Page 38 of The Sixth Spring

That raised a whole hoard of questions.

“You said before you were, uh, tethered here, that you get your energy from the land?”

“I do,” Itori said. “I am guessing it is not the same for humans.”

“No. We don’t have any energy exchange. With anything.”

“Not exactly true,” Itori said. “Everything is an exchange. Maybe humans are like fish, you do not share energy the way I do, but you take from the land, and, at the end, you give all you have back. We all borrow.”

“I guess that’s true,” Will admitted. If one looked at it on a long enough scale, everything was a balancing act. Then, “But you… you kind of support the land here, don’t you?”

“I do. And it supports me.”

“Do you like it, the responsibility?” Will asked it because it sounded heavier than his own responsibilities that he was already buckling under the weight of.

Itori’s thumb rubbed the skin of his cheek slowly, coming to a stop. “I like who I am,” Itori said, picking his way through the words, “But it is lonely. My kin dwindles, and the land cannot be my lover. It was nice you came back. It is nice to talk, nice to touch.”

His hands were still on Will’s face, and Will supposed he couldn’t blame him, after hearing that. Will was equally as desperate for touch.

“I’ll come back every day,” Will promised readily. “And–and I can give you energy. So you can leave.”

For that and no other reason.

“The energy needed to walk on dryland, for me now, is great,” Itori said. “I do not want to put this on you. It is not your responsibility.”

Except Will felt like it was. It was a responsibility he actually wanted to take on.

“Do–” Will said, leaning forward. “Put it on me, I want it. I-I care for you. You’re—you have to live.” Will curled his hand around Itori’s arm. Will might not be able to leave this place, but Itori could. Would.

“It will take many days,” Itori hedged.

“I don’t care,” Will said. “I told you I’d come. I want to be here.”

“I will owe you a life debt,” he said then. “To do this much exchange, will create tethers.”

“Tethers?”

Itori traced his stubbled jaw. “A tying. I feel what you feel, and you feel what I feel. The channels between us will be open.”

That didn’t sound so bad. “Forever?”

“No. Days. Weeks. Until the energy is used up.”

Will nodded. “Okay,” he said, turning that over in his head. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

Itori was petting at Will’s cheeks again, thumbs moving in practiced motion.

“The more we do this, the closer we get to the unbreaking bond. I will not do that.”

That gave Will pause. “The unbreaking bond?”

“What mates do. It cannot be undone. It has consequence.”

Right. Okay.

“Okay. Um, so how much… how much can we do before we need to stop? Is there a way to know if we’re getting close?” Will asked.

“Yes. You cannot let me inside you, and I cannot bite you again. That is what ties a bond. What makes a mated pair.”