Perhaps Maya's overexcitement produced Elena's disappointment.

It wasn't anything they didn't already know to be there, and seeing the runic glyphs wasn't special on its own—only revealing the trick behind it. It was like showing the script of an amazing computer program to someone who didn't quite care about it in the first place.

Ascending to the wooden deck, Maya couldn't help but marvel at the elaborate etchings that embellished every corner. They were woven into the environment so seamlessly that they resembled traditional folk art more than they did spells.

"So what are these markings?" Maya inquired.

"Runic spells," Erik answered. "Primarily Glamour."

"And these?" Maya pointed to her arm, thirsty for knowledge.

"Sight. It allows you to see through Glamour spells," he explained.

Maya felt oddly blessed for having a chance to study up close the type of magic said only to be reserved for Hunters.

"Hmm…" she scratched her face, muttering her thoughts aloud, "Charms that work without incantation…"

Suddenly, she realized Erik was observing her with a warm smile, amused by her child-like curiosity.

"Oh," she suddenly felt embarrassed. "It's just… they don't teach us about this type of charms at the academy."

"For a fair reason," he nodded. "Although simple, they are quite dangerous to play with."

"Really?" Maya was surprised. "They seem harmless." She ran her fingers across the etching on the wooden railing.

"Like all spells, they need to be powered," Erik explained. "Without a proper understanding, it can easily drain your life force."

"Then what is powering these?"

"They're quite weak, so the ambient elemental energy is sufficient. The Sight on your arm activated because of your powers and magic flowing through you," Erik continued, giving a lesson. "For me, it isn't as simple."

Maya recalled him having lost his element. Since he was able to see through these spells, he must have a way to activate his own Sight.

"It tends to need a little nudge. Lighter usually does the trick."

"Like you did with Elena?"

"Correct."

"But I thought vampires were magical creatures."

"From a biological standpoint, they are just a reanimated corpse run by parasitic blood. They don't need magic to function."

"Is that what you think of me as?" Elena mixed in. "Just a parasite assuming the identity that was already installed in my host's brain?" she chuckled to herself. "No soul?"

Erik didn't answer. He did treat her like some creature from the very beginning. The mere thought was frightening to Maya, so she'd rather not think about it. Thankfully, she was quickly distracted by noticing the markings slowly erasing themselves.

"It's fading," Maya said with disappointment.

"It was just a weak charm," Erik clarified. "Come inside. Your eyes will be confused out here," he said as he opened the door to the cabin for her and gave her a warm smile. "Ladies first."

"Well, thank you," Elena smirked as she darted ahead, attempting to undermine his chivalrous gesture towards Maya.

However, the back collar of her jacket was swiftly grabbed and yanked back, allowing only Maya to pass first. "You're no lady."

"You said 'ladies', so the other lady is… you?" she responded with a snarky tone, awkwardly turning her head toward him while still hanging in his grip.

Undeterred by her jab at his masculinity, he retorted with an unshakeable smirk, "Still a better lady than you," and walked in before her.

As Maya glanced around the cabin, she noticed this time around it had an entirely different feel. Only objects he regularly used or were a work in progress were piled around, but the fashion was far more orderly.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The blinds were lifted so the space was bathed in gentle light, appearing far more accommodating than it had been before. Its prior state had Maya worried about his living conditions, but it appeared he knew how to tidy up when expecting visitors.

"Do you have longer-lasting charms?" Maya assumed he didn't have to redraw that spell every time he needed to find his house.

"I do," he confirmed casually as he stood with his hands behind his back, allowing girls to settle wherever they liked. "Mine are permanent."

"Could you make mine too?" she asked with caution in her tone, wondering if that would be breaking some kind of Hunter's rule.

"I can make it permanent, sure. But that would entail the inscriptions on your skin would have to be as well," he explained. "Most runic spells are quite easy to break, only needing to interrupt the markings."

"How do you make it permanent?" Maya questioned, wondering how someone would ensure markings on your skin wouldn't be erased.

