Page 97 of Seared Fates

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. Ihavebeen 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, hechanged. “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.”