Page 52

I woke up in a bright, white room. The intensity hurt my eyes, so I slammed them shut again almost immediately.

Even that movement radiated pain, an echo of agony that seemed to have no starting point. However, what was more prevalent was my heart-pounding terror.

In my experience, such a sterile atmosphere could only be one place.

“Are you okay?” Titus’s voice broke through my thoughts. There was a rustling, and the orange glow dimmed to a more bearable level. I opened my eyes in time to witness Titus returning from closing the blinds halfway and sitting in a cushioned chair at my side.

“Is that better?” he asked, grasping my hand. A dark layer of stubble covered his strong jaw, and he had tired lines across his face. His silk shirt was half-buttoned, wrinkled, and untucked. But when his green eyes met mine, I forgot my guilt over his appearance.

I was so thankful. Titus was here. I wasn’t alone.

“A little,” I croaked out.

My throat ached from both injury and thirst, and it felt as though I’d been involved in a beatdown of epic proportions.

What had happened now? Perhaps I’d displeased someone.

Then everything came rushing back.

I jerked up, and the monitors beeped as I began to rip out the tubes. The sounds stopped, and so did I as Titus sat on the bed and held me.

He made a shushing noise that vibrated against my cheek, and my heart calmed as he spoke. “Princess, it’s all right. You’re safe now. I promise.”

I tangled my grip into the folds of his shirt. The room blurred as tears fell. I’d been trying to ignore the eventual consequences of my actions, but it couldn’t be held back any longer.

“I’m going to jail,” I whispered. Daniel was the police chief’s nephew. There was no way this would go unpunished.

Titus ran his hand down the back of my head. “Why in the world do you think you’re going to jail?”

“I killed people…” Just saying the words caused me to shiver in horror.

Yes, it had been for a good cause, but still. The others were public figures who might have some measure of legal freedom, but my only ace was my fae-ness.

And I wasn’t entirely certain of Miles’s theory yet.

Titus continued to stroke my hair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His tone was mild. “I killed them.”

I pushed against his chest, glancing at him. “What are you saying?”

“You fought back, of course,” Titus said, his eyes were serious. “That’s why your fingerprints were on the knife. But I was the one who killed them.”

“But— ”

He lowered his forehead to mine as he interrupted me, “I lost control when I went into that room. I destroyed their bodies beyond recognition. That’s nothing more than a slap on the wrist in terms of procedure.

They were, after all, criminals. Unfortunately, there is no way for a medical examiner to determine the exact cause of death. ”

Why was he lying? But his voice remained steady as he informed me of this.

I sighed and looked away. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t change the truth.

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked. He moved, tucking me against him, as the questions continued to pour from me. “What happened to Finn? What about Matheus and Bryce? How did you find me?”

Of course, I wanted to ask about his mother’s pin. But I wasn’t brave enough.

“I’ll answer once you’re back on your morphine,” Titus responded calmly.

At his words, a frazzled-looking nurse rushed into the room. “I’m so sorry, I’ve only just noticed—”

“It doesn’t matter.” Titus held up a hand. “Just fix it.”

The woman paled but only stood near the foot of the bed and fidgeted.

Finally, Titus’s control snapped, and when he spoke, it was in a new, domineering manner I’d never heard from him before. “What are you waiting for?” he asked. “She’ll be in pain if you don’t hurry.”

“You’re in the way, Mr. Ducharme,” she said quietly. “You need to let her go.”

Titus grumbled under his breath but helped me lie back down, then crossed to the other side of the bed and climbed in beside me .

He took up so much space. But as his solid body pressed into mine, I couldn’t reject the comfort he provided.

The nurse only glanced at Titus before she approached me.

I stopped breathing when she touched me, and my heart raced. I could not look away from her face. I was riveted by her smooth movements.

She was the kindest, most gentle nurse I’d ever known. How did she manage to clean the bleeding and reset the IVs without hurting me? Then there was the way she tenderly checked my shoulder…

I began to sniffle after she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Of course, Titus noticed. “What’s wrong?” he asked. I’d been turned away from him, and he guided me onto my back so he could look at my face. “Did she hurt you?”

“No.” I covered my face with my hands. “It’s stupid.”

“Bianca…” Titus pressed the hair back from my forehead. “You can tell me.”

