Page 63 of Tethered Fates

“Hello?!” Elio bites out when I stay quiet. “Are you really bothering me so you can stand outside my door like a freak?”

I drop my gaze back to him, blink once and watch the vein throbbing at his temple.

“Well?” Elio demands.

I shrug again, then stroll down the hallway. When Elio makes a frustrated growl, I try to hide a laugh. He’s really fun to annoy.

“C’mon, then,” I say over my shoulder, eyebrow ticked up like he should’ve known what I wanted this whole time, just so I can see how big that vein will pound.

Through gritted teeth, his fists shake like two rockets about to take off. “Come on, to where?”

I wait.

Keep waiting.

Elio huffs, grabs his hoodie—his face burning red when the hood catches on the doorknob as he has to tug it free—then stomps after me. “This better be important.”

My face doesn’t move as we walk, but maybe my eyes glint with something that tells Elio that this isn’t important, because he heaves a sigh and says, “You are very irritating.”

My lips twitch. Why disagree when it’s the truth?

We climb up the stairs, Elio leaving some of his frustration behind as we keep going. When we arrive on the second floor, I keep my gaze locked to the ceiling, scanning it over.

“If you want to know more about your tether with Summer, I’ve already told you everything I know,” Elio says, like he’s ready to start a fight.

“Sometimes I wish I felt the tether,” I admit. “Not the pain bit, that sucked. But kinda like how I feel Sen. So I know it’s actually real.”

Elio snaps his mouth shut, but his need to ask a question ripples out of him like a pebble dropped in water. I don’t pry, just keep looking up in the hope I find what I’m searching for.

“What…” Elio swallows, then continues in a tone suggesting he’s trying to be casual, only to fail when he swallows again. “What does the soulmate bond feel like?”

“With Sen?”

“No, with fucking Santa!”

I drop my gaze, tilt my head to look at Elio bristle. “Santa is real?”

Elio’s hands vibrate like he’s seconds away from taking off.

I stop in place to offer Elio a small smile. “It’s kinda like…you ever feel your own pulse? It’s like I’m constantly remembering the beat. Sometimes it’s at the back of my mind, but never gone. Other times, it’s like I can’t help but not remember every detail. Does that make sense?”

Elio shrugs, tucks his palms under his armpits and looks away. “I…”

For a while, he doesn’t say anything. Which is fine by me. He says more in his silence than he could by speaking.

“I know no one believes me. They all think I’m hiding some information about Summer and…Emma.” Elio’s shoulders drop at the mention of his Mother. “Why would anyone believe a blood mage, but—”

“I believe you.”

His shoulders shoot back up to his ears, as if he wasn’t expecting that.

“Oh…I…well, I guess you’re smarter than you look—”

“Bend down, I wanna get on your shoulders.”

Elio shoots me a confused look. “What?”

I gesture at him to hurry up, and with jerking motions, he kneels as if he isn’t sure why he’s doing this.