Page 87 of Balance

“Mon rêve, was this something that happenedrecently?” His tone was more serious than I’d ever heard it, and his expression was unreadable. “Tell me.”

My heart twisted, my trepidation fading at the reassurance in his voice. For some reason, his touch filled me with confidence.

I sucked in a breath, and the air seemed to grow lighter.

Icouldtell them, but there was no need to be emotional. Maybe everything was in my head, but they could tell me for sure. It was better than not knowing, and maybe we could work on making me less crazy.

If that was even possible.

The words rushed from me. “Well… o-one night they changed my bandages…” Once I started, I couldn’t hold myself back. “I was really out of it, and they scared me, so I fought back. They had to strap me to the bed… You know, so they could do their jobs. Then they said they were scared of me and covered my face. Then one was really clumsy and kept spilling water on me…”

I glanced between them, and the air, and their expressions, had turned grave.

“It was hard to b-b-breathe…” I offered, my confidence flailing. The darkness growing in their expressions make my skin clammy—was it really as ridiculous as it sounded?

“It might have been a n-nightmare…” I offered, glancing at my fingers. “But even if it wasn’t, it’s not that b-bad. A-accidents happen, right?”

Julian’s hold tightened painfully. On my other side, Miles was deathly still.

“I’m going to kill them.” Damen’s snarl echoed in my ears—his entire frame shook from the force of his anger and he turned toward Titus. “Are you coming?”

Titus didn’t speak; he only nodded once in response, dark crimson swirling in his eyes.

“Just, wait a second.” Julian was shaking; but it was still impossible to discern which of his warring emotions would win. “Bianca.” His voice pulled at my attention. “Whenwas this?”

My head still felt fuzzy, but the sick feeling in my chest had faded. Did this mean my fear was normal? “The night before Damen showed up in my r-r-room.”

Damen sucked in a breath, and Julian frowned at him. “Just wait—”

“They fuckingwaterboardedher,” Damen hissed, his voice like nails against stone. “They smiled at me when I got there. They showed me to her room without a hint of malice. And you’re saying I’m supposed to let this go? Did they do anything else?” he asked, turning his attention to me.

“Um…” I flinched. “What else… No.”

Julian’s gaze narrowed and he turned his attention to Miles. “Well?”

Miles slowly blinked, a muscle in his jaw twitching. There was a glint in his eyes, but the expression passed and his gaze lightened once again.

“Let me take care of it,” he said in a detached sort of way that caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand. “Let me finish this here and—”

“That’s not good enough!” Damen seethed. He pointed at Miles, his arm shaking. “You barely punished them the first time. Now you want everyone to wait so you can finish your personal errands?”

“Don’t underestimate me.” The ground shook as he spoke. “Iwilltake care of this, but Ican’tdo any binding spells yet. You’re going to have to wait.”

Damen blinked, lowering his arm, and the tension also faded from Titus’s frame.

Whatever Miles meant by that statement, it seemed to have dissolved their anger.

“Damn,” Damen breathed, his mouth curling into a wry grin. “You haven’t cursed anyone in a thousand years. I’m impressed.”

Titus nodded, seemingly looking at Miles inpride.

“They deserve it,” Miles scowled. “Assomeoneonce said, ‘The only thing more terrifying than being powerless and trapped in a nightmare, is knowing that even death won’t set you free.’ It seems fitting, considering their crime.”

Julian sucked in a surprised breath.

“What does that mean?” I looked at Julian.

Julian shrugged, regaining control of his emotions once more. “It’s just a stupid saying.”