Page 62 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Bianca POV

I didn’t die after all.

Instead, I woke to the smell of freshly washed linen and the feel of silk under my skin. But I’d been tricked too many times in the past—this could only be heaven.

However, naked cherub people stared down at me from above, and I knew instantly that I was in my room.

Besides, a real angel wouldn’t look so innocent. From every account that I’d read, they had multiple eyes, misshapen faces, and were truly a terror to behold.

I’d always gathered that was kind of the point of being a heavenly being.

But, still, how…

Titus must have brought me here.

“Bianca?” Julian’s sleepy voice cut through my confusion. He moved beside me, bare chest pressing against me, until he sat. He leaned over me and touched my face.

“Darling, you’re awake.” His voice was shaking. “How do you feel?”

Didn’t he know? He could feel it through touch.

I looked at my fingers. My manicure was a complete mess. Almost all of my polish had chipped, and most of my nails were broken. At least I was no longer dirty, and my hair no longer felt disgusting.

Someone had changed me into one of my lighter, lacier gowns.

Did they hire a nurse? Even my cuticles were clean. I didn’t think she’d be so thorough.

“I gave you a bath,” Julian said without apology. “I couldn’t leave you, so it made sense.”

Julian gave me a bath.

Why…

Why wasn’t I embarrassed? In fact, I hardly felt anything at all. My head was spinning. It was like I wasn’t fully present in my own body.

“Hey.” Julian moved until he was on his side, eye-level with me. He was tense. “How do you feel?” he asked again, tracing his fingers down my arm.

My skin prickled, but I could only watch him in silence. I couldn’t shake the numbness that cloaked my thoughts.

His expression fell deeper. “Can you talk to me?”

I should say something, and I did feel sorry that he was sad.

Still, I couldn’t.

“That’s okay.” Julian held my gaze as he reached above his pillow and grabbed his phone.

But it wasn’t okay. He was really upset and worried.

I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

He barely looked away while he texted, and when he was done, he set his phone down again. “My mom is coming,” he said. “And so is Gregory. They’re just going to confirm that you’re doing better.”

I blinked at him. Was I?

Why was he telling me this?

“Bianca…” He sighed. He sat up again and pulled me into his lap. I rested my head against him. His heart was beating so fast, and I snuggled closer.

I didn’t want anyone else near me. I just wanted to be left alone.

But then my stomach twisted, because I also wanted Miles, Titus, and Damen.

Where were they?

Someone must have knocked on the door because Julian grunted out a soft ‘Come in,’ and Dr. Kohler and Uncle Gregory entered the room.

They looked tired: Dr. Kohler’s usually clean-cut clothes were wrinkled, and Uncle Gregory had bags under his eyes.

That wasn’t good. They should probably get some sleep.

Uncle Gregory remained standing near the door as Dr. Kohler approached. She threw me a bright—but obviously forced—smile. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she joked.

Julian’s breath hitched, but I only watched her. It was the strangest thing, but I couldn’t figure out how I was feeling. Why couldn’t I be left alone?

Obviously, I was fine.

Her watery smile faltered.

“Okay, Bianca—” She pulled her stethoscope out from under her white jacket. “—I’m going to check your vitals.”

It didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop staring at her.

My heart raced when she touched my arm, and I watched her hands as she held the stethoscope to me. Still, my breath turned shallow as she circled to my back and pressed the cold device against my skin.

I couldn’t see what she was doing anymore.

But then it was over.

“Good job,” she said, standing in front of me again. “And now for your blood pressure…” She pulled over a rolling tray and set the cuff around my arm.

I hardly felt it.

“It’s low,” Dr. Kohler said. She grabbed the sparkly pen she’d always kept tucked behind her ear and began to write on her clipboard. “But that’s expected. Don’t worry. You’ll be back to normal soon.”

Normal.

My eyebrow twitched.

I didn’t know what that meant.

Julian’s hand jerked. The movement was so minuscule that I might have missed it if he hadn’t been rubbing circles over my back.

I glanced up at him. What was wrong?

“It’s okay, Bianca,” he said, petting my hand. He was smiling, so why did he feel sad? “You’ll be fine.”

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me.

“We’ll see.” Uncle Gregory nudged Dr. Kohler out of the way. He took her place at the side of the bed. Unlike the last time, she didn’t protest, but she did stay as she watched the scene without emotion.

He’d had one hand behind his back, and after shooting me a long look, he shifted his stance.

“Take this,” he said. He held out a panda-shaped bowl. I glanced at it. It held vanilla ice cream topped with something that looked like caramel.

I looked back at him.

“It’s honey,” he said in response to my unspoken question. He seemed genuinely surprised. “You’ve never had it as a topping before?”

