Page 10 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

T_T

I paused outside the Criminal Justice building, my breath catching despite the nonsensical nature of this discussion. Because, really, was he crying? For some reason, I’d thought he’d be more mature than that.

Where had he learned to be so dramatic? It was such a mystery.

I could visualize that exact expression on Damen’s face. He’d been so sensitive lately, and I hated the idea of hurting his feelings.

Maybe I should meet with him—

Damen

Gregory says to come. We’re more fun than Gloria anyway.

My wavering resolve solidified, even though I highly doubted that the older professor said it that way, and I punched at my phone with more force than necessary with my reply.

Me

No.

My phone rang—an unknown number—and I hesitated a moment before answering. “H-hello?”

“Bianca Dubois, you will come to my office this instant,” Uncle Gregory’s stern voice greeted me.

My palms sweat, but my reply was instantaneous. “No.”

“Bianca!”

Wow, this was so much easier when I didn’t have to look at him.

“If you have a problem with it, you and Damen can come and get me. I’ll be in the Criminal Justice building.” I said this—but if my theory was correct, there was no way he’d be talking to Ms. Protean any time soon. “You can explain to Ms. Protean that you don’t want me with her.”

Uncle Gregory began to curse under his breath but then spoke louder. “I can’t do that. She’ll murder me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll be studying with your ex-girlfriend then.” I felt like sticking out my tongue but caught myself at the last second. My chest swelled as he did not correct my assumption.

Which meant that I’d been right the whole time—they were once a couple.

“What in the world has gotten into you?” he asked instead, sounding as shocked as I ever heard him.

Did he really want to know? “Page one hundred and five, second paragraph.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Faery Homelife and the Family.” I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I picked at my fingernail.

“Oh, for the love of…” Uncle Gregory began muttering again. “Don’t tell me this is an act of belated teenage rebellion?” When I didn’t respond, he sighed, “Come here, and we can discuss this like rational—”

“No,” I interrupted, ignoring the stares thrown in my direction. “You’re on my maternal side, so you have no authority over me. You tried to trick me.”

“Not really.” The false patience in his voice didn’t fool me. “That’s not how it works. Besides, even outside of that, I’m still your Elder Er Bashou and your magical guardian. Be reasonable. You do not have my permission to work with Gloria.”

“Why?” I asked, my heart racing with both fear and adrenaline. I wanted a reason. Otherwise, I could only assume that he was trying to keep an eye on me.

A tense second passed, and I could hear him breathing on the other end of the phone. I hoped that, maybe, he’d give me an answer.

I didn’t feel this had anything to do with Ms. Protean being his ex.

“Fine,” he said finally. “I’m calling Bryce.”

My eyes narrowed as annoyance caused my hand to tighten around my phone. “So?” I asked. “He can’t—”

“Page one hundred and seven,” he replied.

Why did it sound like he was smirking?

“Since you want to go down this route, let’s keep in mind that ours is, foremost, a patrilineal society.”

“Did you just cross-reference me?” I wanted to scream at him, but my voice was a squeak instead.

Besides, who just kept a book like that at their desk?

He didn’t dignify me with an answer. “Let’s ignore the fact that Bryce is your ‘husband.’ He’s also the Dubois heir.

By your own admission of your understanding of the rules, you are obligated to obey him.

” My mouth opened in silent protest, but he wasn’t finished.

“Do not work with Gloria. You will be putting both of you at risk. I look forward to your cooperation.”

The line went silent, and the call disconnected.

I held my phone in front of me and glared at the ‘call ended’ screen.

How dare he?

Now, there was absolutely no way I wouldn’t be working with Ms. Protean. I’d love to see Bryce try to stop me.

Ms. Protean was in a meeting when I arrived—or rather, an argument that was so loud even I could hear it through the cracked doorway.

“You have a responsibility; it’d be inhumane just to abandon it!” A woman’s voice drifted through the air.

“Don’t be dramatic,” Ms. Protean replied. “This is normal. Maybe if you’d announce your visits, you’d be more pleased with the outcome.”

“But that ruins the surprise,” Ms. Protean’s visitor sulked.

I peeked through the crack in the door.

There was a tall, short-haired woman in a beige suit and high, maroon heels, pacing around Ms. Protean’s office.

I’d only ever seen such masterful control of stilettoes during runway shows, and instantly, I was jealous. But my envy was short-lived when she stopped suddenly and pointed at me.

“Is that okay?” she asked Ms. Protean.

I stepped back, my skin flushing, before creaking the door open.

“Hi…” I felt so stupid at being called out in such a way.

She scowled at me.

“Bianca, meet Ada Sartore,” Ms. Protean said, still studying a paper on her desk. “Dr. Sartore is Mr. Ducharme’s Tongjun. She’s the Alpha of the hyenas. She works with him and is also a veterinarian with her own practice.”

