Page 105 of Hidden

He wasn’t himself, otherwise he would have let me go already. Physical affection had never been something we’d been comfortable with in the past. “Are you crazy? Why in the world is silencing me your first reaction?” And besides that, “What are you doing here? Why are you sleeping in woods?”

Damenhadbeen displeased with him. Perhaps…

“Is Damen making you sleep out here?” I whispered, almost horrified. Because, really, that was a bit much, even for someone like Finn.

Finn’s frown deepened as his eyes traveled over my face. Whatever he saw there caused his mouth to dip, and he pushed me from him, causing me to land on my side.

“No, he did not.” Finn crossed his arms as I pushed to my knees. His bangs fell over his face, brushing the top rim of his glasses. But he continued to study me. “I came out here for another reason and fell asleep.”

That was dangerous. It was chilly—he might have frozen to death. Not that it was important.

“Why would you come out here in the middle of the night?” I wondered.

Finn’s lips pursed and his eyebrows slowly raised, there was judgment in his expression. “Really?” he asked, pointedly watching me.

My face heated.

“That’s different!” I protested. I loathed this part of him—the times he’d call me out and make me feel six inches tall. “I was looking for an elephant!”

“An elephant,” Finn repeated, the amusement fading from his voice. “Ah, yes. I had forgotten about yourplan.”

“Don’t say it like that.” The warmth spread down my chest. How dare he forget—he should have been spending every waking moment visualizing the moment of his doom. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“Who says I’m making fun of you?” he drawled. “But, really, why are you out here? I’d have thought my brother wouldn’t let you out of his sight. Why do you think he hasn’t argued that you’re sleeping with Miles?”

Damen. I narrowed my eyes.

Yes, that reminded me. I was quite annoyed with him. “Did you know he talks to himself in the mirror?”

“Damen?” Finn tilted his head. “Yes, he does that sometimes.”

Funny, Finn didn’t seem to be concerned. Was everyone in that family just very odd? “And you think this is normal? He seemed very angry.”

He shrugged in response, something distant entering his expression. Then he pulled from me, moving to his feet. And without another word, he left the building.

I scrambled up, rushing after him.

Finn never walked away from a conversation. He wanted me to follow. And sure enough, he was already folding himself down into a cross-legged position at the edge of the water, uncaring about the damp ground as he shot me an expectant glance.

I moved next to him, my legs under me as I tucked the white gown around my knees.

“It works best with mirrors, or slow waters. But this’ll work for a demonstration, I think,” Finn replied, frowning at one of the small pools.

“What are you going to show me?” I leaned forward.

“One of the ways an onmyoji can scry.” Finn pressed on my shoulder, forcing me back. “We can use it for fortunetelling.”

“You see the future?” I couldn’t keep the disbelief from my voice. “Since when?”

Finn shot me an even look. “Since always.”

“You must not be very good.” I mean, it was obvious. “Since you managed to miss the fact that I almost died. You do know I hate you?”

He sighed, his gaze returning to the water. “I’ve always known you were going to hate me, Bianca. But seers also don’t know everything. We only glimpse at bits and pieces. But what happened at Professor Hamway’s houseismy fault. I should have been paying more attention.”

My breath caught. “Is that an apology?”

“No.” Finn didn’t even hesitate.