Page 22

Julian POV

I barely paid attention to Damen. Bianca stood, looking worriedly between us, and all I could focus on was her vulnerable form. Seeing Finn near her made the protective swell rising inside me harder to ignore.

This feeling had been touched upon the first time I heard her cry out in pain, and I needed to step in to defend her, but it had been growing stronger with every unassuming motion she’d made toward me since.

I was Shui, and—to me—she was the embodiment of hope. There was no one more important to me than she. Never before in all our lives had she taken on such a vulnerable form, and yet, she still trusted me so implicitly. And within the span of a few moments, I might have broken everything.

“Bianca,” I began, stepping toward her, and when she moved back, pulling her hands behind her back, my stomach sank. It wasn’t worth it. “I’m sorry. ”

She looked at me, her large eyes wide in wariness, and I could scarcely breathe. I would never again give her any reason not to trust me. I never wanted her to be afraid in my presence, for that would be the purest form of torture.

“It will be fine,” I told her, and she blinked at me. “From this point forward, unless you ask it of me, I will not do anything to Finn.” Because Damen was right—even though she denied it, he was her best friend.

Finn stared at me, but I ignored him.

“Oh,” she began. Relief crossed her face, and I knew I’d made the right choice. “Okay then.”

“Then please, can you trust me to look at your arm?” I asked, holding my hand to her again. Her large eyes stared at me, and I added, “We’ve restarted your medication; I would just like to check on a theory.”

And with that, she allowed me back in. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding as she placed her hand in mine. “Y-yes,” she replied, and my vision lingered on her pale, pink lips.

She was tiny—I could easily close my hand around both her wrists—and her delicate form felt so fragile under my touch.

A bright white bandage still covered her neck, and she’d winced when lifting her arm.

My senses hummed under my skin, on full alert, the instant our bodies made contact.

She might not complain, but she was in pain.

Just the very idea of someone hurting her, treating her roughly, filled me with a quiet fury that was not appropriate for this moment.

“Thank you,” I told her instead, and lifted her wrist. She held still as I rolled back her sleeve, exposing her arm to the elbow.

My thoughts quieted as I frowned down at what I saw.

Bianca POV

“Julian?” I asked, glancing at my right arm. But I wasn’t sure why he’d be so moody. I was healing rather well.

My oldest bruise had almost returned to my usual pallor. That was the bruise I’d acquired when Julian had scared Finn away at Professor Hamway’s house, initially leading to Bryce’s nosiness.

The second was more recent. Even so, the fading handprint where Finn had grabbed my arm with his giant hands was practically gone.

“Darling,” Julian said with a sigh, and he pushed the sleeve up higher until it was halfway between my shoulder and elbow. “Why didn’t you say anything? It must have been painful.”

What was he going on about? It didn’t even hurt anymore.

“Not really,” I shrugged, then sucked in a breath. Stupid shoulder. “They both started clearing up in the last couple of days.”

“Yes, I wonder why,” Finn interjected, peeking around Julian’s arm as he added sarcastically, “Could they have finally started to heal after you started your medication again?”

I frowned at him. How dare he be so presumptuous—and so stupid. Hadn’t he heard Julian’s vow to destroy him at my request?

But, unfortunately, he wasn’t wrong either. “Fine,” I admitted, glaring at the ground. “Yes, you’re right. I was wrong. Are you happy now?”

Finn touched his chest.

Damen, also looking over Julian’s shoulder, stroked his chin. “How much do we know about this bond?” he asked Finn. “Has this happened before?”

“Once,” Finn answered. “Not long after Bianca was released from the hospital, I was beating up a few shitheads— ”

“Why were you beating up anyone?” Julian interrupted, glaring at him. “You’re far stronger than the average individual. That’s straight-up bullying.”

“Save me the lecture,” Finn said, pointing at me. “I’m not the bully. That pain in the ass pseudo-pack refused to leave her alone. They continued their shit until we graduated. In my opinion, I didn’t hurt them enough .”

“P-pack? Like shifters?” I blinked at Finn. A sense of coldness washed over me, and my voice trembled. “Wh-who?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

There was only one group that Finn fought with regularly.

Finn gave me a look, and my vision spun. I stepped back, moving away from Julian, and wrapped my arms around myself. I’d been around the paranormal so closely all this time, and I’d been entirely unaware. “Oh,” I said.

Would knowing have changed how I’d interacted with them?

