Page 47 of Hidden

I was shaking, fury making me lose control of rational thought. “I’d never mentioned those things toanyone. Ifeveryoneknew… Is that why they’re lying to me? Does everyone think I’m a fucking damsel? I-I-I—”

Julian stepped toward me, and I turned my wrath on him. “Don’t come near me!”

He stopped instantly. I couldn’t let the hurt on his face waver my resolve.

“I will handle thingsmyway. I don’t want your pity!”

“Baby,” Damen said cautiously, and the familiar all-knowing expression was etched into his face. “I know you’re independent by nature and this is very hard. Especially since you’re very trusting to those you let in. But it’s all right to be scared.”

His words cut like a knife. Panic and fury warred for dominance.

I didn’t want to deal with this right now. Hadn’t I been through enough?

The words exploded from me. They were laced with the frustration of the last week and all my fear and anger. “Leave me alone!”

And with that, my wish was granted.

I stood under a covering of trees. Damen’s house was close by. I could see the lights from here. But still, a small distance away.

My heart was still racing in a dizzying rhythm.

I stood for a second, wondering if I might have gone too far. Done something that couldn’t be undone. But it was too late to back out now.

So I ran.

Chapter Nine

Damen

Passion

She had blinked. I couldn’t believe she used her abilities to escape from us.

“Leave her be.” Julian stopped Titus as the dragon—still in his human form—stepped past us. “She’s in the woods,” he said. “She’ll be fine for a little while.”

He guided Titus toward the house, and I automatically followed the two of them.

Her words raced through my thoughts. Her heartbreaking expression frozen in my mind.

Why couldn’t I have shut up? I’d seen how upset she was getting.

But I didn’t understand what she was doing. This wasn’t like her. She’d never been one to avoid problems in her past lives, and Mu had always been a master of his emotions.

It was becoming glaringly obvious things were different.

It was understandable though.She’dnever been in a situation like this before. Archetypes—the Xing—were protected from the time we were born. Security had gotten lax in this lifetime. Colette—Miles’s sister—had been good at hiding things. And even though Julian’s father had been abusive to his mother, the council turned a blind eye. They said that since Julian hadn’t been abused, they couldn’t intervene. Only when Julian almost killed the man himself did they intervene.

But this… It was far beyond what we’d suffered. If she’d been with us, this never would have happened. But if she’d been with us, she’d probably be dead.

The fireplace was already roaring, and the room was warm. I stalked through the living room, the fury I’d been suppressing leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. My focus zeroed in on the one thing that could help me think.

“Damen…” Miles hurried after me but didn’t prevent me from snatching my mezcal and taking a swig. But apparently the amount was too much for his discretion, and his hand gripped mine, pulling the glass down. “Damen, no. You cannot have liquor right now.”

Why did he have to look like he understood? He seemed to have his shit together.

Why was I the only person close to losing it?

It pissed me off.