Page 102 of Hidden
The air was thick with tension, but I wasn’t afraid anymore. In fact, my skin grew even warmer as a strange, giddy sensation electrified my nerves.
The anger dropped from Titus’s expression, curiosity leaking into its place. Even so, he continued to run his hands down my arms as his gaze remained locked on the two brothers.
“And that makes you happy?” he asked.
His question snapped my attention back to the present, and the feeling vanished.
“No!” What kind of question was that? I wasn’t a monster. “Of course not! I don’t want to see anyone killed!”
“Oh.” Titus almost looked disappointed, and rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly seemed nervous and out of place. “I could have sworn…” he started, but his words trailed off. “What were you happy about then?”
I glanced back at Bryce and Brayden. The two of them had finished their argument, and were now looking at us. My skin heated and I turned back toward Titus, burying my face in his chest.
It was too embarrassing to say.
“It doesn’t matter,” Titus grumbled under his breath. I could hear his heart racing and his presence seemed to seep into my pores. My anxiety continued to fade. “I heard arguing. Are you sure everything is okay? What were you talking about?”
My breath caught, and I swayed slightly.
I’d completely forgotten that we’d been discussingKieran.
It was such a small reaction, but of course he’d notice. He drew closer, holding me against him. With my face pressed against his chest, I could hear his pounding heartbeat, and when he spoke next, his tone had become menacing. “What did you do?”
“It’s okay,” I said, interrupting Bryce and Brayden before they could respond. “They were just asking questions… about Kieran.”
Titus stiffened, and the world shifted in a flurry of movement as he pulled from me. As his hands gripped my forearms, his face lowered toward mine. Within the depths of his green eyes, there was a hint of panic. “You know Kieran?”
I nodded, words escaping me. Why did he seem stunned?
“It’s such a coincidence. Kieran raised her, until his death, apparently,” Bryce interjected. “He seems to have told her she was a foundling.”
There was a note of hesitance at the end of his statement, and Titus narrowed his eyes at the other man. “But…?”
“Well, I suppose he had to have told her something about her origins.” Bryce shrugged. “Did you know he escaped from Whisperwind after Bianca was born? Who would have thought he’d have taken her?”
Titus growled.
“It couldn’t be helped. Things were chaotic in those days.” Bryce waved his hand in the air.
“I would have protected her,” Titus protested.
“At seven years old?” Bryce rolled his eyes. “You had barely grown into your dragon.”
“Why are you opening up now?” Titus moved, putting his own body between mine and my brothers. “You refused to talk about it before.”
“We swore an oath to never bring it up,” Bryce said. “But we’re not breaking any rules. Besides, we’reonlytalking about Kieran.”
“Technically.” Brayden nodded.
“Whisperwind was dangerous for Keiran, as a mixed breed,” Bryce continued. “He was safer away from the fae.”
“Also technically true,” Brayden interjected again. “As an Unseelie living in the Seelie court and trained in war by shifters, Kieran never quite fit in with his people. Outside of the prophecy, you have bad blood between the courts to contend with. Anyone born of mixed blood was at risk.”
“Stop acting like this conversation is about Kieran,” Titus snapped. “We already know about your family’s heritage.”
“It’s the same for Kieran,” Bryce pointed out.
“Mixed blood?” I tugged on Titus’s shirt.
