Page 15

A man who vaguely resembled Julian languidly strolled toward us. However, while Julian’s face was soft and wise, the newcomer exuded youthful excitement and mischief.

“I’ve heard you’ve been up to some exciting stuff,” he said with a grin, his focus on Finn. “I just had to come and see it for myself.”

Finn watched him warily even though he remained unmoved over me. I almost missed the hitch of his breath, which was his only indication of discomfort.

“What do you want, Anthony?” he asked. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

I had suspected the man’s identity, but the confirmation made my heart lurch in anxiety. Of course, Finn would have me trapped upon my first time meeting Julian’s brother. What a world.

“I can see that.” Anthony reached us, his curious, brown eyes turning toward me for a moment before they trailed back to Finn. “Julian told me all sorts of things about your friendship. ”

“We’re not friends!” I protested, ignoring the flash of hurt passing over Finn’s expression. “He has me trapped against a wall. Does this look friendly?”

“I don’t know what you’re into.” Anthony shrugged. “I imagine that Finn has some weird kinks that even Julian won’t touch.”

The way he phrased the statement caused me to recall my first foray into unrestricted internet access only last night.

The topic had been lingering on my mind since my last slumber party, and with my newfound ability to access the vast world of the internet, I had explored some long-standing questions that concerned me.

“You mean like BDSM?” I asked. “Do people actually do that for fun? Finn does that?”

I felt sick. How had I never known? Of course, Julian wouldn’t touch such depravity. But then reality crashed back into me, courtesy of almost falling to the ground. Finn had released my hands and stepped back, putting me between him and Anthony.

“Don’t be stupid,” he told Anthony. “You don’t understand the impact of what you’re saying. Bianca doesn’t need to know about that kind of stuff.”

Anthony inched closer to me, which was somehow comforting. And it was that which reminded me of my righteous indignation.

“Don’t even bother. I already looked it up,” I informed the onmyoji. “You can’t stop me from searching on the internet anymore!”

He looked at me and frowned.

“Finn!” Anthony grinned. “What in the world have you been up to?”

“This is none of your business, Anthony. I’m leaving.” Finn took another step back. “We’ll talk later, Bianca.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” I crossed my arms. He could communicate to the air for all I cared, but I wanted nothing to do with him.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” Finn told me.

“There will be no talking to her without going through me first,” another voice interjected. The sound caused my ex-best friend to freeze.

I placed my hand on my chest as my mind wheeled over the indignity. Just how long had he been lurking about? And if he was here the whole time, why hadn’t he stopped Finn earlier?

As if I needed another reason to dislike him.

Bryce Dubois stepped from the adjoining classroom. His arms were crossed, and he wore a thunderous expression. However, he was focused on Finn, not me.

“You!” Finn snarled, his glare on my arch-nemesis. “Mind your own business!”

Anthony raised his eyebrow, seemingly also surprised to see Bryce. However, he didn’t radiate the hatred that Damen, and now Finn, seemed to hold toward the fae.

What exactly had Bryce done to make both Finn and Damen despise him?

“You’re wrong.” Bryce touched his collar with a smug grin. “She’s fae—and as such, her educational needs fall under my jurisdiction.”

“Don’t give me any of that crap. You’re not even supposed to be here.

” Finn’s passion was hot in the atmosphere.

“Besides, you’re a terrible teacher. Bianca’s had nothing but complaints about you since day one.

But this has nothing to do with your class and, therefore, nothing to do with you. So, go away.”

“Who said anything about class?” Bryce didn’t seem to notice that Finn let slip I’d complained about him.

“I’m on a different business today. I’m branching out into supernatural teaching, of sorts.

” He waved his hand at me, his pompous mouth curling into a little grin. “I’ve finally found my protégé.”

Oh my God. My breath hitched in horror as my blood turned to ice.

This was worse than I could have imagined. Bryce was clueless, and he had no idea that soon, I was going to be his boss.

Sure, keeping it secret was the plan, for some reason. And yes, it was true that Bryce might, maybe, be reaching out with good intentions, as he had no awareness that his days of glory and rule were numbered.

But still, it was too much.

“Are you serious?” Finn moved closer, crossing his arms. It almost seemed he was trying to hide me from Bryce’s view. “We don’t take on students—it’s not a part of an Er Bashou’s responsibilities.”

“We also don’t hide from our quintets,” Bryce replied without pause. “Regardless, my relationship with Miss Brosnan is not your concern. Why have you decided to make an appearance now?”

