Page 21 of Hidden

Going to court would draw the council’s attention. That was something we needed to avoid at all costs.

Julian was able to see her, at least. But from his worn expression, I wasn’t sure if it was something to be jealous about. He was worried, which caused Miles to worry even more. Julian said she hadn’t been eating and she looked sick.

Julian’s words spurred Miles to work harder. Once Julian left, Miles also vanished and hadn’t returned the rest of the night. From what I understood, he was doing research at the school and contacting his mentors.

It was best to let him be. He came up with his best ideas when alone.

“Have you been up all night?” Damen was alert. He leaned over my desk, his eyes seeking mine. “Did you watch them yet?’

“Not yet,” I said, my voice scratchy. “I’m bracing myself.”

Damen frowned, his expression knowing. “You should have let me know. I was awake anyway. You didn’t have to sit in here glaring at them all alone.”

“It wasn’t just the videos.” I nodded pointedly at the manila folders. Damen raised an eyebrow and reached for them, but I didn’t want him to expect to find anything helpful. “They’re useless.”

Damen shot me a look of alarm. “Useless?” He picked up the top folder anyway and opened it, turning his attention to the pages. “What—”

“Almost everything helpful has been redacted,” I summarized. “When Bianca was adopted, it was done swiftly and with little legal involvement. Outside of that, any instance of entering her further into our system was avoided. That’s probably why her name had never been changed. When she was declared medically unfit, it was granted under Dr. Kohler’s suggestion. Bianca’s never even been to court.”

Damen lowered the papers slightly, glancing at me. “But didn’t Hanah imply that Bianca had been questioned? She’d had to have been to court, or have at least seen a lawyer?”

I shook my head. “Everything went through Dr. Kohler. They never even released Bianca’s name alongside Abigail’s work. Unless they knew Abigail adopted the child they wanted to question, investigators wouldn’t have any indication she was the same person. In most cases, after a child is rescued from that kind of situation, they are put into shelters—homes equipped to deal with their psychological needs before returning to society. A victim would have been moved in with a family right away. I’m certain it was done to hide her. When Dr. Kohler speaks of Bianca, she only identities her as ‘The Victim.’ She answers all questions on Bianca’s behalf.”

“And no one was suspicious? Especially with that kind of timing…” Damen was thumbing through the files. “I find that hard to believe.”

“I’m sure people were,” I replied. “I would have been. But nothing could be done about it. She had guardians at that point, and they refused to allow her to be questioned. As did her personal doctor. They would have to make a strong case to forcibly bring her in.”

“Not that it would have been good to question her…” Damen muttered, frowning down at the empty papers. “I’m grateful they didn’t. But I’m only saying…”

He hadn’t realized it yet, so I added, “If she was put into a shelter or questioned, the elders would have found out who she was.”

Damen let go of the paper, and his head shot up. “I didn’t even consider that.” He dropped the folder closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know if I should kill them or thank them. So much should have gone differently. They lied about her whole life. And there is a lot we don’t know, but…”

“If they hadn’t done it this way, she’d be dead.” It was painful to admit the truth, but until I was able to use my abilities fully it would have been impossible for me to protect her. In fact, once the elders learned about her, it was going to be next to impossiblenow.

The council was established to keep the balance in between our rebirth cycles. When we were here, they were supposed act as a counterbalance to our authority. And while we created the council, it wouldn’t be good to retract our own declarations.

It was the council who would have a problem with Bianca being born a female. They were prejudiced, and all because of a prophecy even Damen hadn’t been able to confirm.

And as far as I was concerned, if Damen hadn’t predicted it, it was of no consequence.

Damen covered his face, so his voice was muffled. “You’re right. You know, once she gets out, we need a reason for her to be with us. Something that they won’t suspect…”

The last part of his statement remained unsaid, but I knew what he meant.

We needed to keep them off our backs. We might have rushed into this, but we couldn’t survive without her now. I wouldn’t risk her safety by sending her away either. There were only a few people we trusted, and who knew what might happen without us. I refused to risk it.

Especially after what she’d already been through.

My attention returned to the recordings. Disgust caused the hair on my arms to raise. I wanted to shift, to destroy something. Reading the files, even with most information blacked out, was enough to stir my anger once again.

The files, the recordings. It had made everything real. This wasn’t just a story. It was something that had actually happened.

Before I could catch myself, I snarled. Damen’s head snapped up.

“Titus.” He frowned, touching the edge of my desk. “You can’t. We have work to do!”

“I know that.” It was becoming harder to keep control, even with Damen’s presence. It had to be this mate business, because I’d never come this close before.