Page 31 of Change

He barked out a laugh and the humor made him seem a little less tired than before. “You’re joking. Uncle Gregory doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body, and Gloria just glares at him during faculty meetings. One time, she was sitting by the copier and he had to go near her to pick up his prints. I thought she was going to skewer him with her knitting needle.”

“There’s a fine line between love and hate,” I pointed out, recalling the events in the coffee shop earlier.

“I thought your theory was thatUncle Calebwas her long-lost beau,” Bryce continued sarcastically. “That’s why you claimed it wasn’t such a big deal you trapped him in her office for two weeks. What happened to that?”

I chose to ignore the reminder of my mistakes. Bryce still wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. If I was correct—and I was almost certain that I was—we had a conspiracy on our hands. Who better to clear up this misunderstanding than us?

We could help them rekindle their flame, and I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about abandoning Uncle Gregory.

“I originally thought there was a love triangle.” I cupped my hand around my mouth, whispering even though there was no one to overhear us in Bryce’s car. “But now I believe she was involved withbothof them. I think they had a polyamorous relationship.” It was only thanks to Damen’s ‘plan’—and Uncle Gregory’s earlier comments—that it occurred to me.

Bryce’s arm jerked so harshly I thought he might swerve the vehicle off the road. Then he looked at me and burst out laughing.

This was the second time. I had no idea the man knewhowto laugh. It was strangely pleasant to hear. But still, I was offended. I leaned back in my seat, frowning at him. “Uncle Gregory said that polygamy isn’t uncommon among the fae.”

“It’s not.” Bryce’s laughter died. “But it’s not exactly common either. Besides, you’re forgetting two very important things.”

“What’s that?”

“Gloria isn’t fae. A shifter being involved with more than one person would be a scandal—shifters have only one mate,” Bryce pointed out, shrugging his shoulders as if this declaration made my analysis any less true. “Secondly, even withoutthatpressure, you have to consider location.”

I pressed my fingers into my lap. “Location?”

“Shifters cannot live in our realm—where this is not frowned upon—so they’d have to live here. Ifyou’re right, it means Uncle Gregory and Uncle Caleb would have put Gloria into a position where she’d be harshly judged by her own people. That doesn’t sound like love.”

I bit my lip—it was a good argument, and Bryce surprised me at his sudden insight on love and relationships. He was wiser than I previously thought.

But…

“I still believe it,” I finally replied as Bryce pulled into Damen’s driveway. He hadn’t been there. He hadn’t heard the way Dr. Stephens sighed her name. “There’s more going on than we know.”

“Isn’t there always?” Bryce shrugged, not bothering to argue with me. “But don’t worry about it. Whatever they do isn’t our concern anyway.”

Wasn’t it? Something pulled at the edges of my awareness, and the tips of my fingers grew hot.

I had a feeling that their saga was going to affect us very much.

But we were home now, and I really wasn't up to arguing anymore.

“Okay,” I agreed, opening my door. Bryce moved to do the same. “Never mind.”

“Why do I get the impression you’re not listening to me?” Bryce muttered.

Because he was wrong, and he would need to learn to trust me sometimes. But for now, my skin was starting to itch and I needed to breathe.

The cold air brushed against my face as I stepped out of the car. Whywasthis bothering me so much? Why couldn’t I let this go?

Why did thinking about it make my head hurt?

A door slammed shut, the sound echoing through my ears as a static fell over my thoughts. The sound of my name reverberated through the air, and lightning flashed across my vision. The world swayed, and I stumbled sideways, falling to the ground onto stone and moss.

This place? Hazy shapes shadowed across my vision as my breathing hitched.

This was the tower where Julian had pulled me from my thoughts.

Why was I here?

“Bianca?” The voice sounded slightly more panicked now, and a hand pulled at my arm, snatching me from the scene. My eyes blinked open, and I was on the gravel driveway, resting against Bryce’s side as he snapped his fingers in my face. “Bianca, are you okay?”