Chapter 35
Chapter thirty-five
Kai
My hands lay on the smooth graphite of Vidar’s bathroom sink, water dripping down my naked body. Clean soap-scented steam from my shower fogs up the room.
With my fluffy black towel, I rub away the misty mirror and stare back at my reflection.
Having dinner with my family and falling into the easy, familiar routine had been a nice breather away from the chaos. Especially with Vidar at my side. Too bad Teagan ran off before I could actually speak with him.
Reaching out, I press the pads of my fingers into the cool glass, the smooth surface squeaking as I slowly draw swirls in the fog.
When I’m around others, I can quiet Summer’s voice telling me I’m a half-demon. But now I’m alone and…
I go through unclear memories of my parents. Not the wonderful people I have now, but the ones before. A Mother and Father whose faces escape me, the sounds of their voices lost to time, but I know they loved me.
Who saved me and damned themselves.
And how do I repay them?
By wishing Kwame and Charlotte were my real birth parents. Which is when, even though I’ve played this game a thousand times over and should be expecting it, the guilt comes at me like a sucker punch to leave me breathless.
I clean away the mist and the doodles I drew in them with my towel, then stare back at my reflection.
“Half-demon.” I taste the word, see if it fits. Find that I feel…something. Or maybe that's just the now-constant ache from my missing soul.
My hand goes towards my braids, pauses, then pushes my ashy blond hair up and away from my face and stare at the marred skin. The crisscrossing of raised marks starts from my forehead and curves around my face to finish at my chin.
Like a wrung out crescent moon.
I try to find the symbols Summer said were there to prove I’m not human. Or not fully human. But maybe each mark has been a scar to me for too long, because I don’t find anything new.
However, being a half-demon doesn’t feel like a lie. More like something I was told once in passing. Like meeting a family member as a kid, then meeting them all over again as an adult.
A memory seems to try to pull itself to the surface—a similar slope as my nose, maybe another pair of jade eyes. Skin a few shades darker, someone else with skin a few shades lighter.
I struggle to hold onto the murky images, but like the mist in the bathroom, it soon fades until it’s just me and my reflection.
Blowing out a breath, I drop my braids and dry myself.
I tug on a pair of sweats and a simple white T-shirt, thankful to Ramy for going to my flat and picking up some clothes. Once done, I make my way back into Vidar’s bedroom to find Golden curled up on the sofa, staring out the dark window to the muted howling wind beyond.
“Golden?” When he stays lost in his thoughts, I make my way over and drop a hand on his shoulder.
He startles before I can say his name again.
“Holy shit,” he laughs. “You scared the shit outta me.”
“Sorry, mate. You alright? You looked miles away.”
“Sorry. Yeah. I was just…” his distracted gaze travels back to the window, “having a think.”
Moving around the sofa, I lay back against the window, the cool glass grounding me. “About what?”
Golden waves me off. “How was dinner with the family?”
“Dad loves Vidar. Mum loves getting under his skin.”
“I’d expect nothing less from Charlotte,” Golden laughs softly. “Teagan?”
“He shoved food in his mouth then left,” I sigh. Then I wince, sudden sharp pain digging into the middle of my chest. “And he was the one who wanted to talk.”
Golden shoots up and is by my side a lot faster than I would’ve expected. “Kai, are you okay?”
“My chest.” I rub where the pain begins to settle back into a dull ache. “Summer told me to expect it, so nothing to worry about.”
Which doesn’t smooth away the wrinkle between my friend’s brow.
“Really, I’m okay. We just need to get my soul back,” I say as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. “I’m more worried about Emma with that fucking spellbook.”
“Hopefully it isn’t like last time,” Golden says this lightly, yet there’s a drop to his voice that doesn’t sit right with me.
“Talk to me, Golden. You weren’t drinking your blood again.”
The wrinkle between his brow warps into a full frown, his arms crossing tight enough to strangle. “I don’t feed one time, and everyone is at me. I have been feeding, I’m allowed to skip a fucking meal, especially when so much shit is happening around us.”
His tone takes me aback.
Golden’s loud and brash, not always thinking before he speaks, more so when he’s in a bad mood. But really, he’s a softie who just wants to be cuddled and fussed over, even if he pretends to hate the latter.
So, hearing him sound harsh?
That doesn’t sit right with me.
But he can be as much of a sourpuss as he wants; I’m not letting that push me away. I drop my arms around him and pull Golden into a tight hug. My friend stiffens, something else that is so unlike him, even though he soon becomes liquid and hugs me back.
I don’t speak, just continue to hold him. If I wanna get something outta my friend, the best way is to stay silent, because inevitably he’ll want to fill it.
“Vidar wants to make you into a vampire, right?”
Golden lays his head on my shoulder, his soft curls brushing against my cheek, his even softer voice spilling into my ear.