“It’s not like I’ve been hiding.” Finn tensed. “You all know how to reach me.”

“This is boring,” Anthony interjected. He looked between them, frowning, before he nodded in my direction. “I’m more interested about what you two were talking about before I got here.”

My fingers went numb as my breath caught.

Talking about what… what did he overhear, exactly?

“Yes.” Bryce stroked his chin. “Something about medication and a few other interesting tidbits.”

I wasn’t thinking past my panic, and I reached out and grabbed Finn’s hand.

He tensed, muscles freezing, before I noticed him glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. There might have been a flicker of concern there, but I didn’t care.

I still didn’t even know what the medication was supposed to be for.

Finn frowned and squeezed my fingers.

“What are you up to?” Anthony chastised Finn. “Are you medicating people to be your friend? Why can’t you just try to be pleasant?”

“Don’t start with your stupid lines!” Finn snapped. He hesitated briefly, sucking in a breath before he added, “It’s supposed to suppress Bianca’s abilities.”

A sense of numbness cloaked over me, and I released Finn’s hand. “W-what?” I asked, stepping back from him. My chest hurt, and I pressed my palm over my heart.

Anthony and Bryce both stiffened and glared at Finn, who remained silent.

“Why would you need to suppress her abilities?” Anthony put a finger to his chin. “Damen could certainly use the help.”

Bryce’s eyes widened, and his attention moved over my form. “What—”

“What’s going on?” Damen’s sharp voice interrupted Bryce’s eye-judging. I glanced past Anthony. Damen was briskly walking toward us.

His gaze zeroed in on me, and after a quick once-over, he pushed past Anthony and pulled me away from Finn. Then, completely ignoring the other three, he turned his back to them and ran his fingers across my cheek.

“You were late, and I had to send Kasai to look for you,” he said, eyeing my exposed arms. My heart skipped at the reminder, and suddenly, I was self-conscious. I pulled my sleeves down to cover my bruises while Damen continued talking, touching the edges of my hair. “Is everything okay? ”

“We were just discussing why someone might be on medication to suppress their abilities,” Anthony said as he watched Damen in expectation. “What do you think?”

Damen’s fingers stilled over my arm. He turned to them, holding me to his side with his hand resting lightly on my waist. “There could be many reasons.”

While he spoke, Finn—I couldn’t help but notice—glared at Damen’s hand. Meanwhile, Bryce was still watching me in that unnerving manner.

Bryce had never looked at me with such… whatever before. Usually, he was condescending. But right now, he seemed to be excited about something. I didn’t like it.

This was worse than his expression after class—when he’d, apparently, believed I was to be his protégé.

I needed to regain my bearings so I could elaborate on my plot to squash that look off his face and put him back into his rightful place as my first-in-command.

“Damen.” I tugged on his sleeve, recalling his attention to me. “We’ll be late.”

Damen frowned. Clearly, he wanted to talk to Anthony and Finn—while Bryce was nothing more than decoration. However, I relied on his professionalism.

“Fine.” Damen sighed, choosing duty over curiosity. He grabbed my hand. “Finn, I’ll call you later.”

There was an order in his voice, a particular tone I’d not heard him use before. And Finn, who had been pouting, tore his gaze from our hands.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” He narrowed his eyes at Damen. “I want to talk to Bianca,” he said again.

“That’s too bad,” Damen replied mildly. “Until Bianca says otherwise, you’ll only be talking to me for the foreseeable future. Leave her alone.” Damen squeezed my hand. “You’re lucky that, right now, we’re too busy with our investigation at Aine’s to focus on you.”

“We’re still working on that?” Finn’s frown deepened. “I thought you would have exorcised that thing by now.”

“No!” I glared into Finn’s face, and because I knew him, I added. “And don’t you do it either!”

“I understand.” Finn sighed, and his shoulders dropped. “Of course, you don’t want me or Damen to destroy the ghost that is trying—and has almost succeeded—in killing you.”

“Hey!” I protested.

“Do you feel sorry for it?” he asked. “Or did you become friends with it too, since you’re picking up new companions all over the place these days?”

“It’s not my friend!” I told him.

“That’s the other thing,” Bryce said, apparently deciding this would be a good time to interject. “How is it no one has come to me? You’ve already contaminated my murder scene with another medium—”

I gasped. I knew it, he did hold grudges!

“—which was completely out-of-bounds.” Bryce’s disapproving gaze trained on Damen. “But there’s a violent ghost around, and we’ve not been notified?”