LYKMC Ch.16 Sneak Peek
Laurent’s rage was a cold thing; a dead weight he dragged behind him through the shadowed streets of Arles like a corpse. It made no noise, offered no insights. It wanted only to be still and fall apart—to lie down and rot. But he dragged it onward, scraping down the sidewalks toward the one place it wanted least of all to go; home.
The house was dark when it came into view. Only the lamppost out front remained on; a lighthouse beacon burning through the dark. This way to shore, it screamed, this way to wreckage! So that way Laurent went. Home. There was nowhere else to go.
A shadow grew from his feet, stretching out in front of him on the driveway. Laurent glanced over his shoulder just as the roar reached his ears, and saw a single round light like a fallen star shooting down the road right toward him where he stood. He stepped out of its path just in time to avoid being struck by the motorcycle as it careened to a stop, tires squealing as they skidded against the asphalt in the place he’d just been standing.
The rider killed the engine and ripped off his helmet, releasing a spill of shaggy hair that dimly reflected the yellow lamplight. “Jesus! I almost hit you!” Auguste exclaimed, the wide whites of his eyes glittering faintly. “What the hell are you doing skulking around in the dark?”
“Shhh!” Laurent hissed, glancing back toward the house. The windows remained dark, no sign of life behind the glass.
“Ohh, I get it,” Auguste said, dismounting clumsily. He lowered his voice to a loud whisper, his teeth flashing proudly as he grinned. “You snuck out!”
“You’re drunk.” Laurent could smell the alcohol on him from six feet away.
“Did you go to a party?” His brother took a wobbly step toward him, reaching out with a gloved hand. “C’mon, you can tell me.”
Laurent dodged his hand with a backward step. “Yeah, Auguste,” he said dryly. “I was at a party.”
“Cool,” Auguste said awkwardly, his excitement all dried up. He scratched the back of his neck, the leather of their father’s jacket creaking as he moved. “Did you have fun?”
“No.”
Silence fell between them like a curtain. Nicaise’s ring was burning a hole in Laurent’s pocket. It took all his conscious control to resist the urge to touch it; to close his fist around it.
He crossed his arms and looked his brother up and down, from his wrinkled jeans to his greasy hair to the dark bruise staining his jaw. “You look like shit.”
Auguste let out a breath of laughter, looking down at himself with a shrug. “Yeah.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I …?” He blinked in confusion. “I’m coming home.”
“I thought you lived with Jord now.”
“Laurent, I—”
“Or aren’t you planning to move in with your new girlfriend and her fiancé?” He expelled a sharp laugh, throwing his head back to gaze up at the winking stars. “What a fucking mess.”
Auguste’s brow furrowed. “I’m not dating anyone. Where did you hear that? Did Damen say something to you?” The tension in his brow suddenly released as something appeared to dawn on him. “Have you been spying on me?”
“Do you think she loves you?” Laurent said. There was a tightness in his chest, behind his ribs. He pushed his words through a constricting throat, and they cut like shards of shattered glass on their way out. “You’re nothing to her. You’re a plaything. And you’re too stupid to even see it.”
He turned away and started down the stone walkway, leaving Auguste to work through the anger and confusion that battled for control of his face.
“Hey,” Auguste called out as Laurent was climbing the shallow steps up to the door, halting him. “Were you there, in Eden? The club. Was … oh,” Laurent glanced back to see a look of horror take hold of his brother’s face. “Was Torveld there?”
Laurent did not answer, just walked into the house and closed the door behind him, remembering the need for stealth only just in time to press the latch in gently. With numbness in his heart, he seemed to float up the stairs on muscle memory.
Once in his room, he hid Nicaise’s ring in his jewelry box, tucking it into a small velvet-lined box that held another ring—a gold band with a blue sapphire that matched his earring. After a moment of hesitation, he reached under his collar to grab the pendant of Saint Michael and pulled the necklace off over his head. He dropped that into the box too, and locked it back up before returning it to its hiding place amidst the shadows under his bed.
A knock on his door sent a jolt through him. “Laurent?” His brother’s soft call was muffled through the wood. “Can I come in?”
Laurent didn’t panic; he’d locked his door. He still had a few seconds before he would have to answer. He rushed over to his desk and taped the jewelry box key to the underside of it—where he’d been hiding it since the day Auguste tore his room apart—then took one last glance at his bed to make sure the box was fully concealed.
Auguste’s fist was raised when Laurent opened the door; poised to knock again. He lowered it when Laurent motioned for him to come inside. In the overhead light, Laurent could see the flush staining Auguste’s cheeks and creeping down his neck.
“Laurent,” his brother began when the door was safely shut. “I know I seem … I’m not mad at you, I promise. Please, just—has Torveld behaved inappropriately with you?”
Laurent leaned back so that he was almost sitting on his desk and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What do you mean ‘inappropriately’?”
“Has he,” Auguste said haltingly, clearly fighting to keep a grimace off his face, “you know … made you feel uncomfortable, or touched you anywhere he shouldn’t be touching you, or—”
“No, Gus. Jesus,” Laurent pushed up off the desk and crossed to his bed, where he began moving the remnants of his homework off the bed to the nightstand. “Why would you ask me that?”
Something in Auguste’s eyes hardened, and he placed his hands on his hips. “So I didn’t see Torveld kissing you at that club?”
“What? You’re delusional. I haven’t been to any club.”
His eyes narrowed, searching Laurent’s face. “Are you lying to me?”
“No,” Laurent snapped, “I’m not fucking lying to you.”
“Hey, watch it,” Auguste said, throwing up his palms. “It’s just something I thought I saw. And … something Kastor said.” His brow furrowed in thought. “He said it was you who told him I was with Jokaste. How did you know that?”
“Intuition,” said Laurent, straightening his spine.
“Intuition?” Auguste scoffed. “You expect me to believe that?”
He pursed his lips and shrugged. “Honestly? No.”
Auguste shook his head. “Why did you tell Kastor? How did you even get in touch with him?”
“I didn’t. I told Uncle.”
“Uncle.”
“I told him what I suspected, and he tracked your phone to the club. We were worried about you. You’ve been acting strange, not like yourself. Drunk at all hours, getting into fights, disappearing for days on end,” he said with a blistering look that made the color in Auguste’s cheeks deepen. “Uncle must have told Kastor. Maybe he was trying to stop it before it got out of hand. To protect you.” Or to protect himself.
Laurent suddenly recalled something his uncle had said about Damen. He is circling too close to our walls.
“Why is Jokaste so interested in you?” he asked Auguste.
12 notes
·
View notes
Kate kissed her, like her life depended on it and perhaps it did. Because there was something far more powerful than the entity itself and it was flowing in her veins.
She fluttered her eyes open as she slightly pulled away. Cheryl tried to reclaim her lips but that was when Kate's grip grew tighter around her and the girl whispered breathlessly, "Cheryl, you're glowing."
Cheryl paused, her eyebrows knitting with confusion before she looked at herself. Her eyes grew wide with bewilderment and Kate's stomach twisted as she felt the way Cheryl tried to detach herself from the singer.
"No," Kate said firmly, her hands dragging to the veteran of terror's wrists and yanking her into a secure hug. "No, Cheryl."
"Kate, I don’t want to hurt you," Cheryl gasped out worriedly, trying to wriggle away from her.
"I don't care."
"Kate-"
"Cheryl, I'm not letting you go."
"But what if-"
"Cheryl."
"Kate."
23 notes
·
View notes