“I’m scared of a lot of things,” I admitted, feeling pathetic. “But medical professionals are among the top five on my list. They’re not nice to me. This lady was different from the others.”

He stopped touching my head, and my heart skipped, but then he tugged on my hand.

“I wasn’t going to ask this yet, but now I want to know,” he began, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “But where did your parents send you?”

My breath caught.

Titus’s expression softened, but the frown remained. “Never mind.” He sighed, looking away. “Going back to your earlier questions, Finn, Bryce, and Matheus are all safe.”

My breathing evened as Titus continued.

“Matheus was only knocked out,” he said. “They used a gas that shifters can be sensitive to, and he was left behind as he wasn’t a threat. He woke up later and took Bryce to the hospital. Finn, however, had already contacted Damen by that point. He was following you.”

“I—I know,” I told him, twisting my sheet. “He told me.”

“I’m aware,” Titus replied, and I wasn’t sure how to read his expression. “He didn’t say much to us. He’s fine, by the way. He only had a mild concussion.”

I nodded.

I wasn’t sure what to think about Finn. It was getting harder to stay angry. “How is Bryce?” I asked instead. “Wasn’t he poisoned?”

“Yes,” Titus replied, sweeping his thumb over my cheek. It was almost as if he couldn’t get enough of touching my face. “He is immune to most poison, so he didn’t expect this to happen.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip. It was true?

“Now he’s insufferable,” Titus said, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.

“Not only did he have a moment of weakness, but the Unseelie involved had hurt you after he’d made it known that you were under his protection.

Once you’ve betrayed a fae, they’ll stop at nothing to enact vengeance, and Bryce is very high-ranking. The fae have already fled.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s here.” Titus glanced at the door. “He’s a few doors down the hall, actually.”

“He’s still sick?” Now I felt terrible.

“No, he’s fine.” Titus shook his head. “He’s figured out what they used and has been dosing himself with it ever since he woke up. Brayden made him come here. Bryce claims he’ll add it to the list of poisons he has already defeated—or something like that.”

All right, Bryce was definitely terrifying.

“What about Michelle Nolan?” I had only seen her once .

“Michelle is a clairvoyant onmyoji,” Damen cut in as he came through the door. His hair was a tousled mess, and his glasses were pushed onto the top of his head. He crossed the room and sat at the foot of the bed.

“That’s why I didn’t trust her,” he explained.

“She’s not remarkably powerful, but it would be unlikely for her to stumble onto a crime scene by surprise.

So, I knew she wasn’t being entirely honest. She was Daniel Cole’s girlfriend, and he’s been using her predictions to help further his campaign.

She has already been arrested and has admitted to everything. ”

I looked toward the door.

“Where are Miles and Julian?” I asked, my voice becoming rustier while my mind grew lighter. The morphine must have kicked in again.

Damen got up and went to the small sink across the room. He returned a moment later, a cup in his hand. Titus sat up and pulled me to a seated position before handing me the drink.

Damen waited until the glass was empty before he responded, “Julian is stalking your doctors. He’s been trying to intimidate everyone into giving him information, but he’s not having much luck.”

Well, at least some medical professionals had ethics.

“Miles is meeting with the Council,” Damen continued. “We’ve left your identity out of the report, but he still needs to review what magic was used and the events that took place. He feels terrible that you had to take care of them on your own.”

“It’s not his fault…” My eyes were growing heavy. “Someone had to do it.”

Damen’s voice was softer when he responded, “Daniel Cole was arrogant and had taken video. He had an entire setup at that location. While this instance only involved Daniel, we’ve found enough evidence to incriminate all of them for other occasions.

Obviously, Detective Kohler has ‘lost’ certain footage of your imprisonment, but when you feel better, we’ll need to go over what happened in those rooms.”

His words triggered tension throughout my body. I wasn’t sure which incident he was referencing—or what they might have seen or heard—but it didn’t matter. There was nothing to discuss. “Why?”

“Baby girl, you can either come to me or see another professional, but you need to talk to someone.” Damen crossed his arms. “We’ve all had our original forms take over. So, we understand more than you think.”

Oh, that. Was that the strange feeling? It was nice to know, because I wasn’t sure.

Then Damen leveled his gaze at me. “And we also need to go over everything else. For example, when you and Finn were talking in the morgue about your plan.”

And there it was. What, was Daniel watching the whole place?