Page 58 of Glitched Fates & Stolen Mates

The intercom crackled when I pressed the button.

“Hello?” I whispered, my voice hoarse.

“Felix? It’s me.”

Priya.

“Oh.” Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by panic. “Is this about…?”

“Buzz me in, Felix.”

I hesitated, finger hovering over the button. Did she know? Had Kit told everyone?!

“Felix,” Priya’s voice came through the speaker again, gentler this time. “Please.”

I buzzed her in.

Minutes later, Priya appeared in my doorway, bundled up in her purple scarf, ponytail particularly harsh today. She meant business.

“Oh, Felix.”

I led her into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, pulling my knees up to my chest. Priya settled on the other end, her eyes drifting hopefully towards the kitchen.

Tea. She wanted tea. Of course she did. But I couldn’t summon the energy to even think about putting the kettle on. Plus, it wasn’t like I’d invited her here.

“Kit rang me last night,” she said quietly. “He told me everything.”

Relief crashed over me like a wave. Someone else knew. Someone else could help me make sense of this madness.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Umm… not really?” I managed.

“Fair.”

We sat in silence for a moment.

“So you had no idea about all of this?” I asked finally.

Priya flinched slightly. “Not about the stalking, I promise.”

“So… you knew about the whole… soulmate thing?”

She nodded. “Yes, I did. But only I know. Not the others. Not even Rory.”

Another wave of relief. I couldn’t cope with the idea of the entire Killigrew Street team laughing about this behind my back for years, sharing knowing looks whilst I remained blissfully unaware.

“I’ve been pushing him to tell you,” Priya said. “He’s just… hopeless. He became paralysed with the fear of it. He didn’t want to upset you or scare you.”

“Wow, he did a great job of that!” I deadpanned.

Priya shifted uncomfortably. “Try to remember that he didn’t choose you to be his mate, Felix. He didn’t choose for this to happen.”

“He chose to stalk me and creep me out!” The words exploded out of me, months of terror transforming into rage. “I’ve been terrified for months! Months! Especially when I saw the stalker looking through my window. Then Kit had the audacity to come round here and pretend to go investigate it for me! Such a hero,” I said mockingly. “And then he gives me training sessions to protect me from… himself! He even sort of implied Greywatch might be coming for me at any moment!”

Priya winced, her hands twisting in her lap. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I agree—listen, that was all completely awful, and I would have put a stop to it if I’d known. There’s a reason he didn’t tell me about it, because he knew it was inexcusable. Incorrigible.” She paused, studying my face. “For what it’s worth, he’s a complete mess right now.”