“I’m not even sure how it’d work with the whole half-demon thing…”
“Maybe. But Vidar wants to, I can see it. Lucero wanted the same, even if it scared him, and I wanted it to. Really badly. The idea of being with him forever made me so happy. But stupid, because I didn’t think about what being a vampire meant.”
“What do you mean?”
Golden pulls back, and I look him over. Really take him in, only to notice how beautiful he is. Not in the way he’s always been, but different. Now his hazel eyes dazzle like his namesake, lips a dusty rose, creamy brown skin smoother than is…well, human.
And it isn’t just his looks. When did Golden stop fidgeting so much?
“You gotta promise me something, Kai,” Golden says, pulling me back from the realisation that when I wasn't looking, he changed. “Promise, when the time comes for Vidar to make you into a vampire, you’ll give it a proper think. You gotta understand what you’re doing.”
I take hold of his hand. “Do you—?”
“No.” Golden’s voice is firm. “I don’t regret my choice, I love Lucero so much. So, so much. But…” He looks down, his lush, dark curls falling to hide his gaze. “I didn’t understand.”
“Golden…”
“When me and Ramy found you after Emma’s attack, your blood was fucking everywhere. I was scared. I thought you were dead. But before that…” Golden’s head drops lower, voice so quiet that when he whispers, “I was hungry,” I nearly miss it.
And I don’t like what I hear.
Grabbing his cheeks, I force his startled gaze to mine. “So. Fucking. What.”
Unshed tears swim in his guilty stare, as dazzling as scattered jewels in the clearest river bed.
I’m a fucking moron for not noticing all of Golden’s changes.
Or maybe, in my eyes, my silly best mate has always been the prettiest thing.
“First, I’m fucking delicious. So, of course, I made you hungry.”
Golden’s chin wobbles, but I can feel his cheeks struggle to hold back a smile.
“And second, you’ve been a vampire all of five minutes, give yourself a break, alright. If I were lying in a pool of veggie burgers, it would’ve made you hungry, too.”
This finally cracks him, and Golden laughs. “Stupid,” he murmurs. “So stupid.”
I smile. “I promise to think about becoming a vampire, yeah? But I ain’t letting you blame yourself because you wanted a bite of human, when all you’ve been snacking on is reheated animal blood and Lucero.”
When a tear rolls down his cheek, the guilt in him seems to spill away with it.
“I love you, dude.” And he hugs me tight enough to hurt.
“I love you too, mate.” But not all pain is bad, so I don’t mind.
Loving someone isn’t always easy, but Golden and me have gone through way too much together for it to ever go away. Change? Yeah, it’ll become something bigger and better and way fucking stronger. But gone?
Not a fucking chance.
Movement at the corner of my eye catches me, and I turn to find Vidar leaning against the doorframe, a look in his eye that has my heart filling to near bursting.
And heat sparks to life.
Golden follows my line of sight, a big, stupid grin pulls at his cheeks when he turns back. “I’ll head out to let you get some rest.” He winks like a ridiculous cartoon character.
“Mate, you ain’t ever gonna be subtle.” And it’s nice to see that something about him hasn’t changed.
Golden snickers.
He offers me one last squeeze before leaving, Vidar looking down at my friend in a way that makes me think he must’ve been a good Father. Then my mate’s gaze locks onto mine as he silently stalks forward.
I tilt my head, another realisation coming at me.
Vidar stops in front of me, his hand reaching out to play with my braids. “Something on your mind, little prince?”
“Kinda wishing the changes would slow down a bit.”
Vidar cocks a questioning eyebrow, cupping my cheek.
“Golden used to walk around like he needed everyone to hear about it.” I lean into Vidar's palm, his warmth adding to the heat low in my stomach. “But I don’t think I’ve heard his footsteps in a while.”
Vidar moves closer, crowding me. “He’s coming into his vampiric powers and getting stronger now that he’s actually feeding. It’s a good thing.”
I nod. “It is…”
“But?”
“Never thought I’d miss hearing those obnoxiously loud stomps of his. But I’m happy he’s better.”
“Me too.” He strokes my face. “I made a good choice, picking you as my mate. You’ll be good for the family.”
“A step-dad to a couple of centuries-old vampires,” I chuckle. “Also, I’m pretty certain Fate decided I’d be your mate, so you can’t take credit for this.”
He hums low, and from his lazy smirk, Vidar clearly disagrees with my statement. But isn’t willing to fight over it.
I run my hands up his arms, holding onto his forearms so I can make his eyes flash with predatory hunger.
“Will you tell me about your tattoos?”
He presses my back against the window, drops his head and brushes his lips against the shell of my ear. “Take off my T-shirt, little prince, and I’ll show you everything."
My breath catches, and I run my flat hands up to his wide, defined shoulders. Down to the well-sculptured panels of his strong chest, excitement burns hot as I’ll finally get to explore every inch of my big vampire’s well-honed body.
My mouth waters with desire.
Blunt teeth nip at my earlobe, dragging a moan out of me as I grab the hem of his shirt and slide the fabric off his body like revealing a treat.