Page 124 of Change

And that was what he’d asked, even if he never fully acknowledged it.

“Okay.” Damen hunched forward as he let out a slow, long breath. It seemed as though he’d aged ten years in a matter of seconds. “So how was Ba—the puppet different? What makes it so wrong?”

“There’s a way to infuse a puppet with a small piece of the soul of the person they’re imitating,” I told them, my skin prickling under their expectant stares. It wasn’t often when I’d held the full attention of the room. “It makes them an energetic decoy as well, not just physical. So, until the spell is broken, any supernatural connections to the real person will be dulled. And remember, Bailey was a boy; so it wasn’t an exact replica of Bianca either. To create something entirely unique, and to confuse our bond… This took an extraordinary amount of magic.”

Damen’s forehead wrinkled in consternation. “You said ‘spell’. This is why we didn’t realize Bianca was alive until she found us? How did it recognize her connection with us?”

It was a fair question, and one I’d been wondering for a while.

After all, even before we’d officially bonded, ever since she’d come into our lives, there’d been a part of me that was keenly aware of her presence. I might not be aware of her emotions without touching her, but a piece of my soul had been filled—remaining at ease while she lingered nearby.

It was that way forallof our quintet.

If someone was deathly hurt, or even dead, their distress and absence would be acutely felt. There’d be an emptiness and ache—the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

It was what life had been likebeforeBianca.

But we’d never been aware of the seasons of her life. If we had been, we would have known something was wrong anytime she’d been in danger.

“The spell was officially activated through you.” Even though it was true, I couldn’t be angry at the man. And I felt guilty at the breaking of his expression.

“Me…” He glanced between Miles and me, unsure. “How—”

“The puppet latched onto your energy signature when you touched it.” And what affected one of us, affected us all on some level. “You connected it tous. It worked for a while, but the puppet’s magic would have begun to wear off after some time and once Bianca was back within a certain distance.”

“So, it’smyfault then.” Damen put his hand over his face.

The witch leaned forward and touched Damen’s arm. “What do you mean?”

“If I hadn’t insisted on seeing it—touching it—we might have eventually known something wasn’t right.” Damen’s voice was low. “She was in pain and suffering, and we should have felt that. We could have found her sooner.”

Miles and I looked at each other.

This had to be controlled. One of Damen’s most annoying characteristics, but the one that’d saved us more times than we could count, was his optimism. Huo held the vision, created our long-term goals and gathered our following, all while Mu plotted and worked to make the onmyoji’s dreams a reality.

Damen dwelling in self-pity and regrets was not productive.

Depression did not suit him.

I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but he needed to let it out. Not all anger wasbad.

“Do you want to go kill something?” I offered. I had a pretty good idea where we could begin. “I think Gregory might still be in his office.”

“We’re not killing Gregory!” Damen’s head snapped up, and his eyes blazed. The tealight flame grew higher, licking at the bottom of the delicate tea kettle.

I nodded, allowing his rage to wash over me.

We could all feel it. Something fundamental was shifting within us.

I could see it in Miles. The deep serenity and good humor always present in his presence had vanished, and his body remained tight, still and deadly. He was tethering on the edge, and it would only take one word to have the priest throw away his ethics and fully embrace the darker side of the craft.

I was thankful that, for now, his fury was not levelled in my direction.

And there was Damen, whowasready but not willing. Yet.

It was obvious that he wanted to rampage, his fist was closed tightly over the charm on his neck. But he was letting his sentimentalities—and possibly even from a desire to allow Bianca to have a glimpse of normalcy, at least for a while—hold him back.

I didn’t blame him.