Page 87 of Tethered Fates

He breathes out a sigh, turns away from the window to glide away. “Be careful of that heart of yours, Sen. We wouldn’t want Summer to get a hold of it.”

Smiling, I relax my posture to watch Ramy leave. His air of mystery might be intriguing to others, but I see what he hides. The only mystery is that he’s lonely.

Opening the door, I step into the garden and make my way to Teagan, who rests his head on Kai’s shoulder.

“Having fun?” I ask.

Teagan glances up, smiles, and my breath is stolen. He manages to reduce me to a love-sick mess. I should complain, but when he looks at me that way, I can’t seem to care.

Ramy might be beautiful, as are Kai, Golden, and Apollo—my brothers, Maker and I certainly have a type—but Teagan is exceptional.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Kai says, standing. “And Sen? If you ever hurt my brother, I’ll remove your fucking balls.”

“I expect nothing less.”

“Do you remember when we met?” Teagan asks when Kai is gone.

I remember knocking him over in my car, then stepping out to come face-to-face with my destiny. “Yes.”

He blinks up at me. “You broke my skateboard.”

“That I did.”

“It’s been repaired. Wanna come with me to get it?”

As the sun sinks away, I cup his jaw. “There is nothing in this world that I want more than to follow you, Teagan.”

***

We arrive at the store I saw Teagan leave the day I promised Kai to stay away from him. It smells like wood and plastic. Skateboards line the walls, and rap music pumps out of speakers.

“I won’t be long.” Teagan heads towards the register, leaving me to admire the boards on display. The doorbell rings as the last few customers leave.

I’ve never been inclined to skateboard myself or given it much thought. But as I look up at the art, I can’t help but wonder. While each is different, the bold, colourful designs are so familiar…

My phone vibrates, and I slide it out of my pocket. “What?”

“Nice to hear from you, too.”

I chuckle. “Hey, Kate.”

“I don’t wanna beat around the bush.”

“And I would never ask that of you.”

“Sure you wouldn’t,” she huffs. “You asked me to check if there were missing teens? Like a few months ago with that fight club gone bad.”

“Anything?”

“Nothing.”

So at least Summer isn’t making new blood mages. “Thanks for the info, Kate.”

“I do have something that might be interesting, however. Give me a few hours, and I’ll drop it off at your creepy mansion.”

She hangs up without exchanging any further pleasantries. I know she’s allergic to them.

The bell rings again.