in the opposite position of what she was used to. Cass had the inks and combs ready and set out, and laying on her stomach before her was Natalie. Unlike when Cass had hers applied, Natalie was given underwear to preserve her modesty and had a comfortable bed for her to rest on.

  Cass took a deep breath, and then exhaled and set about beginning the tattoo.

  “How do you feel Nat?” She asked as she wiped the blood away. So far Natalie had not given any indication of discomfort, but Cass was worried anyway.

  “It feels weird Cass,” Natalie replied. “Pokey, but it does not hurt, just feels strange.”

  “That is good Nat,” Cass smiled in relief, and continued her work. “Just let me know if anything is wrong, ok? But make certain you do not move- I do not want to make a mistake.”

  The one on Nat’s back took the longest, it was hours of painstaking work to make certain that everything was perfect and Cass was glad that her Master was watching over the process to make certain it went well. After the back, Cass marked Natalie’s arms and legs as well.

  “There we go Natalie!” Cass breathed out in relief, “we are finished, how do you feel?”

  “Even more strange…” Natalie replied, reaching out her arms and examining the designs on them. “I feel… Strong…”

  “Feels nice, doesn’t it? Want to go test it out?”

  Twenty minutes later, Natalie was amusing herself by jumping as far up as she could and having Cass catch her as she fell down. She was just reveling in her new strength and speed, and Cass was enjoying watching her enjoy it!

  Between this power and her training in unarmed combat, Cass felt that she had far less to worry about in the future. Though she hoped that this preparation would not be needed.

  AN: Thank you for reading! Want to read the next chapter early? You can! Donating to my Patreon allows you to read the next three to four chapters early, and you can find it here:

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  “Mystic Ink” Releases: Thursday and Sunday

  A grimdark fantasy adventure following Cass, a homeless orphan abducted off the streets of Tyine and subjected to magical experiments. Join her in a journey through blood and magic in a treacherous world that strives to warp her very mind! In my opinion, this is my most well written story, and it is certainly my highest rated!

  “A Broken World” Releases: Thursday and Sunday

  A summoned hero tale where a biologist is called into a world of demons and magic! He must use his knowledge to save humanity from extinction and hopefully find a way back home, all the while avoiding political and literal deathtraps! My most popular story here on RoyalRoad!

  “R.A.D.E.” Releases: Sunday

  Set in the future where governments have collapsed and corporations have claimed the lands for themselves, the remnants of nations fight back against the encroachment of these giant companies in a special operations shadow war. Reduced to its original thirteen colonies, the United States employs the Elite R.A.D.E. squad to take on missions no one else can. Recon, Assault, Demolition, and Espionage, all fall under the purview of this elite squad!

  “Pathos” Releases: Saturday

  Set in a province of Imperial Rome, Pathos is our world and yet not. Emotions leak out from people to affect the very air itself creating an Emotional Atmosphere. This atmosphere can range from prosperous to destructive, and some powerful individuals can use the strength within it to produce magical abilities and miracles. Marius, the son of the Governor of Germania Inferior, is taking over for his father while he is away in Rome. However, internal strife, trouble across the border, and hurricanes of emotions will make his easy life far harder than he ever imagined!

  “The 212 Crisis” Releases: Friday

  Thomas Savery invented the steam engine, and in this alternate history world, he did not stop there! A steampunk slice-of-life story set in the London of the late 1700’s where steampunk automations are a common sight and have even begun to push people out of jobs! Follow Mary and Alan as they live life in this constantly changing world and try to make their own way through!

  “The Illuminating Heroes” Releases: Monday

  Set in the near future, Kevin Sterling, a billionaire owner of a giant tech company can no longer stand to watch the governments of the world destroy it. Environmental disasters, violence both domestically and internationally, economic struggles… All caused by bumbling fools at the top who care nothing but for keeping their fat asses in their seats. Sterling has had enough, and so have his friends and colleagues. The movers and shakers of the world, business leaders from every industry and sector, artists and scientists, all gather together to form The Illuminati! And they will work to save the world from the destruction corrupt and inept governments have brought down on it. They may not be the heroes we want, but they are the only ones we are going to get! A slice-of-life, overpowered protagonist (overpowered pocketbook that is), comedy focusing on Sterling’s work to start a New World Order!

  “A Dungeon Core”

  Releases: Tuesday

  The main character dies and is resurrected as a dungeon core. So far, so normal. But he has no intention of staying as a crystal for eternity. Join this Core on his path to regain his body and his life while building up his defenses against people who would plunder and kill him!

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