Page 16 of Seared Fates

“Kai,” I say gently to soothe the news I have to deliver. “Even if I got rid of this, it’d find its way back to you.”

He pales. “Like…not literally, right?”

“It’s a flesh book. Made by skinning someone alive and imbuing it with magic. Magic, that is now tied to you and because of that, it’ll crawl itself to you.”

His face turns a queasy green, and I drop the spellbook with athudto steer Kai by the shoulders to the small kitchen opposite his bed just as vomit spews past his lips. He clings to the edge like a lifeline as he continues to heave, and I collect his braids to keep them clean, rubbing his back with my other hand.

“Let it out.”

“This is so fucked up,” Kai spits, then shoves himself away—sucking down sharp lungfuls of air as he visibly shakes. “This is fucking mental.”

“It’ll be okay, try to calm down.”

“CALM DOWN? Since meeting you vampires, I almost died in a car accident, was attacked by blood magesandvampires, held hostage, watched my frienddie,and now I have a shitting spellbook made from someone's skin crawling to me, and you’re telling me tocalm down?!”

The person below slams something on their ceiling. ‘Shut the fuck up!’ they shout, muffled by their flooring.

Kai stamps his foot down hard once, twice, three times. “YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

I lay my hands on his shoulders. “Kai—SHIT!” Searing pain licks up my hands and arms as purple flames erupt from the painted symbols on Kai’s jacket.

He cries out, fire still waving off his jacket, and I shove away the pain to tear the thing from Kai. Flinging it away where it lands, on fire, on the neatly made bed.

Quickly, the purple flames become crimson as they race across the thin sheets.

“Are you hurt?!” I pull Kai back, the burnt skin on my hands crisping away like burnt chicken skin to reveal raw, but healed flesh underneath.

Fire alarms begin to scream as the sprinklers rain cool water over the flames, and drench us as I stare at Kai—who I thought was very human—yet doesn’t have a single scorch mark on him.

“Oh…yeah,” Kai calls over the shrieking. “There’s… probably something else I should tell you.”

Chapter seven

Vidar

Getting back to the mansion takes longer than I expected. As I drive, Kai—wearing his somehow intact leather jacket, the purple paint looking freshly applied—hugs his seatbelt and braces it every time we bounce over a pothole. Remembering what he said about the car accident, I slow down.

“The car accident you were in…” I start, unsure what to even say or how to comfort him.

“I’m fine,” Kai grumbles, still pale from vomiting and the chaos of having to evacuate his home.

I rack my brain to find a way to help, but all I can do is tighten my grip on the steering wheel. And here I thought once I came back I’d actually be useful, yet it’s been two days since leaving my isolation and I’m messing everything up. I can’t even do the one thing Kai needs and take the horrid spellbook away. I want to reach over and touch Kai, soothe the bond that tugs us together; reassure myself that Kai is fine and whole.

“So.” I clear my throat. “You cast fire.”

He scoffs. “I ain’t got a clue what I can do. I wanted to ask Summer about it, but all I learnt is I’m not a mage.”

“Maybe you have some Fae blood in you.”

“Fae blood?” He perks up.

“You're pretty enough.”

“I get it,” he chuckles, eyes rolling. “You don’t think I’m ugly. There’s no need to keep saying it. Tell me about this Fae stuff instead.”

My grip loosens at his laugh. I might not have spoken to anyone in eight years, but I’ve had a thousand years to learn how to be charming. “But you are very pretty, Kai. Far too pretty.”

“Vidar…” he breathes out my name, and oh, how sweet it sounds.