Page 30 of Worse Fates (Soulmates Suck #1)

Lucero drives, Rurik next to him in front. Kai sits wedged between me and Ramy, and the whole ride I’m wishing I could stick a dagger in Rurik’s back, the fucker.

Kai’s starting to crumble at the edges after, well, everything. I’d noticed it when we made the quick trip to grab Lucero’s flowers. Now, after Rurik scared the shit outta him, Kai can’t seem to stop nervously patting his sandy blonde braids on his left side.

“Kai, I really didn’t mean to scare you. But you have to understand if your Apollo really is mine, the one who died fifty years ago, I’ll get a second chance with him. Understand that, please.”

Rurik’s voice quivers, like a man dying of thirst within reach of a drop of water.

And really, it sounds like he’s begging the universe, fate, fucking who knows what, instead of actually trying to apologise to my friend.

Kai nods huddled low as if he’s still trying to make himself smaller.

“I get it,”

he whispers. Then he glances toward the window, made a mirror by the dark, and startles at the sight of his own anxious hair-touching. He has to physically force his palm into his lap, clasping it tight.

Ramy glances at me, a question in his gaze, but I shake my head. If Kai wants to talk about his nervous tic, he will, not that he ever does. I grasp his still fidgeting fingers, knowing that if I even hint at it, he’ll only get more stressed, so instead I offer him the quiet weight of my comfort and inwardly curse Rurik.

Ramy, following my lead, hooks his elbow around Kai’s.

Slowly, inch by inch, the tension doesn’t vanish completely, but it loosens its hold on my friend.

“We’ll grab your sketch pad while we’re here,” I say.

“That would be great—”

Kai begins.

Then we go over a pothole, the car jolting.

Kai’s every muscle, every bone and hair, goes stock still. A sharp cry stuck in his throat. Eyes, the colour of cloudy jade, squeezing shut, as if waiting for impact.

“Lucero,”

I rush out, never once taking my hands off Kai.

“Please drive carefully.”

“Of course, my apologies,”

Lucero replies softly. He doesn’t direct it to anyone, but it feels gently packaged for Kai. I’m grateful to my vampire when my friend visibly relaxes, if only a little. However, when his eyes blink open, unshed tears glimmer.

Fuck Rurik, what a bastard. He has sex with Kai when he was at his lowest, then in one move smashes what little comfort he had like the window Lucero tossed his ass through.

I wish he’d keep on bleeding. Glowering, I project my thoughts onto the giant bellend.

Soon, we arrive at Kings, Lucero parking illegally as Rurik jumps out. The door slamming shut behind him. The rest of us climb out, my hand still in Kai’s as we hurry into the tattoo parlour.

“—and I don’t know who the fuck you are, but chill the fuck out!”

Summer shouts.

“Hey, Summer!”

I call out.

“He’s with us.”

Summer, who is all of 5 '3, stands in front of the much taller Luuk. Her white hot stare attempting to melt Rurik’s face off. But when she spots us, her eyes widen.

“Shit. Kai, Golden, get over here,”

she orders.

“Tell me where Apollo is!”

Rurik roars.

“And you gotta back off!”

Luuk barks.

“For fuck sakes, Rurik, stop already and think,”

Lucero snaps.

“Let them help us, brother.”

Ramy’s voice tries to soothe Rurik’s sharper edge.

“They can’t do that with all your shouting.”

Luuk ducks behind the counter and shoots back up with a wooden bat covered in punk band stickers.

“You gotta fuckin’ leave.”

And he points his weapon at Rurik.

“I’m not leaving,”

Rurik’s volume increases until he’s shouting.

“UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHERE APOLLO IS!”

“And I said…”

Summer’s voice drops, all the lights flickering, her black ringed fingers seeming to vibrate.

“Get the fuck outta here, bitch.”

Rurik, who has not learned a fucking thing, darts forward, Lucero on his tail. But before my soulmate can reach him—something happens.

The air crackles.

The sudden scent of ozone heavy, the walls seeming to expand like a pair of lungs.

And Summer’s hazel eyes deepen into a glowing black—like the moon drifting in front of the sun in an eclipse.

Every light in the shop blinks out of existence and in the gloom that follows, a ball of total darkness—deep as a black hole—grows in Summer’s outstretched ring hand.

It all happens in a matter of seconds, and Rurik’s momentum can’t slow him down as the dark ball in Summer’s hand implodes.

