Page 74 of Change
Chapter Fourteen
Damen
Fear
“Motherfucker!” Titus snarled as he punched the wall where, only seconds before, Bianca had been cowering.
The room faintly smelled of her sickness, and guilt—an unfamiliar emotion—twisted at my guts.
I knew that bringing her here might trigger something, but I went against my better judgement because it was something thatshewanted to do. How could I have denied her?
“Where did she go?” I asked, glancing up at the ceiling.
“It’s hard to say.” Gregory’s eyes were closed, and—from outwards appearances—he appeared relaxed.
However, I knew him well enough to see that he was anything but. The sharp tone of his voice, and the way his hand jerked as he removed his glasses and wiped at his forehead. For the first time since I’d known him, the man was beginning to show his age—and his rage.
He ran his fingers through his thick gray hair once before he finally spoke again. “She’s going to be stronger than we are.” He opened his eyes, gesturing at Bryce. The other fae was strangely hard to read as he focused on the kneeling dragon and not this conversation. “Wecan blink several hundred feet in distress. Besides, there’s always the possibility of certain traits—ones that had been locked away for many lives—resurfacing. She’s… different.”
“Than Mu?” I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “I know. We’re notexactlythe same, after all. We—”
“No, her power is different than Osian’s,” Gregory replied. A pang shot through me at the name. While we might not ever fully remember every aspect of all our past lives—the first was the most memorable—there was a part of me that did rememberhim.
Osian. The Wood Xing previous to Bianca. Gregory had known him personally. “And it’s not her personality, I am aware that you have variances in every life. I’m talking about herenergy. Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel…what?” I drew my brows together in concentration, trying to root through everything I felt—and knew—about Bianca.
She was soft and warm, something about her inspired me to want to be a better person. And she was frustrating, because she rejected my attempts to protect her.
“There’s something off about it,” Gregory was saying. “She doesn’tonlyfeel like fae. She feels a bit like the rest of you as well.”
Titus had shifted slightly, right hand bracing himself in his still-crouched position as he watched Gregory with a cloaked expression. Even Bryce’s stupor had vanished.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, for starters, she’s an onmyoji,” Gregory said, crossing his arms. As if he was daring me to argue.
I couldn’t hold my laugh. “No, she’s not.” Idefinitelywould have noticed. “The only reason you think that is because of her bond with Kiania.”
The shikigami’s impertinence still irked me.
It wasreallyannoying to have to—in the most inopportune moments—listen to Kiania’s taunts ringing in my ears.
Gregory was stroking his chin. “That’s not it.”
“Besidesthat,” I interrupted. I refused to continue with this asinine conversation. “How do we find out where she isnow?”
“We can’t.” Gregory shrugged. “That was my point. I don’t feel her at all, and who knows where she’s gone while in that state. Considering the unpredictable nature of her abilities, we might not be able to track—”
“She’s upstairs.” Titus stood, brushing off his jeans at the thigh. “I’ll get her.”
Bryce stepped toward Titus the same second the dragon moved toward the stairway. “Do you really think—” he began, but froze when Titus scowled at him, his eyes bright.
Titus was even angrier than I’d expected. Understandable, considering the raging torrents of my own fury currently churning in my stomach.
But this time, I couldn’t give in. With Titus being so close to the edge, I had no choice but to maintain my composure. He might have been weaker than he should but suppressing him would take every ounce of my concentration.
“You were saying?” His voice was a snarl, and Bryce flinched.
