Page 43 of Balance

Chapter Eleven

Bianca

Foe

Time seemed to fly, and before I knew it, we were pulling off into an almost-barren lot surrounded by ancient trees. Nestled in the corner of the property was a log cabin complete with a covered patio and rocking chairs.

The sun seemed to be high in the sky now, signaling that we were past mid-afternoon. But… That couldn’t be right. There was no way we had been riding for hours. After pulling my sleeves over my knuckles and rubbing my eyes, I blinked at the sky again.

The same thing.

“It’s been two hours.” Brayden shifted closer to me, whispering in my ear. A loose curl fell over dark brows, and his face was pinched with concern. “You’ve been daydreaming this whole time.”

Had I been?

I blinked up at him—there was no way. Surely my plan to entrap Finn and Bryce together in a scenario where they were forced to share one bed and one blanket had only taken me seconds to pull together.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice, gaze flickering to the front of the vehicle.

My brows furrowed—what a silly question. “Of course.”

“Your…” He paused, lowering his tone even further. “Are you sure your feelings aren’t hurt?”

Myfeelings?

I frowned, glancing at Damen.

The onmyoji had been chatting away with Titus, not a care in the world, as he pointed toward the log building. His expression was light, and almost excited, and he seemed to be basically oblivious to Julian’s glares, the manner in which Finn sulked in the seat beside me, and the terse way that Titus responded to his queries.

Bryce met my eyes and, for the first time since all this began, half-twisting in his seat, he joined our huddle. His expression was carefully impassive, but his eyes told a completely different story. Menacing and calculating all at once—time seemed to pause under the weight of it.

“Give him hell.” His voice was like venom—the most emotion I ever recalled hearing from the man. “He might be right in trying to get you to open up, but this is not the way to do it. He thinks he can just run everything. He’s been arrogant too long; remind him of who you are,” he finished, throwing a glance in Finn’s direction.

Finn, in response, stiffened in his seat, head inclining toward the three of us.

“What?” My heartbeat echoed in my ears as the ground was pulled out from under me. Ihadbeen wrong in accusing Damen; I thought that was plainly obvious.

Bryce’s teeth showed in an alarming way as his gaze moved toward Damen, and Brayden sniggered under his breath. The whole thing was rather violent. Their glee could probably have been explained away by them being fae.

That did not explain, however, Finn’s sudden gleeful interest, or how Julian’s mouth curled as his fury turned to renewed excitement.

Even Titus, far from us as he was, glanced back briefly, his lips quirking.

What in the world was wrong with these men?

I returned my focus to Damen, trepidation prickling at me. What if I hadn’t beenentirelywrong after all? I might not have been correct in my assumption, and I might have been rude, but my chest still hurt in the aftermath of that painful confrontation.

Damencouldhave been a little bit nicer too.

The conversation replayed in my head as we exited the vehicle and entered the lobby of what was apparently the state park’s ranger office.

Okay, so my feelings had been hurt—just a little. I didn’t like being spoken to like that.

Was it… okay to be upset?

Damen headed to the counter, where a blonde-haired, green-uniformed ranger sat, feet on the desk, comic book open in his lap. Titus moved to where I stood by a display of brochures.

The others had dispersed throughout the room, some headed to the facilities and others lingered in the space, stretching and chatting.