Page 36

Julian POV

Miles had been the first to meet us at Aine Hamway’s, and shortly thereafter, he and Bianca disappeared into the house.

It was clear from the way he’d clung to Bianca’s arm that he was still afraid of ghosts, but Bianca had been able to distract him by raving about the many exotic plants in the nursery needing their ‘help.’

I remained on the patio, leaning over the railing and looking out toward the distant lights of the taller dormitory buildings while I waited. I doubted I’d see those two again until they were tracked down and dragged back into the main house.

Which was perfect, of course, because I needed to talk with Damen about something urgent.

Damen arrived, pulling his vehicle in behind mine. When he got out of the car, he spotted me, and I waved at him and gestured to the pergola. I didn’t want to take the chance that Miles—as I could fill him in later—or Bianca might overhear our conversation.

“What’s wrong?” Damen asked, loosening his tie, as we met. The others, of course, knew about the attack earlier, and the onmyoji’s wary gaze drifted back to the house. “Is she okay?”

“No,” I told him. “But it’s not from today.”

His forehead wrinkled as he watched me. Already, I could feel the rising heat. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“She’s been sexually abused,” I said. He stopped breathing, and I added, “She didn’t say anything outright, but the signs are pretty clear.”

I could see the fire burning in his eyes as he looked back to the house. “I suspected,” he said. “But I didn’t want to say anything unless I knew for sure.”

I crossed my arms. “What made you suspect?”

“Things she says, and her behavior. Plus, Finn told me,” Damen replied, pinching his nose. “Two years ago, he was looking for advice regarding a friend he’d thought had been assaulted. She refused help, and he had no idea how to approach her.”

“But he doesn’t have any friends,” I pointed out.

“Except Bianca,” Damen added. We would agree to disagree.

“What do you want to do about it?” I asked him.

We had to follow his lead, even though I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to track down the fucker and rip him to pieces, then put him back together and do it all over again. I wanted to make him die a painful death a million times over.

“Nothing yet,” Damen said. He touched his chest as he allowed his gaze to drift toward the house.

“There’s not anything we can do unless she either comes to us or it comes out in a way that we can no longer pretend ignorance.

We don’t even know the full picture. Until then, it’s too early to push her. ”

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. “Leave Finn alone. ”

I frowned.

“You owe him that much, at least,” Damen continued.

“Then—” I began. I hated that he was right. A sense of helplessness began to turn with my rage, and there was nowhere for me to direct it. My attention moved to my hands; it would be so easy to find out everything we needed to know and take care of it. But now I couldn’t. “—what do we do now?”

“Follow her lead,” Damen replied. “She needs to have a sense of control while also learning that it’s okay to explore uncomfortable feelings. I’ll work on getting her to open up later.”

I looked at him again, and he narrowed his eyes. “What?” he asked.

“Aren’t you the one about to exorcise the ghost that she, very specifically, asked you to spare?” I pointed out.

Damen scowled. “That is different.” A chill shot down my spine as he crossed his arms, and a steady resolve settled over his frame.

“She is in danger. There’ve already been two attempts to take her, and we’re no closer to bringing down Alexander Cole than we were at the start—and that is if he’s the one behind all this.

Plus, we’ve no idea why they want her. She’s too kindhearted, and it will come back to hurt her in the end. ”

He was right. It was almost always the same in every lifetime.

“I think my grandfather has figured out who she is,” I muttered.

“Gregory hasn’t,” Damen replied. “And Joe wouldn’t tell him —not yet.”

“No,” I agreed. “He wouldn’t.”

The old man would be more inclined to let everything play out and see how long it would take Gregory to realize it for himself—if only so he could hold the other man’s lack of situational awareness over his head later.

I knew this because that’s exactly what I would do.

Bianca POV

Finally, Bryce had begun to prove his worth.

Miles and I had surveyed Professor Hamway’s garden, and it seemed to be in decent order. Plus, the house wasn’t in complete disarray as most signs of the events from a few nights prior had been removed.

Still, it was odd, and there was an uncomfortable tenseness present as I watched Damen sharpen a knife from his ghostmurdering setup on the other side of the living room.

Titus had also arrived, but he and Julian were conversing with their backs turned to me near the fireplace. Meanwhile, Miles was slouched in his chair beside me.

“Damen.” I waited until he looked at me before I continued, “Do we really have to do this?”

