Page 9

All remnants of sleepiness faded during the long, awkward wait for Julian to arrive. Miles’s growing tension, and the way he was unable to speak or meet my gaze, was enough for my anxiety to counteract any relaxing effect his witchcraft might have procured.

By the time Julian arrived, I, too, was wringing my hands as my nerves frayed. Somehow, I’d crossed a line. Now I was going to pay for it.

The instant Miles moved to leave the kitchen, I rushed past him and got to the front door first.

Julian was hanging up his coat. He looked around with a wary expression. I knew how he felt. I was concerned, too. It had been hard to miss the very odd things Miles told Julian over the phone.

Miles believed something was wrong with me. I had just been thinking that myself. And now, here was proof.

Even though I tried so hard to hide my particularities, I’d failed.

Unless, of course, the problem was Miles. Which meant I was further on my road to normalcy than I previously believed.

It was terrible of me to wish, but I hoped it was him.

Either way, something was the matter. But I was certain that Julian could fix it.

I grabbed his shirt, hardly registering the feeling of the stiff fabric under my fingertips. My heart sank as our eyes met. I was so scared that I wasn’t certain where to begin. “Julian,” I said, my voice pathetically breathless. “I don’t know—”

But Miles had been right on my heels. He grabbed Julian by the arm and pulled him toward Damen’s living room while muttering in what sounded like French.

Julian allowed himself to be led but made a point of looking disapprovingly at Miles. I was pulled passively along, my dread making it too difficult to resist.

All I could do was hold on to the hope I was overreacting.

Miles released Julian and turned to me. He grabbed my hand and showed me to the couch. Instead of protesting, I sat down obediently.

Meanwhile, Julian continued to watch the two of us. He broke the tense silence once I’d clasped my trembling hands in my lap.

“Miles.” He frowned at him. “What are you—”

“You sit over there.” Miles pulled Julian’s arm, trying to force him to the seat across from me. Miles was so determined that I knew whatever he had to say was profound. I could feel the knot rising from my stomach to my chest.

Julian, on the other hand, stopped watching Miles entirely. In fact, his bright, blue eyes were suddenly locked on mine.

It happened so quickly that I almost missed it. But within a second, his expression morphed from trepidation to something entirely different. A calm washed over him, and before I could inhale, he was sitting beside me.

“Bianca.” He grasped my hands in a surprisingly steady hold. “Whatever Miles wants to say, we’ll get through it together. Nothing will change how we feel about you.”

A sob hitched in my throat. “You can’t promise that.”

“Oh my God. You two are so dramatic and gushy. Just stop. Don’t worry, Bianca, you’re not the problem.

” Miles snorted, giving up on trying to manhandle Julian and sitting in one of the armchairs.

His face was calmer now, even though his leg was bouncing slightly.

“Although, I’m sure perceptions will change after this. ”

Julian glared at Miles. “Hey, don’t—”

“Bianca will think differently about us,” Miles interrupted, wringing his hands. “Unless, of course, you’d like to explain to everyone why Bianca has taken a vow of chastity.”

My thundering heart stuttered. What in the world did that have to do with anything?

Julian dropped my hands, his cheeks darkening. “What Bianca chooses to do with her body is her business. It isn’t anyone else’s concern if she decides to—”

“Hold that thought.” Miles held up his hand, cutting Julian off. “As you’ve noticed, Bianca’s been trying to fit in.”

Oh no. I covered my face with my hands, ashamed and wishing I could disappear.

“And on that note, she thinks we’re sworn holy people,” Miles finished boldly. “That is what she’s trying to achieve.”

Julian’s face transformed into shock. “What?”

So, parts of my theory might have been wrong, which sucked because it had made so much sense. Especially with the super clear way Miles described their dating habits and the Xing’s role in this universe .

“Plus, she thinks that Damen is possessed by a demon.” Miles waved his hand in the air. “Lord only knows how she came to that conclusion.”

I glowered at Miles, mentally adjusting some of the niceness points he had accumulated.

How could he not see it? I was one thousand percent certain Kasai was a demon latching on to Damen’s life force. “He has to be possessed!” I argued. “That entire relationship reeks of demonic entanglement.”

Miles’s hands were over his face now, and his shoulders shook. It took me a moment to realize he was laughing at me. Meanwhile, Julian stared at me—but this time with amusement.

