Page 174 of Change

I wasn’t prepared—however—to see that she looked like hell.

Her clothing was completely destroyed, and her hair was damp with blood. Deeper bruising was beginning to blossom across the side of her face, and, everywhere I could see, her skin was riddled with bite marks and handprints.

It didn’t take a genius to guess what she might have gone through.

Violence rose in me with such a force that my skin grew hot from it. My focus was so taken by this, that it took a moment to even register the delicate gold and green peeking out from behind her hair.

It was enough—but barely—to distract me.

“Wings.” Somehow, I’d made my way to them, and fell to the ground beside the necromancer. Why did that short journey leave me so winded? “How—”

I didn’t have to finish my question; the others knew my confusion.

Mu had only ever had wings in our first life.

But then again, so, technically had Titus—at leastfunctioningones.

“No need to worry about it now.” Julian was bent over Bianca, lowering his forehead to hers. He wore a pained expression of intense concentration and his brows lowered and jaw tightened.

I didn’t want to ruin the fragile atmosphere with another word for fear it would ruin his efforts.

Then he sighed, opening his eyes as he peered into her face. She remained unmoved, but as I watched her wings retreated back into oblivion.

“It’s taking too much energy to keep those out,” Julian answered my unspoken question. “And she doesn’t have any to spare.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Miles rejoined us, sitting with his hands nervously twisting in his lap. “Should we take her to the hospital?”

Julian paused, glancing to Bryce for a moment, but both fae brothers wisely stood back, remaining silent. Right now, even though they were her brothers, and I was certain that keeping their distance took an immense amount of self-restraint, they were playing the protector role, leaving her to us. Finn, too, had joined them.

As things were supposed to be.

“No.” Julian’s forehead was wrinkled in discomfort, and it was then I’d finally noticed the sweat pooling near his hairline and across his upper lip. “They won’t be able to do anything.”

“Why not?” Miles asked.

Julian’s hands tightened over her hands, and he pulled her more firmly against him. “I don’t know how things got to this state, but she barely has any energy left to sustain life. We would instinctively stop using our abilities before that point. Shewasdead.”

“Shewas?” Miles tapped his fingers over his knees. “What happened—”

“Onmyoji,” Titus’s voice was hoarse with strain. He had rolled unto his hands and knees, but his deadened stare remained trained on the ground. “Jameson Duff and Albert Yates used her to get to me. They’re working with a few others—shifters and witches—and the Gens Humana guild.”

Onmyoji.

My vision burned red and a deep-seated hatred began to stir. This—combined with the increasingly disturbing news of the Underworld—was no coincidence. Where there was smoke, there was always fire.

I could forgive many things, but fucking with her was crossing a line.Especiallywhen the perpetrators were my own subjects. I expected better.

I expected obedience.

And you don’t hurt what’s mine.

“Kasai.” The shikigami had remained silently alert throughout all this and bristled at the sound of his name. “Go home and tell the others to get ready.”

We were high past time for another purge.

Even though this was his first time in this situation, Kasai knew better than to protest. He only nodded once before vanishing into the air in a wisp of smoke.

The next time I’d see him, he’d be armed.