The blood rushed to my head as my cheeks grew hot. She was an Officer, and here I’d already embarrassed myself.

“She’s here today on a personal mission,” Ms. Protean said dismissively. “Ignore her.”

Dr. Sartore shoved a shiny, bow-tied bag of cookies into her purse. “Fine!” she snapped. “I’ll come back when you care!”

Ms. Protean sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Um…” I pulled my sleeves over my wrists and looked between them. Was something wrong? If Dr. Sartore worked for Titus, I should probably do something.

“Can—can I help?”

“No,” Dr. Sartore replied sharply. “Not unless you’ve seen a white Persian with perfect fur and doe-like eyes.”

I glanced at Ms. Protean, who shrugged. “She’s looking for Cécile.”

“Oh,” I said, touching my jaw. “I saw her running around in the courtyard earlier. I think she was chasing a wolf?”

I was still slow on placing species but hopefully I was getting better.

“See?” Ms. Protean waved her hand. “There’s nothing wrong. Cécile is just out making friends.”

Dr. Sartore, who no longer seemed so angry, just nodded.

I curled my finger and paused.

I wasn’t an expert in feline behavior, but it hadn’t look very friendly to me.

“What is she?” I asked. They looked at me, and I shuffled. “I mean… she’s not just a cat, right?”

“That’s very rude,” Dr. Sartore said, at the exact moment Ms. Protean answered.

“Cécile is a shikigami.” She nodded. “It belongs to the onmyoji in my quintet, Lee Sao.”

They didn’t really explain anything, though.

“So—” Dare I ask? It was kind of presumptuous. “Why do you have her?”

It wasn’t like Damen sent Kasai out to babysit Titus, or at least I didn’t think so. Seemed like a waste of energy.

Ms. Protean pursed her lips, considering, before finally responding, “Reasons.”

Okay…

I was still getting the hang of things, so maybe that was normal. I wanted to learn.

My attention lingered on the shiny bag peeking out of Dr. Sartore’s purse. “Can Cécile even eat that?”

If so, then was it neglectful that we didn’t offer comfort items and snacks to Kasai and Kiania? The tiger seemed to enjoy the idea of being brushed.

But Damen said they didn’t care…

“It’s the thought that counts,” Dr. Sartore said defensively. She grabbed her purse and held it to her chest as her cheeks darkened.

Oh, okay.

“And you,” she said accusingly, though I wasn’t sure why she was angry. “You’re not just a fae, are you?”

I blinked.

Well, no, I guess. Maybe?

I was their ruler. Or I would be, one day.

I glanced at Ms. Protean, unsure how to respond.

“Dr. Sartore.” Gloria sighed. “This is Bianca Dubois. She’s Bryce’s wife.”

“Bryce’s wife,” Dr. Sartore repeated, narrowing her eyes as she inspected me. She didn’t appear to believe the story.

Which was nice, in a way.

“What’s that about?” she asked.

Ms. Protean shrugged. “It’s Dubois business. You know how they are.”

“Fine then, I’ll go to Xavier.” She looked back at Ms. Protean.

My Xavier?

He should be in French class. I opened my mouth, but she brushed past me, addressing only Ms. Protean as she looked back. “I’ll come back later.”

“Please don’t,” Ms. Protean responded airily.

Without another word—but with one last, side-long glance to me—Dr. Sartore left with almost a dizzying, yet inspiring, speed for someone in such high heels.

I had so many questions, but first and foremost, “Why is she looking for Xavier?”

Ms. Protean rolled her shoulders. “Probably to ask about you.”

I shut the door and turned back to Ms. Protean’s office without the distraction of the hyena Alpha.

I hadn’t been back since I’d trapped Uncle Caleb. The space seemed… different.

There was a pile of books in the corner, and her desk, which had been so organized before, was covered with notebooks and pieces of yarn. Four coffee mugs sat abandoned in the corner, stacked two by two.

Ms. Protean, too, seemed off. Her hair was long and loose around her face. She must have seen me staring because she pulled out her hair clip and freed the rest of her ash-colored curls.

“What is it?” she asked, smoothing her hair again and twisting it into the clip.

“Oh.” I’d lost my train of thought, and my face warmed. “Why would she go to Xavier to ask about me?”

“Because you’re a Dubois,” she replied, finishing up with her hair. “Bryce and Brayden wouldn’t tell her anything about you. But Mr. Renouf is in her quintet, so he might talk to her.”

“Why, though?” I asked. “She seemed to think this was strange.”

“Two reasons.” Ms. Protean pushed a pencil behind her ear. “First, you’re not Bryce’s usual type. Second, she’s probably never seen a female fae before.”

“What?” I wrinkled my forehead. That couldn’t be. “Just how many of us are at this school?”