Page 38 of Tethered Fates

Kai grabs me by the shoulders. “Will everyone shut the fuck up?”

I try to shove him off, but my brother’s stubborn hold is unyielding. Behind him, Bran skulks closer, unblinking, wide gaze watching every second with a maddening grin. Vidar ghosts in his wake, fangs out and trained on the vampire who Sen called his Maker.

“Teagan,” Kai says, drawing my attention back to him. “I tried to protect you from all this shit, but look how good it turned out. There’s so much more that needs to be explained, and things I don’t even understand. But right now the biggest problem is that Summer cast some type of spell on you, and we gotta fix that, mate.”

The word soulmate sinks deeper and deeper into my heart. I don’t—can’t—focus on that. It’s too new, too confusing. Better to focus on Kai, on what happened with Summer. Kai said he’ll fix this, and I have to trust him instead of this pull towards Sen.

I swallow.

“I…I remember when Sen hurt her, and it hurt me too.”

Kai nods, encouraging me to continue.

After a beat, I say, “She said she wanted to open a door to the demon realm. I thought she was crazy. She said someone called Emma told her someone needed to die, but she didn’t want that. So she used both our blood to…like, create this weird swirling…door?”

The short, annoyed man in the doorway snorts. I’d almost forgotten he was in the room with us. His black hair is shaved at the sides, and he’s wrangled his loose curls into a topknot, some locks bouncing out of it. His eyes are lined in black, and he wears baggy sweats that sit on his slim hips, with a skin-tight thermal top outlining his wiry torso.

“Do you have something you’d like to say, Elio?” Sen snarls, sharp as a whip.

“Hell yeah I do. Summer is stupid,” Elio snarks, pushing his way into the centre of the room. “Listen up; blood magic, especially with the big spells, needs more than just blood. They need pain, too. It’s about tapping into that energy and drawing it out the same way we do with blood to make spells more powerful.”

“And that’s what Summer was doing?” I ask, biting back the quiver in my voice. “Blood magic?”

Elio nods. “Summer’s plan was never going to work. Knocking into the demon realm, which was magically sealed specifically from her, is powerful shit. Shit, that’s gonna need a death. A painful one. Her plan was never gonna work.”

The silence in the room cuts deep.

Without even realising it, I’m hugging Kai like he’s all that’s keeping me from sliding to the floor.

“You know a lot,” Sen finally remarks, a dangerous glare narrowed on Elio.

“I do,” Elio replies, confident in his abilities and not shying away from it.

Sen moves towards Elio. “And would you like to tell us what you can do to help Teagan?”

He crosses his arms, levels an unimpressed look at Sen, and after a beat, Elio retorts, “You won’t like it.”

Bran smirks.

Vidar flashes his fangs, and I shiver at the display of those sharp points.

“I need some of Teagan’s blood.” Elio’s already rolling his eyes when my brother shouts, “Over my dead body!” and Sen growls low enough that the vibrations shiver down my spine.

“Alright, fine.” Elio shrugs. “Let’s just stand around holding our dicks and do nothing.”

I grit my teeth.

This shit is crazy, but like hell other people are taking more of my choices away. Ducking under Kai’s embrace, I aim for Elio, thrusting out my arm. “Take my blood. Do what you gotta do.”

“No!” Kai cries and shoots out to grab my forearm, but I rip away.

“Absolutely not!” Sen snarls, moving at crazy speeds to stand between Elio and me, staring down at me with eyes hot as the centre of a roaring fire. “No.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to fucking do, Sen,” I bite out. “If I need to spare a bit of blood to make sense of what’s happening, then so be it.”

We glare at each other, neither willing to back down. The weird thing in my chest, the arrow or rope or connection that points to Sen, stretches tight.

“No, Teagan!” Kai shouts. “Anything could happen. I-I…I forbid you!”