Page 61 of Worse Fates

Golden shoves the brooch back in his pocket. “Thanks for letting us pop round,” he says, as if we’d stopped by for a friendly visit of tea and biscuits.

Vidar stares at Golden with curiosity. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon, when I’m more…myself.”

Once it’s all said and done, and Golden waves goodbye to Vidar—much to my Maker’s chagrin—we leave. When I notice that Rurik isn’t with us, I turn to him.

He hasn’t moved from his post by the wall, arms crossed and feet apart. “I’ll join you later, I’m going to stay for a while.”

Neither of them acknowledges that this will be the first time in five years they’ve been alone. After a moment, I nod at Rurik and leave, hoping they come to an understanding instead of blows.

Chapter Twenty-One - Golden

“Nah, he still looked like a skeleton. But one with more flesh,” I tell Kai as Lucero drives us back home.

Kai shivers. “I have no idea how to respond to that. Good for him, I guess?”

“He certainly was livelier,” Ramy replies easily, but from the rearview mirror I spot him nervously smoothing his trousers.

“A livelier skeleton…” Kai mumbles. “Great.”

Twisting in my chair, I pat Ramy’s knee to get his attention. “Don’t worry about Rurik and Vidar. I bet they’re chatting away over a virgin or something.”

Ramy laughs, shaking his head, the imagined wrinkle forgotten. “How many times do I need to tell you, virgins don’t taste any different.”

Flashing a grin, I settle back into my seat.

“Vidar didn’t hurt me.” I point out to Lucero.

Placing his large hand on my thigh, Lucero hums, unconvinced. He keeps his focus trained on the road ahead. It might be late afternoon, but already the sun has set behind us and the dark creeps in.

“So, what’s with the tension between Vidar and Rurik?” I ask.

Lucero squeezes my leg. “Rurik had a mate once. But when Rurik tried to turn him he…” He sighs, long and sad. “Died.”

“Shit.” The sudden need to touch him nearly overwhelms me. I don’t fight it, just lay my hand over his. “How long ago?”

“Fifty years now,” Lucero replies. “When a vampire wants to turn a human, the vampire must have been turned longer than the human has been alive. Rurik was older by nearly fourcenturies, but he asked Vidar to come as a precaution. Our Maker’s blood is old and powerful.”

“How old is Vidar?” Kai relaxes into his seat.

“Over a thousand,” Ramy answers.

“Holy shit,” Kai and I remark in unison.

Lucero nods. “And his Maker is…well, a story for another time. On the night Rurik drained his mate and fed him blood, he never woke up. Vidar also attempted, but it was just too late.”

I suck in a breath. “Jesus, that’s awful.”

“Rurik blamed everyone; himself mostly, and Vidar. Sen and I, even though we weren’t there. He likes Ramy, though.”

Between two fingers, Ramy plays with a long strand of hair. “I’m very likable.”

My hand entwine with Lucero’s. “The idea of losing a mate is…”

“There is nothing worse.” Lucero’s tone is strained, and I wonder if he’s thinking about his other soulmates. I fight off my jealousy, and it half works. As much as I hate thinking about the others, I can’t even imagine how Lucero dealt with losing each one.

My feelings for Lucero are both complicated and very simple. I want him—a lot. Our connection stopped feeling like a cosmic version of forcing two Ken dolls to kiss when we talked in the garden, but I also wish fate had fucked off and let us handle this on our own.

My vampire is protective, charming and sexy as hell. But he worries, and I might sometimes be stupid, but I know he’s rearing up to give me a big fat ‘no’ when it comes to turning me into a vampire. Hell, if he wasn’t hesitant I wouldn’t be here in the first place.