Page 77 of Bitten By the Basilisk

“Please,” she said, petulant.

“The red thread…does it look like this kite string when you see it?”

She took a deep breath as if bracing herself, her chest expanding within the band of his arms. “Mostly. But it glows, even during the day. And no matter the weather, it floats on its own unseen currents.”

“Can you see it even if the people tied together are miles apart?”

“They have to be much closer for the thread to appear. The longest distance I’ve seen was across the quad back in college.”

“When did you first see it?”

“I was eight—visiting Indigo Cove, actually. I saw it connecting my grandparents.”

“Did your parents also have one?”

She sighed sadly. “No. I sometimes still wonder if…if that’s why Dad died.”

He held her tighter, aware she was hurting. “A rather painful thought.”

“Mom told me she doesn’t regret anything, but she didn’t get her spark back until she moved here.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” he told her. “But I can’t say I feel sorry that your mother chose him—because it led to you.”

“Funny, that’s what Mom says.”

“Do you not believe her? Is that why you’re waiting to see your thread?”

“That and…I don’t want to fall in love again only to find out they belong with someone else,” she said in a small voice.

He couldn’t squeeze her any tighter, so he nuzzled the side of her head. His instincts bristled to hear her talk of once loving another, but having her secure in his arms kept them in check. “How long ago was that?”

“Senior year of college. He’s a normie, so…I couldn’t expect him to believe me.”

Silas couldn’t fathom how devastated she must have been. “How did it end?”

“I wish I had broken up with him the next day. Made up some excuse. But I was in denial for weeks, hoping his feelings wouldn’t change.

“Then one day, he invited me to get coffee, and…I knew the moment I saw him that he wanted to break up.

“I thought I was ready to hear it, but then he confessed that he had already kissed her. Before I knew it, I was throwing my iced coffee on him.”

Silas grunted in approval. “Good for you.”

She let out a wry snort. “I felt terrible about it afterward, mostly because it left a mess that the staff would’ve had to clean up.”

“Only mostly? You don’t think he deserved it?”

“I guess…I still loved him.”

He swallowed, his instincts bristling again. “And now? Do you still love him?”

“Silas…you’re squeezing me too tight,” she grunted.

He immediately loosened his hold. “Sorry.”

She snickered. “Feeling territorial, are we?”

“Always,” he vowed, nuzzling her hair again.