Page 1 of These Dangerous Fates

Prologue

Ellis

How did I get here? I ask myself that question over and over as I watch the water in the sink run from red to pink. I’ve used almost an entire bottle of soap trying to get my hands clean. There is blood on my hands. Literal blood. It’s caked in the crevasses and stuck under my nails. I scrub and dig and scrape.

It won’t come off.

A sob works up my throat, but I swallow it down. There is no use for tears now. My reflection in the mirror above the sink calls to me, trying to get my attention. I avoid it. I know what I’ll see when I look at it. Bruises. Cuts. Blood.

But it’s the eyes that are the worst to look at. The amber eyes I see in the mirror every day. The ones that have steadily gone from bright and shining to dull and dim. Eyes that once shone with happiness now only look sad, defeated, and scared.

My phone rings in my bedroom, and I jump at the sudden noise. With my heart now pounding in my chest, my gaze catches the mirror and I cringe. This is the worst yet. Already, my right eye is swelling so that I can hardly see out of it. I gently prod the dark purple-blue skin and wince. A cut on my right eyebrow is dripping blood, and I softly swipe it away with a wet washcloth.

I press my lips together to keep another sob from escaping, and the motion splits my bottom lip further. It burns as blood wells, and I wipe that away, too. My medical supply stash is well-stocked for this very reason. I apply ointment to the cuts and shut off the water.

The sink no longer looks pink. My hands are no longer covered in blood—at least physically. In the mirror, I see that the reddish-brown staining my sunny yellow dress is drying, the fabric turning stiff and scratchy. I’m pretty sure it’s not my blood. With a sudden need to rid myself of him—the one who did this—I yank the dress over my head and cry out.

The movement steals my breath as sharp pain, like lightning, radiates out from my ribs. Another glance in the mirror, and my eyes fill with tears. Black and blue splotches cover my right side. The knife-like pain when I inhale tells me at least one rib is broken.

My phone rings again, and this time I exit the bathroom, leaving the bloody washcloth and dress on the floor. I know who it is before I answer. My bestie has a sixth sense for things like this. She always knows when something’s happened.

And things happen a lot.

Fuck. He deserved everything I gave him.

One Week Earlier

Ellis

“Fuck, Ellis! You don’t have to hit so hard.”

I grin evilly at my bestie and bounce back and forth on the balls of my feet. Allie takes her gloves off and rubs her now red cheek. I keep my guard up, though. She tricked me once with a move like that, and I’ll never fall for it again.

“I’m done,” she says. “I have to get home and shower before work.”

She packs her gloves in her gym bag, her blond ponytail swaying with the movement. Grabbing two bottles of water, she tosses me one, but it falls to the floor as I fumble it with my gloves still on. I sigh and take them off before bending down to pick up the bottle. A catcall whistles across the gym, and I scowl as I straighten. Irritation and anger flood me.

“Ignore it,” Allie says quietly.

“Ugh! I’m so sick of that shit.” I shove my gloves in my bag and shoulder it.

“I know. I am, too. But there isn’t much we can do about it. It’s safer to just let it go.”

Unfortunately, she’s right.

We live in Lustros—a magical world filled with magical beings. Vampires, shifters, mages, witches, and fae being the most common. It’s a beautiful world, full of glistening cities, picturesque landscapes, and power.

At least it’s beautiful for the magicals.

I, however, am not magical. I am merely human. Somehow—and no one, apparently, knows how—I was born without any powers, despite both my parents being mages.

For us measly humans, Lustros is a dangerous place to live. Without magic running through our veins, we are subjugated to prejudices. We are treated as inferior beings who are often used and abused. It’s a system I am more than fed up with.

As Allie and I weave our way through the gym to the exit, I continue to lament my lot in life. Not only do I have to deal with society and what they think of humans, I also have to deal with my dad. A powerful mage who has a powerless daughter? Yeah, suffice it to say, he makes my life more of a living hell than anyone else.

Well, almost anyone.

I’m brought out of my musings by a rough hand around my wrist. The man who grabs me is a shifter, I can see it in his eyes and the way they shine, almost animalistically. He spins me around and shoves me against the wall, all while keeping his hand wrapped tightly around my wrist.

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