Page 176 of Whispers of Wisteria

Fire burned through my blood starting from my fingertips, and an electric force threw me to the floor. My ears rang, my head felt full of static, and my thoughts spun as I moved to my knees, grasping my elbows, trying to breathe through the pain.

However, the wave receded as quickly as it’d come. Still, I was left shivering in the aftermath, and there was no mark on my skin to prove anything had happened.

I was still shaking as I touched my sleeve-covered wrist to my mouth.

What was that?

“Bianca?”

I looked up as Titus said my name, and moved my hands to my chest. He was alert now—sharp. His face was serious as his gaze seemed to pierce through me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, and my breath caught.

Well… I was helping him, obviously.

I opened my mouth, but paused, then shook my head. My vision blurred as I pressed my hands to my warm cheeks.

There was nothing wrong with me. So why couldn’t I talk?

“Look at me,” Titus said, his tone both comforting and commanding. When I met his now-crimson eyes, he added, “You’re going to make it out of this.”

A warmth began to spread through my chest, and my hands stopped shaking.

Even so, he was still trapped.

I bit the tip of my finger when he staggered to his feet, and watched as he pulled at the chains. They didn’t drop from the ceiling, and he glared up. He’d grown tense, and his muscles were tight with strain under his tattered shirt. Glimpses of ivory peeked through his lightly tanned skin before receding.

Like he wanted to shift, but couldn’t.

They were the same manacles as Gloria’s and mine had been, meant to subdue abilities.

So what was this suffocating heat in the air, pressing in around me? Was it why it’d hurt to touch them?

It didn’t matter; I had to help.

I stepped back into the circle and touched his elbow.

Even his skin here was unnaturally warm.

He softened and looked at me, then lowered his arms. The chains had some slack when he stood, and I trailed my fingertips over his forearms towards the cuff.

He stopped me from touching them.

“Thank you for trying,” he said, touching his forehead to mine. “But these are locked by onmyoji magic. They won’t open that easily. I should have listened.”

Listened to what? I tilted my head.

He looked at the black mirror across, and a shiver shot down my spine as I stared at it.

There was a warning ringing in the back of my mind as my pulse skipped. Whatever was over there was more than dangerous.

“Bianca,” he said cautiously. “Princess. Talk to me.”

I looked back at him, meeting his sad, earnest gaze. I’d never really focused on Titus’s human eyes from such a short distance before, and for a moment I was mesmerized by the mixture of emerald and crimson.

A numbness covered me as my skin buzzed, and the echo of a melody rang in my ears.

Why now…