Page 17 of Glitched Fates & Stolen Mates

I glared at her. Absolutely glared. A look I hoped communicated: “Stop your nonsense, you meddling witch.”

Felix looked suitably confused by this entire exchange, his wide-eyed gaze ping-ponging between Priya and me.

“Right. Goodbye, then.”

And with that, he clutched my bloodied shirt to his chest and walked towards his lair.

The moment Felix disappeared inside the cupboard, I marched up to Priya.

“You,” I seethed.

“What?” she said brightly, practically bouncing on her toes. “Do you want to thank me for my help?”

“You’re too obvious!”

“I’ve told you a million times, Felix needs obvious. Even more obvious than getting half naked in front of him.”

“And I’ve told you to keep out of it!”

“Kit, you need a plan. An actual plan. Other than gazing over at him with puppy-dog eyes.” Priya clutched her chest dramatically. “I can’t bear this whole unrequited love saga. My heart bleeds. Bleeds, Kit!”

“That’s a lie. You just like entertaining yourself.”

“Can’t it be a mix of both?” She grinned wickedly. “But seriously, now I have Emma, I’ve turned into such a romantic. I just want everyone to have what I have, you know?”

I stared at her. “Your girlfriend who still thinks you’re an interior design student working here as part of your master’s project on Victorian restorations? Who thinks Felix is an electrician and I’m a bloody plasterer?!”

“That’s the one!”

Groaning, I scrubbed at my face. I could hardly stand here and lecture Priya about telling the truth.

“But don’t worry, Kit, I’ve got some more tricks up my sleeve for you. Even better ones. You’ll see.”

“No!” I said. “Absolutely not! I forbid it! Look where your meddling at the Christmas party got me!”

“Hey! It’s not my fault you got blackout drunk at the pub, missing your golden opportunity to escort Felix home like a knight in shining armour. That was all you!”

I grimaced. That Christmas party was an utter disaster that I didn’t like to think about at all.

“And in January,” I said. “You caught me trying to fix the coffee machine and snitched on me to Rory. So then Felix continued to go to Fat Cat’s for coffee and see Wren. So basically, it’s your fault he ended up dating Wren!”

Priya’s eyes rolled so hard they disappeared. “You’re acting about twelve years old right now, Kit. But don’t worry,” Priya said, walking towards the stairs. “Just leave it to me. I’ve got this.”

“No!” Panic consumed me, imagining all sorts of horrors Priya might design. “Please!”

“I’ll send you the invoice for my services via email.”

Then she had the audacity to blow me a kiss before she disappeared upstairs. I shook my head in despair.

“What was all that about?” Rory asked me, standing over by the bookcase. His head was tilted to one side, eyebrows raised. Theo had disappeared.

“Nothing. Priya being Priya.”

The one thing I was thankful for was that Priya hadn’t told Rory about Felix. Then my life would truly be over. Rory would never let me hear the end of it—he’d be unable to resist cracking jokes in front of Felix until he gave me away.

“Are you okay?” I asked, though I knew the answer. Neither of us could be okay after the news we’d just heard. The idea of White shutting down our investigation felt like a sucker punch. “I’ll talk to Seb in private, find out if there’s more to this. Try not to dwell on it.”

I squeezed his shoulder, feeling the tension coiled tight beneath his jumper.