For several seconds, Elion said nothing.
Tessa had clearly expected some kind of clever response, perhaps another teasing remark or one of his usual shameless excuses, but the words never came.
Instead, he stood before her as the crooked smile slowly disappeared from his face. The worst part was that she was not entirely wrong.
He had been busy. He had been rendered unconscious for a week, dragged into the affairs of the Vampire Clan, and formally betrothed to Celeste.
There had been no shortage of valid reasons for his absence, but there had also been moments when he could have sought Tessa out.
He simply had not.
Perhaps it was because she had never openly demanded his attention in the same way Aria or Zenith did.
Perhaps it was because their relationship had remained in that strange space between playful attraction and something more serious.
Whatever the reason, he had allowed her to feel as though she was merely waiting for him to decide when she was worth his time.
