Page 110 of Whispers of Wisteria

It’d been a long time since I’d seen him lose histemper.

“I thought you were better than this.” He grabbed my wrist. “Or are you as selfish as everyone thinks you are?”

I opened my mouth to respond, temper flaring when he interrupted. “It’sneverbeen about youand your feelings. It’s about her. Trying to find her. Trying to keep her safe.”

“What?” That was the most asinine thing I’d ever heard. “How can you—”

Bryce continued, “If you’d known she was alive, out there somewhere, what would you have done?”

“Gone after her.” There’d been no hesitation.

“You’re too obvious. The moment people knew she was alive,” Bryce said, his tone razor-sharp, “they’d have started hunting her. Not just because she’s Mu—though that’s enough to get her killed—but because she’s a female fae.”

I frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

He gave me a flat look. “Don’t play stupid. You know some things aren’t meant to be in the open. Not when there are people who’d hurt her for it… or worse.” His gaze flicked away for a beat, like even saying it aloud was dangerous.

“It doesn’t matter. She didn’t even have a chance out there!” I snapped. “Just look at what happened.”

Even more than Eric Richards was now Jason mother-fucking Patterson.

I didn’t even want to think about Bianca being anywhere near them.

But because of her, we finally knew the two leaders were related. It was the break we’d needed—now all the evidence could be used together.

Bryce growled. “I know. That wasn’tthe plan.”

“Then, genius, whatwas the plan?” I asked.

“She was supposed to come back,” he snapped. “She’s my sister. She’s a part of our family. Wewanther. We would never have abandoned her. She was never meant to be lost!”

I pressed my lips together. “You still should have told me.”

“Say you’d found her before us,” he said. “What would you have done? How would you have kept her safe? Every enemy you have will try to use her against you.”

Heat coiled inside my chest.

“Don’t you think I know that?” I asked. “You don’t think that I’ve ever stopped to think what might happen if people realized I care more about her than myself?”

Bryce’s expression had shifted into something strangely sympathetic. “Do you?”

“Do I what?” I snapped.

“Care about her more than you care about yourself?”

I froze, breath caught in my lungs, as the enormity of my admission weighed against my chest. I couldn’t answer, but it didn’t matter. Bryce wasn’t finished.

“It’s always been conjecture, of course…” He studied me. “That Huo had feelings for Mu. Most people wonder if you’ve ever been romantically involved, but nobody knows.”

“We haven’t.”

Bryce lifted an eyebrow. “Well, it certainly looks like you’re trying now.”

Yes.

I couldn’t deny it. But I couldn’t give in to it.

Not yet.