“Anyway,” he continued, but I was only half-paying attention. “Bianca jumped into the fight. I grabbed her arm. That was the first time we noticed a delayed physical reaction from the contract. She had a bruise that wouldn’t heal until Trinity started her on the medication.”

“That was…” I began, my thoughts still dizzy. “That was right after I told you about my abilities. I thought they put me on medication because everyone believed I was crazy.”

“No,” Finn replied, “Plus, you got all scared any time we talked about that ghost, so Trinity thought it was a good idea.”

My heart was racing, and I backed away another step and covered my mouth. “But—”

“So it made sense not to say anything until you started therapy.” Finn nodded as if this made perfect sense. “That way, you didn’t have to be afraid anymore. I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Um…” I began, and he looked at me. “What do you mean? ”

“About ghosts,” he said, speaking slowly. “And the fact that you think everything is trying to kill you.”

“James Cole was trying to kill me!” I argued. How dare he look so smug! “And you told me it was my imagination!”

“Yes, yes, yes.” He waved his hand. “I made a mistake. But if you were taking your medication, it probably wouldn’t have noticed you anyway.”

“But I was right!” I loathed him.

“How was I supposed to know? You weren’t supposed to be able to see them!” Finn argued, raising a finger. “Do you think I would have let you be around something that scared you?”

“Why do you keep saying that?” I asked. “I’m not afraid of ghosts!”

He’d opened his mouth to respond but then paused, expression dropping as he curled his finger. “What? Every time the topic comes up, you’re shaking and terrified.”

“I’m not afraid of ghosts,” I repeated. “Most of the time.”

Finn frowned as his forehead wrinkled. “What?” he said again.

“I can’t believe you!” I glared at him. “I was nervous because I wanted you to believe me! This is so stupid! You’re the worst best friend ever!”

“Wow,” Brayden, who’d been silently watching the conversation until now, chimed in as Anthony nodded. “Finn, you need to work on your communication skills.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you two idiots!” Finn turned on him.

“Why in the world would you think I was afraid of ghosts?” I asked him. “Why are you telling people this?”

He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “Because any time someone asks you about the first spirit you saw, you freak out! Everyone else brags about theirs. ”

“Wh-what?” I asked. The fight fled from me as his eyes held mine, and his expression dropped into regret instantly. The sound of insects screaming through the air of a hot summer night echoed in my ears, but no one else seemed to be able to hear it.

“See!” Finn pointed at me. “Why are you afraid?”

“Shut up! It’s fine…” I could talk about it—I was just like everyone else.

“Then how old were you when you first saw it?” he asked.

“I-I don’t know?” I touched my shaking hand to my mouth as I stared at the floor. “She was a-always just there.”

“ ‘There’ where?” Damen’s question sounded loud, and I moved my hands to my ears.

“Home,” I said, biting my lip.

“And where—” Damen began, but his inquisitive expression dropped when I looked at him. He stepped to me, closing the distance between us, and touched my head before he said, “Never mind. You’re okay, baby girl. This is enough. Why don’t we move on?”

I stared at him, still struggling to regain my composure, but he had already taken control of the situation.

“Julian,” Damen began. “Isn’t she due to have her bandages changed? That was why we interrupted breakfast to begin with. We can discuss what to do about Kiania afterward.”

My breathing evened out as I looked at him.

Julian’s attention was redirected to Damen’s statement. “Yes, she is,” he said, moving to my side as he touched my elbow. “Why don’t we move to the living room where you’re more comfortable?”

I looked at the table, and my heart sank. It didn’t matter anymore; I was no longer hungry, and the food was definitely cold.

“O-okay,” I said, leaning into Julian’s hold .

“You three stay here,” Damen replied, gesturing toward Bryce, Brayden, and Anthony. “We’ll let you know if we need you.”

“What?” Bryce began to protest. He stepped forward, glowering, as he moved toward us. “I have every right to—”

Damen scowled at him. “You forfeited that right.”

“How dare you!” Bryce seemed just about ready to throttle Damen.

Titus moved between them. “You’re staying,” he said, and the others shot him a curious look—as if they were surprised he’d stepped in. Bryce, too, seemed stunned and backed up a step.

“But—” he began again.

“I’m irritated—I haven’t tasted blood in a few days.” Titus stood firm, eyeing Bryce. “Maybe an obnoxious fae will scratch that itch.”

“You’re not going to eat me!” Bryce snapped, although was it my imagination, or did he seem more pale than usual?

Still, just how often did Titus kill people?