Silence, the moment before glass shatters.

Then an incredible wave of force blasts out in every direction. Rurik, for the second time that night, is thrown off his feet and slams into the wall.

A loud bonk echoes in the studio.

Lucero speeds over and shields me with his body, Ramy doing the same with Kai, as the wave blasts over us. My ears pop from the force, the air in my lungs knocked out. Clinging to Lucero, I expect another blast, but when none happens, I glance over his shoulder.

Light buzzes back on.

Paper drifts to the ground.

Summer’s heavy breathing in the quiet sounds too loud, and sweat drips into her normal hazel eyes. Then I spot Luuk passed out on the ground, and realise the bonk came from the bat hitting him in the face, if the growing lump is any indication.

Summer follows my gaze. “Oops…”

“Er, so Summer,”

I breathe out.

“What the actual fuck?”

Ramy steps away from Kai.

“She’s a shadow mage.”

“And your vampires.”

She crosses her arms and cocks her hip.

“Which explains why blood mages have been popping up.”

Her gaze flickers to Luuk, concern wrinkling her brow, but when Rurik moves, her eyes rubber band back to him.

“Holy shit,”

I breathe.

“Why are you a repair woman if you know magic?”

“Still gotta make a living, babe.”

She shrugs, then sends daggers at Rurik.

“And stay down tall, white and scary, or your ass is going to find out just how powerful I am. Golden, Kai, why the hell are you with these vamps?”

I point at Lucero with my thumb.

“He’s my soulmate.”

Summer examines Lucero, trying to find a flaw. “Oh…”

She seems unconvinced, but her hands drop.

“You date people?”

My eyes roll skyward.

Luuk groans as he starts coming too. Kai shakes himself off as his big brother mode activates and pushes past Lucero and Ramy, jogging over to a very confused looking Luuk.

“What happened?”

Luuk moans, hand touching his lump and immediately regretting it from his wince.

“What do you remember?”

Kai asks, slowly helping Luuk up.

“Don’t move too suddenly.”

Luuk cradles his head, his other hand waving at Rurik.

“That guy being a dick.”

Kai chuckles.

“Yeah, sounds about right. C’mon, let’s get you a cuppa and some ice.”

All that fear and tension in Kai evaporates while he fusses over Luuk. Gently bossing him into the kitchen, slapping his hand away every time Luuk tries to touch his bump.

The tension between Summer’s brow dissipates now that Luuk’s being cared for.

“Your Jace has gone full crazy, by the way.”

“He’s a blood mage now,”

I tell her.

She makes a face.

“I know right, gross. I dunno how he did it, either. I never sensed magic in him before.”

“A question for another time, right now we’re hunting him down,”

Lucero informs her, his arms around my middle to keep me in place.

“Why would they take Apollo?”

Rurik demands as he stands, dusting himself off.

“I have no idea…”

Summer replies, the rings of her fingers catching the light as she watches Rurik like he’s a dangerous animal.

“Jace walked in with that Emma woman, but before he could even utter a word, Apollo went over and said he doesn’t want any trouble, so take him instead. He’s always been a strange little vamp.”

All the air in Rurik’s lungs leaves him on an exhale.

“He’s a vampire?”

“Since when?”

I burst out.

Summer shrugs. “Always?”

When Rurik steps forward, we all tense, Ramy’s hand going to his shoulder as if to hold him back. But Rurik only holds his palm out.

“Please, show me a picture of Apollo,”

he begs, stare intense and seconds away from snapping.

Summer’s gaze snaps to mine, then back to Rurik.

“Please,”

he says between clenched teeth.

Sighing, Summer fishes out her pink sparkly phone and scrolls for a moment, then hands it over when she’s found what she was looking for.

Rurik takes it, eyes wide, mouth open.

“Oh God…”

he whispers, his big shoulders shaking. Tears crystallising in his clear blue eyes.

“My little star…”

Since I’ve met Rurik, I’ve thought he was a dick.

The few moments where I haven’t wanted to punch him in the face are overshadowed by all the times I have wanted to.

Then a broken noise leaves him, hollow and wretched, like it was pulled from some grave Rurik long buried.

Lucero moves, cradling the back of his brother’s neck, pulling him into his shoulder.

Rurik presses Summer’s phone to his chest, as if it were Apollo himself, and all my heart can do is break.