"You should have guessed by now that I'm not with the Enforcement Squad. The captain thinks I'm a young officer trying to earn merit and rise through the ranks. Those Death Eaters outside think I'm a hidden asset planted within the Ministry of Magic. Both sides have gotten the surface right, but neither has grasped the essence."
After saying that, he opened his mouth slightly.
His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, its base curling back to reveal an extremely small, dark-colored pattern beneath the mucous membrane deep in his mouth. It was a skull no larger than a fingernail, its edges blurred.
The pattern of a black snake extended from his mouth and coiled around the skull's lower jaw. Its lines were fine and gray-black, nearly blending into the surrounding tissue at the base of his tongue. Unless someone deliberately looked from that angle, it would have been impossible to notice.
Bella's gaze paused on the mark for an instant. Her expression did not change, nor did the hand holding her teacup tremble, but when she set it down, the cup touched the table more lightly than usual.
Rodolphus saw it from beside the windowsill as well. His arms remained folded across his chest, but the knuckles of his right hand tapped once against his left arm.
Morgan drew back his tongue, closed his mouth, and straightened. He lifted his hands from the edge of the table, interlacing his fingers in front of him. His posture was as composed as though he had just finished a demonstration lesson. "This mark has been here for fourteen years. I was twelve when it was branded. I was taken into a dark room in a basement. Someone held down my shoulders, made me open my mouth, and used a red-hot