Honey?

I grabbed it.

I loved honey.

Julian relaxed slightly as I began to eat with small bites. My attention, however, remained fixed on the older man.

“Okay, Bianca.” Uncle Gregory grabbed my vanity chair and moved it beside the bed. “I’d like to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

I froze, the spoon near my mouth, and stared. I was starting to feel alive again—why did he have to ruin it?

But this ice cream was really good. Was it worth getting annoyed?

I slowly put the spoon in my mouth and watched him.

“I’ve spoken to Gloria,” he said, touching his jaw as his focus wavered, but then he was back. “Dr. Sartore and Ms. Maria, too. So we have a general idea of what happened.”

That’s nice—it kept me from having to answer anything.

I took another bite.

“But if you’re willing, I’d still like to hear your version of things,” he finished.

My pulse quickened as the ice cream suddenly lost its appeal. I dropped the spoon back into the bowl and set the bowl down on the bed, suddenly unable to tear my eyes from the melting snack.

“Because you did something even I couldn’t do,” he continued.

My vision blurred as the lingering numbness began to vanish.

“You broke Gloria’s curse.”

That got my attention—I’d been expecting questions of a different nature. I looked up.

His mouth was drawn, and his forehead was wrinkled.

“I’d been trying to break it for fifty years.” Uncle Gregory sounded genuinely frustrated. “Caleb and Kathleen, too. It must have been difficult.”

Difficult?

Was it though? Once I figured it out, everything was relatively simple.

I shook my head, glancing back at my slowly melting food.

In fact, truth be told, breaking Gloria’s curse had been easy and was, by far, one of the least-stressful aspects of our adventure.

But, still, I couldn’t answer.

“Bianca?” Uncle Gregory was being so patient, more than I thought he could be. “Are you able to tell me about it?”

I shook my head.

“Can you say anything?”

My throat closed.

“It’s okay, it’s expected that you’re unable to speak,” he continued calmly. “It’s not important that we discuss Gloria.”

No!

He’d bought me ice cream! This was the least I could do.

“I said it’s fine.” Uncle Gregory frowned.

I breathed in hard. It wasn’t fine!

His features were stern and his voice more commanding. “There is no reason to stress about this. We can move on to other—”

I pulled Julian’s arm, trying to ignore his tension, and pointed at the necromancer.

“Mr. Julian?” Uncle Gregory’s frown deepened. “I don’t understand. He wasn’t there. What does he have to do with—”

I turned to Julian. He was staring at me, eyes wide, but I ignored him. Instead, I straddled him and grabbed his arm. He didn’t fight me as I pulled, holding it out until I saw the mark near his elbow.

I pointed at it and looked at Uncle Gregory.

Was I making any sense? He glanced at Julian’s mark, his brows drawing together.

“Necromancy?” he asked.

I nodded, my heart racing.

“You used necromancy?” There was a thread of doubt in his question. His reasoning was clarified when he added, “How can a necromancer break a witch’s curse?”

I bit my lip and sat back. I wasn’t sure how to explain.

Plus, it wasn’t like I was the expert.

“There are ways,” Julian said cautiously. It seemed like he was weighing every word. “When blood magic is involved.”

Dr. Kohler shot Julian a strange look. “I wasn’t aware of that…” she said slowly.

“It’s not something we’ve advertised,” Julian replied.

“We have plenty of necromancers around.” Uncle Gregory pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’re going to kick themselves. Why isn’t this common knowledge?”

“There are many things we’ve kept to ourselves—for good reason,” Julian responded. He glanced back at me. “You’ve started to remember?”

I sucked in a breath.

The ocean, the red moon…

How Shui ached for violence at any given moment.

But Julian was so gentle—so kind. He was totally not like his original counterpart.

I nodded, although not as confidently as before, and touched Julian’s hand.

My thoughts were swimming. I could hardly breathe.

“Bianca,” he said, looking back at me. “What’s wrong?”

My chest was tight.

I… I didn’t know.

“She’s overwhelmed,” Titus’s voice cut through the room.

I touched my mouth. When did he get here?

“I’ve been here a while,” Titus replied.

What was he talking about? I hadn’t seen him. And now here he was, leaning against the doorframe like he had every right to be there.

“I do,” Titus said.

My heart skipped.

It’d happened! The inner sanctum of my most brilliant thoughts had been breached! How would I achieve my goals now? He would learn of them, and everything would be ruined!

Titus—who’d lifted his eyebrow—replied, “I’d learn of them eventually anyway.”

I had to learn to defeat this!

“You can hear what she’s thinking all the time now?” Julian asked, curious.