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Miles chuckled darkly. “Oh? You think so?”

“Enough.” Julian strode forward, Damen trailing behind. He didn’t stop until he’d reached me. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice…” His words trailed off, and he swallowed. He paused for a moment longer, but then continued, “Is this better, Bianca?”

Shame burned through me, and I looked at my fingers.

Titus had been faking! And Julian—and possibly the others—knew it, too. I hadn’t been able to hide my discomfort at all.

But still, I was grateful.

“Yeah…” I said. I hated that they knew. I hated that my every action was going to be under scrutiny.

“Bianca…” Julian sounded unsure, but I buried my face against Titus’s chest.

“Didn’t you two want to check something?” Titus asked.

When Julian responded, he was more composed. “Yes. I need to rebandage her, and she’ll need her medication. Then I want to check the marks from the bond.”

I could feel his presence beside me, but I still couldn’t look.

“Why would the bond cause a mark anyway?” Miles interjected, and I was so thankful. I just needed a moment to gather my composure. “That’s what I don’t understand.”

“Onmyoji are Fire elementals, so bonding with a creature of the underworld doesn’t injure us physically. Finn’s issue with the bond is a spiritual symptom of overextension,” Damen explained. “But when someone who isnotimmune to the physical affects—like a Wood elemental—is added to the bond, it puts them at risk. There’s the energy needed to create the bond—to sustain it. But it’s passive and requires barely any effort. But there’s a different sort the shikigami draws on to perform spells. When I call a shikigami, I’m actively using my abilities.”

“Okay…?” Miles tilted his head. “So how does that work with Finn’s curse.”

“I didn’t curse her!” Finn protested.

“Ibelievethe medication suppresses Bianca’s abilities enough to prevent Kiania from drawing on her. Kiania would have to use Finn as her active energy source,” Damen said.

“That’s right,” Finn said. “Kiania draws only enough from Bianca to stabilize our bond. She doesn’t want to hurt her.”

“That’s why you don’t like summoning Kiania,” Miles mused.

“I can do it for short periods of time,” Finn said. “Most onmyoji bring their shikigami out for practice at least once a week. I’ll bring Kiania out every few months or in emergencies.”

“So the bruises?” Miles pressed.

“When Bianca is stronger, it’s difficult to control the flow of energy.” Finn sighed. “Just like any of you, an onmyoji will draw on our abilities when we’re emotional. If she’s not on her medication, and I lose control of my emotions, Bianca’s energy is drawn to me simply because it’sthere. It’s not on purpose. That’s when it would hurt her, because her body is not compatible with Fire. She has a physical reaction—usually triggered by my touch. But if she’s suppressed, and I lose control, there’s only a void. You can’t draw on something that’s not there. Usually, the feeling passes. If it doesn’t go away, I see Kayla.”

“But Bianca couldalwayssee spirits,” Miles said. “And feel them.”

“Yes…” I spoke up, my voice wavering. I didn’t understand half of this, but it seemed to not bode well. “But stopping the medication did make it easier.”

“So…” Julian seemed deep in thought, he glanced at me. “It helped, but only slightly. I would never expect the medication to completely suppress you, considering who you are.”

“Bryce has been helping too,” Finn said. “Although he hasn’t realized. We have our quintet bond. It’s made me able to control things a bit.”

“That’s grand, but this is not sustainable.” Julian spoke again, fury touching his voice once again. “There’s only one of two ways this ends. You’d have to suppress her abilities her entire life. But you’ve said already that wasn’t the plan. The other option would for Bianca to be strong enough to withstand the bond.”

“We were going to watch out for any adverse reactions, to test the limits.” Finn sounded hopeful. “Then, we thought once she joined with you she might be able to—”

“That’s not going to matter!” Julian bellowed, slicing his hand through the air. “Evenwithmy help. Damen can only do so much, and he’s missing out on the link thatheneeds. We can’t risk that. Why aren’t you angry?” He glared at Damen. “You should be angry about this.”

“I’m thinking.” Damen glowered at Julian in turn. “Something you aren’t doing right now. Stop being so hard up that you lose sight of what’s important.”

“Iamthinking. I’m more convinced than ever now, actually,” Julian replied. “You’ve all lost your minds. I’m the only one looking at the whole picture. We’ve seen how this ended before. This is nature. Weneedto end the bond.”

“No, we need more information. Stop overreacting.” Damen crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. “I am angry, but I’m not comfortable making a decision right now.”