As a hint, he brandished a device he casually pulled out of the desk drawer he was leaning on, and she quickly realized what he meant.

"Oh."

"Matching tattoos?" Elena made a derisive comment. "Like a real tiny cult."

Maya looked at the device hosting a stack of needles and couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. Strange he would have such a specific device just lying around, but then again, perhaps it wasn't so strange for a hunter.

Noticing her intimidation, Erik gave her a warm smile and placed the tattooing machine back. "Don't worry, I'm not asking this of you. I will craft you a suitable artefa—"

"No! I want to do it!" Maya interrupted him, clenching her fists with determination.

He raised his eyebrows at her sudden resolve.

If she took into account that she was a Prima, seeing through magic could be quite a detrimental feature. With that in mind, she decided it was important that she did it, but then the words he was going to say started reaching her ears.

'Was he casually suggesting that he craft me a personalized artefact?!'

Those things were rare and only purchasable with merit points. As a hunter, he might have access to different resources—but still, would he really go to such lengths for her?

However, since she had already hastily agreed, she felt there was no turning back now.

"Does it hurt a lot?" she asked shyly.

Surprisingly, Elena answered, "Knowing you, yes. It hurts a lot."

Maya turned her attention to Elena, furrowing her brows. "How do you know? Have you ever gotten a tattoo?"

Elene gave her a simple smile—one clearly hiding something. It might as well be a solid confirmation.

Maya's eyes widened. "Where?"

She tried to wreck her brain, wondering how something like that escaped her attention after having lived with Elena for months now.

"You should ask Keith that question," Leo's voice came from behind.

Maya, now entirely adjusted to the sudden presence of ghosts, sprang, turning back on the sofa, her voice laced with surprise and curiosity. "Have you seen her tattoos?!"

Chuckling, Elena greeted, "Hi, Leo." She, too, was adjusted to situations where Maya would suddenly start speaking to empty space.

However, Maya had forgotten that one person among them might find such behaviour rather confusing.

"Is that your ghost friend?" Erik inquired.

"What did he say?" Elena cut him off, curious.

"He said Keith would know the answer."

A mischievous smirk appeared on Elena's face. "Well…" she was failing to suppress her laughter, "he just outed himself as a voyeur."

Maya blinked for a moment, unfamiliar with the term, but quickly inferred what she meant. "Y-you mean as someone who likes to watch…?" She covered her mouth, feeling disturbed, realizing what type of situation she was suggesting he enjoyed watching.

"No!" Leo exclaimed, figuring out what he was being accused of. "Don't listen to her! She's wildly jumping to conclusions. I don't do those sorts of things! You can see it even if she's not completely naked!"

Although he was passionately defending himself, somehow it only worked to further confirm it.

"Leo…" Maya was speechless.

He was a teenager whose presence was undetectable by everyone but Maya. She didn't want to think he would do such despicable things, but there wasn't anything that could stop him either. It was only fortunate that Elena seemed amused rather than mortified by the idea.

Missing all of the context, Erik must've been confused but didn't ask or say anything. Elena, however, was still drowning in a fit of laughter.

"Forget about all that," Leo tried to change the subject, feeling embarrassed. "You were just about to allow a stranger to put ink on you!"

"Erik's not a stranger," Maya countered.

"He is! You only met him the other day," Leo argued. "I came to be your voice of reason."

"You don't get to have a say in this. I can't believe you do things like that!"

"I don't! Maya, I swear. It's her fault—"

"It's her fault you watch her?!" Maya was beside herself. She didn't want to allow those words to even finish leaving his mouth.

While Leo fumbled through his words—trying to excuse himself, insisting he'd only noticed once by accident when Elena suddenly decided to change—Elena snickered maliciously in the background at the justifications she couldn't hear, enjoying the chaos she'd created.

Maya, overwhelmed and not knowing how to deal with the situation unravelling, turned to Erik and proclaimed:

"We are doing this."

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