Page 113 of Seared Fates

That will never change. But…Kai’s probing, my magazines, make me wonder…

“I know other men can be gay, bisexual. Trans. More. I know this…” I tell Kai, my voice unsteady.

Kai’s lovely fingers run around to the back of my neck, massaging the tightness away.

“You said ‘other men’, ya know,” Kai says, lips at my ear and gentle as his massaging fingers. “What about you, love?”

Since the moment I was born, I was expected to succeed, and I fought with grit and determination to achieve them all. But no one becomes a raider to stay hidden in their corner of the world. And my world expanded further when I became a vampire.

I explored every land. Prided myself on learning how different—yet oddly similar—all people are.

I always thought I knew myself, but maybe there are still parts I need to uncover.

“Am I…” I clear my suddenly dry throat. “Am I bisexual?”

“How does that word make you feel?” Kai lays a hand over my erratic heart.

We fall into a silence Kai’s created, where there are no right or wrong answers. Like, even if the silence stretches for another thousand years, my soulmate has no plans to move.

“I’m unsure,” I finally answer.

“That’s alright. Labels are tricky. They can be good, ya know. But also limiting. A bit like not having enough room to properly shake your hair out.”

“Did you always know you were gay?”

“Yep,” Kai replies, grinning big and so beautiful for a second, I fall even deeper in love. “But that’s me, and we’re all different. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to figure shit out. Even a thousand years.”

The light in Kai’s eyes dims, and I realise he must be exhausted after everything he’s been through, as well as battling off near constant pain.

“Let’s get some sleep—”

Kai doubles over, and a blood-curdling scream rips free of his throat.

“Kai!” A cold blade of panic slices between my ribs, freezing my useless body as he collapses into himself.

“My chest!” he cries, body shaking. A sudden subzero wave leeching away his warmth.

“Show me.”

It’s a struggle not to use my full strength on Kai’s thrashing body, but soon enough, I’ve got him lying over my lap and ripping up his hoodie.

I suck in a sharp breath between clenched teeth.

His scar is no longer a slightly raised line.

An angry, pulsing white rope of scar tissue has replaced it. Thin, spindly veins shoot out from the infected middle, spreading out like clawing, ravenous fingers.

Spitting out a curse, I lift Kai in my arms and shoot towards the door, ripping the thing off its hinges as I dart through the house.

“SUMMER!”

I find her already running up the stairs, Golden and Ramy behind the shadow mage.

“Show me,” she demands, all business.

Gently, I lay Kai’s trembling body on the floor. His brown skin leached of colour, his eyes unfocused and roaming.

When Summer reveals the mess of Kai’s chest, Golden visibly recoils and grabs hold of Ramy’s arm for support. “What the fuck is that?”