Page 36 of What Beats Within the Tunnels

“I’ll do it. But how do you know he will agree to it?”

“He would be a fool not to,” he says, taking the tapestry from me and leading us back out of the vault.

“How do you activate the tether?” I quicken my steps to keep up with him as we ascend the stairs.

“Athalda has the spell to activate the tapestry and complete the tether in her ritual room.”

“Is this why she wanted to talk to Colton? Is she already asking him about it?” I feel my face instantly heat. I don’t know why I feel embarrassed at the thought of him considering being tethered to me.

“Yes, we will know his answer soon enough.” He pushes open the hatch, and we go to the ritual room.

Once there, we find Athalda skimming through her messy shelves, pulling things out, and placing them on the table. Colton is leaning against the window, watching her. He looks over at me immediately when we enter the room, a look of concern washes on his features, and I wonder if he told Athalda that he doesn’t want to tether with me. Why would she be going through all of her stuff frantically like she’s preparing for a spell?

“What’s your decision, girl?” she snaps, black eyes looking me up and down.

“Yes, I will do it.”

Colton steps away from the wall, moving toward me. A nervous feeling tugs at my gut, but I try to bury it.

“I want the room,” Colton declares.

“It’s late. There’s no time for that, boy,” Athalda huffs.

“I don’t give a damn. You’ll make time. Now give us the room,” he demands, and my father gestures for Athalda to follow him out. Once the door closes, he pulls me in close to him, wrapping his arms around me. I bury my face in his chest and let my arms tangle around his waist, breathing in his citrus scent. He rubs his hand up and down my back. “You looked like you could use a minute.”

“I’m okay,” I say, muffled into his chest. He leans back, and I raise my lashes, meeting his eyes. He raises his hands and brushes my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ears.

“Don’t lie to me now, enchantress.” He gets a smile out of me. “You don’t have to do this. We don’t have to do anything. Your father and Athalda always want to control everything, not to mention they are paranoid that something bad will happen to you. I can’t say I blame them after everything you’ve been through, but tether or not I will be here for you.”

“You’re making this all about me. What about you? How do you feel?” I ask, not wanting to release him.

“Soon enough, you won’t have to ask me that anymore,” he teases. I want to say a smart retort back, but he’s right. Gods, what if it actually works? I have no idea what that will even feel like to know what he’s feeling or how it will work. “Hey, I want to do this too. Don’t worry about me.” He narrows his eyes like he’s trying to read my mind.

I take a deep breath straightening. “Well, let’s get started then.” He nods and opens the door. My father comes in first and places a hand on my shoulder, while Athalda brushes past us, muttering under her breath like we are some huge inconvenience.

“Come, sit across from each other so you are almost touching.” She waves us to sit in a circle of salts she has at the center of the room. We both get settled, crisscrossing our legs on the floor so our knees are almost touching.

“Now intertwine your fingers with each other, then place your hands on top of one another,” she instructs, and my father circles us, watching closely. Athalda drapes the tapestry over our joined hands and lets it rest there. I look up at Colton as my heart starts to beat faster against my chest. He winks at me, and I have to hold back a giggle so Athalda doesn’t scold us.

She grabs a bundle of herbs, swatting my father away while she ignites it. The smoke is potent, and she walks around us, slowly whispering things under her breath as the smoke seems to coalesce solely within the circle of salts. I want to cough but swallow hard fighting the urge. I’m forced to close my eyes when the smoke becomes so thick they start to water. I can no longer see Colton right in front of me.

Suddenly, the tapestry starts to move. At first I think Athalda picked it up, but I squint through the smoke and see it’s levitating above our hands. It starts to circle us, fast. The cloth circles our hands and then circles our bodies several times before falling back onto our conjoined hands, and the smoke disappears instantly. I look up at Colton, who’s looking down at the tapestry and then over to my father, who watches intently.

“It’s done.” Athalda reaches down, grabs the tapestry, and hands it back to my father.

“I’ll see you both in the morning and escort you to the bridge.” He makes eye contact with me for a brief moment, and I nod. He leaves the room, wrapping that tapestry back up.

I can only assume he’s returning it to the vault for safekeeping. A heavy feeling of concern washes over me, and the air is suddenly filled with a tang of citrus and oakmoss. I quickly turn to Colton, realizing this is him. I’m not worried and have never smelled him like that before. It’s like his scent has more depth to it. The smell dissipates quickly, and the feeling subsides as I watch him regain control over what he was feeling. I want to ask him what he’s worried about, but we are still with Athalda, so I keep my thoughts to myself.

“Go, go, I have to clean all this up, and I’m sure it’s going to be an interesting night for the two of you.” Athalda swats at us to get out of her room. Colton helps me to my feet, and neither of us say anything as we walk back to our bed chamber. I stop on the way and pick up Chepi, who’s still half asleep, so I carry him to our room. Once inside, I set him down on the end of the bed, and he curls up in a ball. Colton closes the door, and when our eyes meet an indescribable feeling washes over me.

Chapter

Fourteen

In the stillness of the room, my heart’s beating feels so loud I’m convinced he can hear it. An indefinable energy hums between us, and warmth blossoms, starting at the nape of my neck and cascading downward. It’s beyond the tactile; it’s an emotional tug I feel deep in my chest. Every nuance of emotion he undergoes, I sense it, like a distant echo resonating within me. While I can’t decipher his thoughts, the way I connect with him now feels unprecedented — deeper and rawer. A flash of surprise, a hint of amusement, a surge of…something else. Is it longing? It’s a tangled web, and I can’t quite pinpoint it, but I know it’s coming from him.

The fresh blend of citrus and moss that defines his scent swirls around me, now deeply intertwined with the emotional whirlwind. This scent isn’t merely olfactory anymore. It’s an experience, a tangible reflection of the tether binding us.