Rurik nods once, jaw ticking. “You won’t see me arguing.”
Dropping my head back on the pillow, I tuck Golden’s head safely under my chin. My muscles relax, and the pull into a healing sleep tugs at my psyche, but I temper it down.
“Thank you, Rurik, for everything. But mostly for looking after Golden.”
He shrugs, as if it were a given.
“How is Ramy and Kai?” And slip my hand under Golden’s t-shirt to feel his skin. Someone changed him into fresh, soft pajamas.
“Ramy’s healed. Pissed off, though. He cleaned the crash up as best he could and just got back.”
When he doesn’t mention Kai, a needle of fear worries at me. I should be ashamed—I care for Kai, and it’s always tragic when a young, bright spark is snuffed out. However, my concern remains on Golden, and his heartache if he lost a friend.
“And Kai?” I ask cautiously.
Rurik clears his throat. “Alive and healed. Scared mostly. He never expected to be in that type of situation. But who would?”
I wait for him to go on, but he stays silent, his eyes not meeting mine. Or rather, avoiding Golden.
“You fucked him.” I don’t bother making it a question; the answer’s in the set of his shoulders. “Kai. You fucked Kai.”
My brother grinds his teeth, and glares into a point I can’t reach. “Kai is this small ball of energy. A protector, like you,” he scoffs. His face shifting into something sad and gentle. “The idiot huddled in the corner, blaming himself for what happened. Eyes all big and watery.”
Rurik drifts far away, probably fifty years ago to somewhere with his dead mate, and he whispers, “I hated how quiet he was.”
After a beat, his gaze finally returns to mine.
“Kai just needed not to feel for a time. So did I, really. You may be immortal, Luc, and if you’re gone, I’m next in line to take charge. So, try to avoid dying in the future, yeah?”
I snort. “I’ll try my hardest.”
We’re both quiet for a moment, Rurik so he can remember the love he lost, and me to embrace the love I have now. Golden had been a breath away from death—eventhe thought is unforgivable. But while I’d been fighting the unfamiliar blood mage, I caught the way Jace looked at Golden—and it sickened me—salivating over my mate as if he were a thing to be owned.
Rurik hesitates for a breath, then pulls a slim black phone from his pocket and holds it out. “The male blood mage dropped it.”
Curious, I take it. “Can we find his location with this?”
Rurik’s gaze is hard as concrete. “I didn’t show anyone else.”
Frowning at his non-answer, I unlock it.
“Look at the pictures.” Rurik’s voice becomes rough.
I do as he asks and go into Jace’s files, one arm around Golden to protect him from whatever horror I’m about to find.
Jace’s pictures are boring; food, bills, a cliché black and white sunset.
On the next, I nearly choke on a breath. It's Golden, Jace and a woman, Jace’s arm thrown around her shoulders. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, so seeing Jace smiling and happy doesn’t shake my world. What takes me completely by surprise is the woman—take away her lush curves, painted pink lips and longer hair and she’s a mirror image of my mate.
I go to the next picture, my stomach sinking further. The mystery woman smiles up at Jace, a little blush on her cheeks. So close to how Golden blushes. Jace couldn’t have Golden, so he found a copy. God, did Golden realise?
“Keep going,” Rurik instructs, moving away and casting his gaze to the window. He watches the sun rising through the mist, standing so still he could be mistaken for a photograph himself.
Dread stills my thumb. But I continue, and what I see has my fist tightening, a crack splintering the screen from one corner to the next. “No…”
I want to open my chest and shove Golden inside, away from this world of that’s been too cruel to him. Golden is a laugh when the world tries to sob, an outstretched hand to even those who don’t deserve it. When he offered me his vulnerability I was left humbled, and while unworthy, I knew it was a gift I could not refuse.
With each image, my fist tightens and more cracks web across the phone’s screen.
