Page 41 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Damen POV

“Titus didn’t show up for dinner,” Miles remarked.

I glanced up from my notes as he put the last plate into the dishwasher. The witch’s posture was casual as he stood and wiped his hands on a dishcloth, but I could read the underlying tension in his frame.

“He’s fine,” I replied. “He told me earlier that he’s going on a special mission with Maria.”

“I wish he’d stop doing that.” Miles sighed. “One day, he’s going to get himself into a situation where he’s trapped for real. Then what are you going to do?”

“What would there be to do?” I asked. “He wouldn’t want my help. Besides, it’s not like a lot can hold a dragon.”

“Well, you can,” Miles reminded me. He stepped closer and crossed his arms on the counter.

I bristled. “But besides me…” It was almost true.

“Regardless, I saw the memo posted to the Triarch. It looks like the Guild has been busy,” Miles warned. “Humans are trying to replicate our abilities. One day, they might be able to control us.”

“No one could ever control me,” I replied, touching my wrist. The thought was too disturbing, and the consequences too severe, to contemplate.

I only had one weakness.

Miles tilted his head, studying me in a way that indicated that he saw right through me. Then, to my horror, he voiced his thoughts. “They can if they use Bianca.”

A heaviness fell over my shoulders, and my thoughts darkened. “Not if we don’t allow it.”

Miles narrowed his eyes. “That’s not a strategy. We still don’t know why we never knew she was in danger the first time.”

I was about to reply when Bianca walked into the kitchen. It was already dark outside, and she was usually in one of her long nightgowns by this time. But now she was wearing a black turtleneck, fishnet stockings, and a flouncy black skirt that reached mid-thigh.

I paused, allowing myself more than a quick gaze.

Was she going out? Why else would she be wearing shimmering makeup? A light jingle came from her as she skipped past me to the pantry—a second later, I spotted the tiny bells and fuzzy balls hanging from the bottom of her pigtail braids.

What was she doing?

“Hello!” she greeted, not looking at us as she rooted through the shelves. She radiated anxiety as she pulled out various candies and put them in a small backpack.

“Where are you going, baby girl?” I asked.

She glanced over her shoulder, meeting my eyes. “Out with Gloria.”

“And where is she taking you?” I frowned.

“Um….” Her gaze flickered to the side. She stood, facing me, before answering in a much quieter voice, “I’m helping her find something.”

Miles lifted an eyebrow. “What does she need to find?”

She hesitated briefly before she replied. “Cécile.”

My blood froze, and I stood before I could stop myself.

“She lost that damn thing again?” I asked.

“It’s not a big deal,” Bianca said as she closed the distance between us and placed her hand on my arm. “It happens all the time.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” I pointed out.

She stepped back and cocked her head. “There’s no reason to get so upset,” she said calmly, and something surged through me.

“She’s just a little cat. She won’t hurt anyone.

” I clenched my jaw, but Bianca was gazing off into the distance now and touched her face as she added, “Except maybe she might eat a shifter or two. But other than that, harmless.”

“You’re still on this? Do you even know what a shikigami can do?” I snapped. “They’re a highly efficient weapon system that—”

“What about this?” Bianca held up a can of tuna. “Would this work?”

I blinked at her. “Work for what?”

“To bribe Cécile,” she explained earnestly. “Gloria said to be prepared.”

“You don’t need to feed it!” I raised my hands in the air. “It’s not alive!”

She held the can to her chest and gave me a disapproving look. “That’s not what Dr. Sartore said.”

I didn’t even have time to care about how she knew Titus’s Tongjun. This was more important.

I forced my voice to calm as I placed my hands on her shoulders. I led her to the table and guided her to a seat. “I forbid you to go anywhere until we’ve reached an understanding.”

“What understanding?” she asked.

My pulse began to race as she blinked up at me with her big green eyes.

“I’m going to teach you about shikigami,” I told her, ignoring the way her pink lips turned down. “I’ll even provide illustrations to make it more interesting for you.”

That should do it—people were always requesting my artwork.

“No thanks.” Bianca stood and brushed off her skirt. “I’m leaving now.” She looked at Miles. “I’ll see you later.”

“Stay safe,” he replied with a ridiculous smile. “Have fun looking for Cécile. Tell Gloria, ‘Hi,’ from me.”

I stepped in front of her. “She’s not looking for Cécile!” I crossed my arms. “And she’s not going anywhere with Gloria if this is how she’s going to act.”

She pressed her lips together and placed her hands on her hips, and there was a note of haughtiness in her voice when she said, “Now you sound like Uncle Gregory.”

