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“Will you shut up?” Julian’s tone washed over me like ice, and my fury stilled. “What happened to your meditations? You’re only continuing to prove you can’t act like a grown-ass man.”
I blinked at him, offended. That wasn’t true. “I—”
“You don’t care that they’re working together.” Julian was glaring at me, though he still cradled Bianca against him. Because of that, his voice came out a scathing whisper. Yet his words seemed to echo though the room. “Youwantthem to succeed, because you can’t wait to get your hands on the culprit. I know you’ve been planning out your every action. No,” he hissed. “You’re pissed because you’ve been left out. When are you going to learn life isnotaboutyou?”
“That’s not why I’m mad!” I couldn’t explain it. It was getting harder to ignore my thirst for vengeance.
Mu had been my closest friend. In past lives, he’d taken blows for me. I’d trusted him like no other. But now I wanted more than our games and conversation. It was getting harder to ignore the pull of Bianca’s presence. The pull to take care ofher.
Why didn’t anyone understand? Why didn’t they trust me? Things were different now!
“I don’t care about your petty arguments,” Dr. Stephens said, his accusing tone cutting through the air like a knife. “I’m talking aboutBianca. What in the world caused her to enter this state?”
Julian’s flush made me feel marginally better about my own outburst, and it was him who responded. “She saw a picture of Alyssa.”
Brayden nodded, and Dr. Stephens’s frown deepened.
“That’s it?” he asked.
“We think she knew her,” Julian said. He was gazing at Bianca again, brushing the hair away from her brow. She continued to blankly stare in front of her, and my heart twisted as the last of my anger faded away.
“Why do you think that?” Dr. Stephens sounded genuinely curious.
“I haven’t felt anything, if that’s what you mean,” Julian answered. “And I’m not reading anything from her, emotionally. She’s just…here. Damen and…Finn suggested it. We all agree. She fears her first spiritual encounter, and Alyssa had died right after she was born.”
“Well, you could know for sure.” Gregory stroked his chin. “Why not look into her memories? You could even pull her out of this state.”
There was a collective intake of breath as the older man broached the subject. We’d all been avoiding this because we knew how it would end. But from the expectant looks around the room, we were all in agreement.
Except one.
“I can’t!” Julian’s expression twisted and his dark gaze focused on Gregory. His voice was menacing, causing the hair on my arms to rise. “I’m not doing that!”
“Technically, youcan.” Gregory seemed nonplussed by Julian’s reaction. “But you don’t seem inclined to do so.”
Julian blinked, some of the force diminishing. No one had ever pressed him before. “I can’t!” he said again. “I made a promise to her just last week—”
“Actually, you said you wouldn’t lookunlessher life was in danger.” Miles stepped forward.
He’d been waiting for this—the moment to press his luck.
Julian’s suspicious gaze turned to Miles, and he pulled Bianca closer to him. “Her lifeisn’tin danger.”
“Not yet,” Gregory said. “But soon it may very well be. She’ll need to be hospitalized, and unlike you, I’m not overly sensitive to her wishes. Not in a situation like this. Do you really want to wait until she’s at a critical point?”
“You said she could snap out of it!” Julian protested, panic lacing his voice.
“She could, but it hasn’t happened yet. When are you planning on intervening?” Gregory narrowed his eyes at Julian. “Are you waiting for someone to stick a tube into her stomach first? She’ll need to eat somehow.”
“No!” Julian protested. “I don’t want to see that either.”
Gregory glanced at Bryce, and the two of them shared a long look before he spoke again. “If you don’t do it soon, we’re setting up at Whisperwind. This dump you call a home is far from an ideal medical environment,” he added, giving me a pointed look. “Whisperwind is another option.”
My blood turned to ice. “We called you here to help. To keep heroutof the hospital.”
“Whisperwind is not a hospital,” Gregory argued, his position unchanged.
I could see the panic crossing Julian’s expression, and Titus had gone unnaturally still in his seat.
