Page 68 of Glitched Fates & Stolen Mates

My trainers squeaked against the polished floor as we descended the stairs. When we reached the lobby, I tried to salvage what I could.

“I’m so sorry. They’re all so paranoid. We have, um… expensive equipment here, and nobody else is allowed on site.”

Wren laughed, the sound hollow and bitter. “Sure, Felix. Suuuuure.”

“What?!”

He shook his head, something sad flickering across his features. “We still on to meet later this week?”

My heart sank. With Kit missing, there was absolutely no way I’d be able to focus on anything else. But I couldn’t exactly explain that without raising more questions.

“Um, possibly.”

At the door, Wren took my arm, his fingers gentle despite everything that had just happened. His expression shifted to something approaching concern.

“Felix, you know you can ring me at any time, for any reason, right?”

The weight behind his words made me wonder if Emma had been talking to him. It would make sense—they worked together at Fat Cat’s. Had she told him about her suspicions? That everything Priya had told her was a lie?

I forced a laugh, trying to brush off the moment. “Sure!”

But all I wanted was for Wren to leave so I could get back to the basement. Back to the cameras and the searches and the horrible, gnawing fear that Kit was somewhere out there, hurt or worse, while we’d been playing kidnapping games and making everything worse.

The door clicked shut behind him, and I paused there for a moment, staring at the brass handle. Dolly watched me from her place behind the reception desk, her painted glass eyes offering no comfort.

I turned to her and sighed heavily. “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it, Dolly?”

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I spun round to find Theo leaning against the doorframe, his expression uncharacteristically gentle.

“I just wanted to check if you’re okay.”

I squirmed under his scrutiny, heat creeping up my neck. “Right. Yeah, I think Wren will be okay…”

“Not because of Wren, Felix.” Theo’s dark eyes held mine with an intensity that made my heart pound. Too meaningful. Too knowing.

“What do you mean?” I said stupidly.

Theo looked bemused. “Please remember I’m a telepath.”

“I thought you didn’t listen to our thoughts!”

“Kit’s very loud thoughts about you have been rather hard to ignore for the last two years.”

Ah. Yes. That would do it.

I must have been grimacing because he stepped closer, his voice softening. “I can only imagine how hard this is for you. If Rory was missing…”

“We’re not like you and Rory,” I accidentally snapped, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. “We don’t have a bond. Not… not yet. So it’s not the same!”

Guilt seeped through me. I shouldn’t be taking this out on Theo. But if Kit and I were properly bonded, maybe I’d be able to sense where he was. Maybe I’d know if he was hurt, if he was alive, if he was thinking of me. Instead, I had nothing but this gnawing emptiness and the terrible certainty that something was wrong.

Theo, who had clearly read every panicked thought racing through my head, reached out and touched my arm. “Listen, it doesn’t work quite like that,” he said quietly. “The only difference would be that you’d be in incredible pain right now.”

My throat tightened. “But I am in incredible pain.” The words came out as a whisper. The vise around my ribs squeezed tighter, and I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to ease the ache that had been building since yesterday morning. Every breath felt laboured, every heartbeat a reminder that Kit’s heart might have stopped beating altogether.

Theo very tentatively pulled me into a hug. His arms were warm and solid, and for a moment I let myself lean into the comfort of another person’s presence.

“We’re going to do everything we can to find him,” Theo murmured against my hair. “Kit’s strong. He’s a trained soldier, Felix. He’ll be fighting tooth and nail to get back to you. He’ll be thinking about you every second you’re apart.”