“And he already told you that you shouldn’t work with her,” I reminded her.

“Well, he can’t tell me what to do anyway,” Bianca replied. She picked her bag off the floor and pulled the zipper closed. “The fae rules state I have to obey the paternal head of the house. Uncle Gregory is from my mother’s side.”

I opened my mouth to respond when she added, “Plus, Bryce already said I can do whatever.”

I highly doubted that.

Miles frowned. “That’s not how—” I glared at him, and he shut up. We had no right to say anything if Gregory hadn’t informed her otherwise.

Bryce chose this moment to enter. He yawned as he moved to the neatly decorated coffee corner Bianca had created.

I cut him off. “Do you know what Gloria has Bianca doing now?”

He paused, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “Huh?” He looked at Bianca when I inclined my head towards her, and frowned. “What does she have you doing?”

“We’re looking for Cécile,” she replied lightly, flipping her braid over her shoulder. “She said she already told you… for some reason.”

“Oh, yeah.” Bryce tilted his head. “Right. Who cares?”

“You knew about this?” I pointed at him.

Bryce pressed his lips together and looked at me. “Of course,” he replied in a measured calm. “She asked my permission. I said it was fine.”

Bianca hissed at him, but the dread gathering in my stomach chased away any glee found in witnessing Bryce being threatened by his sister.

“Are you stupid?” I asked him, even though I already knew the answer. “Why would you let her go out in the middle of the night on such an asinine mission?”

Bryce watched me with barely concealed disdain. “Gloria said it’s urgent.”

“You know that’s not true at all!” I snapped. “No one cares about Cécile!”

Bianca gasped and covered her mouth. “You’re heartless! They have feelings too!”

“No, they don’t!” I informed her. I turned back to Bryce. “Stop this.”

Bryce watched me for a moment, then his shoulders slumped as he sighed. “Fine,” he sounded put out. “I’ll tell Gloria to wait until tomorrow.”

“What?” Bianca stepped back from him. “That’s not fair!”

“Please,” Bryce began, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s not like it’ll die. Just think of Damen’s heart.”

“We’ve just determined that he’s heartless,” Bianca rebutted. “Besides, I’m going with or without your approval. Do you know how long it took me to put together this outfit?” She gestured to herself. “You wouldn’t get it, you don’t know anything outside of your privileged little greenhouses.”

I almost wanted to laugh at his expression. Hadn’t she picked up on his role yet?

Bryce looked at her evenly. “Is that so?”

“That’s so.” Bianca waved him off. Her phone vibrated, and she unlocked the screen. “Gloria’s here.”

I looked between them, choosing, for the moment, to step back. She’d struck a nerve against Bryce’s pride with her last statement, and clearly, she wasn’t going to listen to me.

But maybe him…

Bryce stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Now see here—” But he froze when she looked at him, and the hope that’d been building inside me was snuffed.

“Please,” she begged. She touched her toe to the floor. “I want to do something useful.”

He didn’t respond, and I held my breath as she took his silence as acquiescence. She didn’t notice his fingers twitch as she brushed past him.

Bianca stopped in front of me and wrung her hands. She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

It took everything in me not to force her to stay. It was so stupid!

“What is it, baby?” I asked instead.

“Don’t send a shikigami to follow me,” she whispered.

My blood turned to ice.

How did she know?

“What?”

“It might compromise the mission,” she said, looking up at me through her darkened eyelashes, and my heart thundered in my ears. “Just trust me. I have a plan.”

She’d said this with such a seriousness that I wanted to laugh.

“Fine,” I replied through my gritted teeth, and my stomach sank further at the rush of relief in her expression.

“Thank you!” she replied.

A jolt shot through me as she touched my hand.

She beamed a smile at me, and then at Miles, before she waved and left the room.

I waited until the front door closed before I turned to Bryce. “Weak.”

“Like you’re any better!” Bryce jerked, shaking his head. “Besides, what the hell was I supposed to do? If you had an issue, you could have stopped her.”

“I didn’t want to go there yet.” I frowned, ignoring my rising guilt. “Besides, she was pulling fae hierarchy. She needs to learn somehow.”

“At what point was it decided not to tell her that Gregory’s authority doesn’t disappear just because he’s from her mother’s side?

” Miles cut in. He leaned against the counter as he watched Bryce with a disapproving expression.

“Plus, he is her magical guardian. If she understood what it meant, she might not have argued with him.”

The fight left Bryce then, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “He decided not to tell her when she started fighting him.”

“Why?” Miles asked.