Page 74 of Two Who Live On

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, how’d I not see that coming?

It was Kenzo. Of course, he’d use this as a chance to flip off every single person in the industry.

Chanelle talked, soothing and calm, attempting to laugh it off as teen angst, but I couldn’t pay attention to any of it. I couldn’t hear anything past the sea of rage churning throughout the arena as every single professional exploded with internal furies. Each had done their best to protect the citizens of Chicago, fighting impossible odds, and some fifteen-year-old kid had the audacity to shame them publicly after they’d made time to attend this joke of a spectacle. I began to hyperventilate.

“Mr. Frosty, you okay?” Gael smirked. “You look less frosty and more melty. Mr. Melty, maybe?”

“Ba-bawk.”

I couldn’t breathe. The entire auxiliary gym transformed into a crimson thunderstorm from all the buried rage barreling to the surface from every industry witch in attendance.

“I thought Kenzo’s speech was awesome. A total F the man move.” Gael’s smile faltered. My teeth chattered, and I trembled, attempting to quell my telepathy. “But in a totally not a big deal kind of way at all, so you can chill out, you know? Just Kenzo being Kenzo. No one really listens to his tantrums anyway.”

“Cluck.”

“Yeah, we should find someone to help.” Gael and King Clucks took off in search of a nurse.

The world of thoughts intensified, weighing down on my mind and muscles, the very fiber of my being.

“I truly love how that kid tells it like it is,” Milo thought, cutting through the sea of rage and offering me a life raft in the form of his gentle mind that I desperately needed. “Not sure if it’ll help on the collaboration front, but he’s gotten under their skin and is definitely helping make a brighter future.”

Milo’s mind soared high above the clouds, a breath of relief I followed. Even as he drifted into visions I couldn’t view, I embraced the link holding us together, curious about the future he’d envisioned based on a single outburst from one of my students.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Did you know Caleb would show a perfected root magic?” I asked, sitting on the couch and gently petting a purring Charlie while Milo remained in the kitchen.

“No idea. I mean, fifty-fifty, split between um, like two-hundred possibilities. So, not fifty-fifty, I guess.” Milo hummed as he cooked. “Beats the future where he pissed himself, that’s for sure. I was sweating over that one.”

“What’s your endgame here?”

“We have a rule you don’t get to ask work-related things.”

“Unless it involves my students.”

“That rule doesn’t exist.” Milo strolled into the living room, kissed my cheek, and handed me a plate of freshly made gnocchi with a Tuscan sauce. The aroma was inviting and intoxicating, but I focused on Milo’s thoughts. “Try abite—it’s yummy.”

I took a bite, savoring the pillowy texture mixed with delicious flavors that made my entire mouth water. “It’s okay, I guess.”

Distracted by Milo’s internal singing, I missed Carlie who swatted away and stole several pieces of pasta. She even shared two with her brother.

“I’m teaching her the value of sharing,” Milo boasted.

“We’re not done,” I said, shoveling in a disgustingly delectable bite. Fuck. When did Milo learn to cook so well? “You don’t get to involve my students or put them in danger.”

“I’m not.” Milo joined me on the couch, telekinetically turning on the television. “I wouldn’t unless it bettered them. This doesn’t. It helps no one. Please respect that I can’t share a million possibilities with you but know I mean well and have no intention of dragging them into this. My only goal was to light a fire under the enchanters in attendance, and I’m not even sure it worked.”

“Oh, it worked. They were quite pissy afterward. Which reminds me…now I’m going to have even more of my work cut out for me in finding an enchanter willing to accept Kenzo as an intern after he told all of them to fuck off.”

“He’ll be fine. But it’s good to know the message landed.” Milo kissed my cheek with sauce on his lips. I groaned and wiped it away. He was insufferable. “See, we’re a dream team of fixing the world. Or at the very least fucking it up less than we found it.”

I quietly sat beside Milo, eating the wonderful dish he’d cooked, ignoring him and my traitorous cats who’d nestled close to him.

Milo passed out on my bed the second his head hit the pillow. Must have been nice, considering I lay there for a good hour, tossing andturning with the wheels in my head spinning toward endless scenarios. The biggest comfort was that his mind was the only one buzzing in my thoughts.

I scooted close to him, twisting him onto his side and hugging him so our magics synced seamlessly. This was truly the best part of having someone I trusted so much and who also trusted me implicitly; it created a bond I never wanted to sever again.

---