I wasn’t sure what to think. Clearly, they weren’t monks, which meant I needed to reevaluate some things. But simultaneously, their complete disregard for Damen ticked me off.

“So, I was wrong about your celibacy, but that doesn’t change the danger that Damen is in,” I snapped, unimpressed with them both.

“How can you not be suspicious? Kasai is a talking bird with a strangely seductive accent. Plus, it was brought into this world by a summoning ceremony. What else could this be?”

Miles and Julian both looked at me with equally disbelieving expressions. My heart, which had been pounding from urgency, began to calm.

I had gotten through.

“Kasai talks?” Julian sounded slightly awestruck. “You heard it speak—out loud?”

Miles leaned forward in his seat. “That’s what she just said. How else would she know about the seductive accent?”

I pouted. This conversation wasn’t going my way, and I glared at my lap.

“What does it sound like?” Miles sounded genuinely curious.

“What does it being able to talk mean anyway?” I asked, choosing to ignore Miles’s question. I’d already told them what the shikigami sounded like.

“Well,” Julian began, letting out a breath, “the reason that Kasai can talk is because, with you here, Damen is stronger. Your presence allows him to provide more support and energy to his shikigami, making it stronger. I believe we’ll see the group of us reaching new heights we’d never otherwise be able to achieve alone now that we’re whole. ”

“Oh,” I said. I suppose that made sense. Damen had said something similar. But, “What is a shikigami?”

“It’s a familiar,” Miles repeated Damen’s previous explanation but then continued when I only looked at him. “A shikigami is a spiritual collection of energy from the Underworld who, after being summoned by an onmyoji, pledges loyalty in exchange for the ability to remain in this realm.”

“So…” How could they not make the connection? “It’s a demon that has latched on to Damen’s life force?” I repeated.

Neither one of their expressions changed.

“Well,” Julian responded, not quite as confident as before.

“Damen has never quite put it that way. He says they’re weapons.

After all, it wouldn’t be in the best interest of a shikigami to kill its summoner—it would cease to exist in this realm until summoned by someone else.

The shikigami needs the onmyoji to survive. ”

“But I suppose it could feel demonic,” Miles conceded. “Or look that way from the outside.”

I bit my lip and looked away. This topic stirred a memory hovering on the edge of my subconsciousness. I pushed my fist against my chest as my skin began to burn.

“What are you thinking about so seriously?” Julian’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as he rubbed his thumb in circles over my other wrist .

“Finn,” I answered, ignoring how Julian ground his teeth. “He has a shikigami, too, doesn’t he?”

Miles answered with a nod. “But he hardly ever summons it. I doubt that he even has the strength at this point. He’s been avoiding his quintet for a long time, and if the most recent display of his temper is anything to go by, he needs his controller before he can do anything.

” Miles ended his statement while looking pointedly at Julian.

“Fine!” Julian pressed his hand to his forehead. “I’ll talk to him again.”

“Who?” I asked, looking between them.

Julian sighed. “My brother, Anthony,” he replied. “He’s my Er Bashou, and Finn’s controller. It’s his job to keep Finn in line—like it’s mine to control Damen.”

“Er Bashou…” I repeated. I’d heard this phrase before—from Rosalie.

“It’s the term for the quintet grouping of Officers below us,” Julian answered. “After them is the Jiangjun group, the second-in-command, and then the Tongjun quintet, the third-in-command. All Proxies—comprised of the Elders and Paragons—are also ranked in one of those three groupings.”

“Overall, that means we have fifteen individuals from our generation who are Officers,” Miles added. “And thirty more Officers, called Proxies, split between the Elders and the Paragons. They are all meant to support our roles.”

“So, your brother is your Er Bashou, and Finn is Damen’s?” I asked. “Are Officers always related to you?”

“Not always,” Miles said. “My sister, Colette, isn’t even a witch.

My Er Bashou’s name is Jin—his family named him after Titus’s original form—and he isn’t related to me at all.

However, Maria is Titus’s cousin, and Bryce is Bailey’s oldest brother.

Usually, family members aim to become Officials to support their relatives as they become the Xing.

But it is a skill-based role, so they have to train very hard. ”

Bailey—the Wood Xing before me who died.

“Oh,” I replied. Now, I felt bad about wanting to crush Bryce’s dreams.