I didn’t have to clarify; his expression went from relaxed to determined, and I knew he understood.

“Can’t we just—”

“No,” he said, striking his knife against the black sharpening stone once more. “However, sometimes this can be upsetting for empaths to witness. Bryce will be here. You and Miles can leave if you’d like.”

Why would I abandon my ghost to the likes of Bryce?

“Can we really?” Miles perked, lowering the square pillow from his chest.

“No.” I frowned at him, but then realization dawned. This was my chance. “Actually…”

I moved to my feet and held my hand out to the witch. “Yes. Come on, Miles.”

He grabbed my hand—I took a second to appreciate how large and soft his palm was pressed against mine—and stood.

“Okay.” He sounded so relieved, and his face filled with such joy that I almost hesitated to launch the next phase of my plan.

“Sorry we’re late,” a deep baritone joined the conversation, and I felt my heart skip.

Only speaking of Bryce Dubois appeared to have the power to summon him.

I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, he’d arrived. Still, I had to pause. This was my first time seeing him in anything other than a suit and tie.

He didn’t look terrible, and somewhat youthful, in jeans and a white V-neck shirt. Not that it mattered—he was far more dressed than everyone else here, including me in my blush lace pajamas.

It’d taken a moment to gather my courage—even though these were pants and not my usual—but I’d still taken a tiny step forward in enacting Maria’s advice.

I was rather proud of myself.

Bryce wasted no time greeting me. “Hello, Bianca.”

I felt myself glowering at him.

So, being outside the classroom had rid the man of his manners? Since when did he take such liberties with my name?

Now what? I’d never addressed him as anything before—not even as a professor. There was no way I could call him Mr. Dubois, and I wasn’t sure I could even call him by his first name without earning myself a detention.

My breathing got stuck in my throat as the panic filled me. What to do?

The silence lengthened, and the atmosphere grew awkward. I had to think of something quickly.

“Hey, you,” I muttered.

Bryce frowned.

Thankfully, though, I was saved by Brayden’s entrance. Unlike Bryce, he was much more relaxed. He was wearing navy plaid bottoms and a black crew shirt. He apparently understood the meaning of ‘slumber party exorcism time.’

“Hi, Bianca.” He grinned at me.

“Hello, Brayden,” I greeted in return. His enthusiasm was contagious. And look at that, he’d even brought my books. He put them near the overnight bags. What a nice person.

However, seeing my research materials reminded me of my original purpose.

“Sorry,” I told them as I looked at Miles and squeezed his hand. “Miles and I were just leaving.”

“Why?” Bryce asked, thick eyebrows pulling together in displeasure, and Brayden’s attention moved to mine and the witch’s conjoined hands.

“We—Miles is afraid of the ghost,” I explained. After all, my duty was to protect and guide my fellow quintet member. “So we’re going to go do something else.”

Bryce opened his mouth, and I wasn’t sure I’d like what he had to say, so I continued before he could speak.

“You’re here now,” I told him, using his weakness against him. “I’m sure you can figure out something to do to help.”

“I’m going with you!” Brayden lunged between me and Miles, and pulled me to him. “I, too, dislike exorcisms.”

On a normal day, and if I were a normal person, I might have something to say in return—some way to convince him that his presence was unnecessary.

However, the only thing I could focus on was the heavy weight of his arm over my shoulders. For all intents and purposes, he was, for the moment, a stranger who was much larger than me.

“Bianca?” Brayden called my name, and it was then that I realized the atmosphere in the room had turned dark .

I glanced at him, finally able to breathe, and saw that he was looking at me.

“F-fine,” I told him, moving out from under his arm. “You— you can come with us.”

The pressure lifted, and my thoughts returned to our escape. I wiped the back of my hand on my pant leg and focused on the rest of the room.

Damen had stopped sharpening his little knife and was glaring at the floor. Meanwhile, Julian and Titus watched our conversation with expressions I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret.

It probably had nothing to do with me, though.

“We’re leaving now,” I said, returning my attention to Damen. Since I was annoyed that he was ignoring my request, I was about to add something snarky, maybe bold as ‘Do you have a problem with that?’ because, honestly, I was surprised that he didn’t, but then he looked at me.

“Okay,” he said. His smile seemed forced and a bit sad, if I wasn’t imagining things.

Well, I couldn’t just go like this. I put my hands on my hips and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”