Page 135 of Change

Only Miles would come up with something soannoying.

If we’d gone withmyplan, it would have been better. I could have just broken into the hospital and taken Bianca away. If anyone had bothered to ask my opinion, I’d have told them that a vacation at a nice, sandy beach might be exactly what she needed.

But no one ever consulted me. They just wanted me to fix everything after.

“Since when do you care what Bryce Dubois does?” Albert asked.

A valid question, because I didn’t.

But Biancadid, even if she tried to deny it, so I had to be nice. His actions now impacted her.

“He’s friends with Damen.” It was the only thing that made sense—and was marginally true. Their newly formed relationship was tentative, at best.

Albert made a sound of understanding and moved to his feet. “That makes sense,” he said. “You always do whatever Damen tells you.”

“Shut up.” The stabbing pain was growing weaker, but a hollow feeling was taking its place. I wasn’t sure which was worse, but it took every ounce of my control not to give into my fear.

She was dying.

I wasn’t sure how I knew this, especially without being bonded fully as quintet members or as mates, but the spark that made herherwas fading.

Mu was almost gone from this world.

I didn’t understand. A simple energy-draining spell shouldn’t come close to killing her.

“What have you done with her?” I hoped that the onmyoji still feared me enough to respond.

Albert shrugged, gesturing to the four mirrors with his upturned hands. “It’s hard work to keep you in line, but this should hold until we’re ready.”

Ready?

Ready for what?

I was about to demand to know when I glanced at the floor, and my breath stopped.

A magic circle—so faint now that it was almost imperceivable—ran the distance of the room, with one of the mirrors resting on each point of the star.

I knew about the mirrors already, but I hadn’t consideredthe mannerin whichthey’d robbed energy from Bianca.

“You son of a bitch!” Panic and fury clashed into me, and I pulled at my bindings, wanting nothing more than the opportunity to be free—if only for an instant—and rip the smirk off his face. “How did you find that spell?”

There were many ways to extract energy from a person, but only one that could drain a person to the point of death. The body had ways to prevent such things from happening; the victim would generally be knocked out, and their natural defenses would rise, blocking any further work from happening.

But this was some forbidden witchcraft that Miles had all but wiped out from the archives a long time ago.

A witch was working with them. Someone who had access to heavily kept secrets. But who?

“Does it matter?” he asked. “The important thing is that it’s working. But you didn’t answer my question. Why do youcare?” He was studying me. “You’ve done some messed up shit. One dead fae shouldn’t bother you.”

Dead.

I tried to lunge at him. This blinding pain was nothing compared to what would happen if I’d lose her now. The chains pulled against my arms and, at the ceiling, the metal joints creaked under the strain. But it wasn’t enough, and I stopped after a few inches.

“I’ll kill you!” I snarled at him. No matter what else happened, he was going to die.

Finally, a hint of fear crossed his expression. A part of me was somewhat mollified. But then the look was gone too soon, and unease trickled down my spine as the onmyoji’s scent began to leak caution.

“You really want to know?” He was no longer smiling, nor was his tone light, and he stepped toward me, expression critical. “The wolves were dying to play with her since we’d picked her up, but Jameson and I—well, we needed her around, for obvious reasons. Since her usefulness has worn off—and they’d been so helpful—we let them have her to dispose of her how they will.”