Page 43 of Shadows of Nightshade
It was humiliating to mention it, but I couldn’t ignore Finn’s parting request. What did he have to talk about? Would he try to turn them against me? I wasn’t sure why he would. I hadn’t done anything to make Finn hate me that much, but he was Damen’s brother, and I was just some random girl.
“Did he talk to you yet?” I asked.
“No,” Damen replied, and I could almost feel his suspicion. “Do you not want him to talk to me?”
I paused. I could deny it, but I was certain Damen saw through me. “Maybe.”
“Why?” Damen asked. He crossed his arms, waiting for my response, and added, “Is there anything I need to know? Are you his girlfriend?”
“No,” I said, even though I’d once wanted to be. I squeezed my fists over my thighs. “I told you already—we’re friends.”
“Then what are you afraid he’ll tell me?” he asked.
“Finn was the one who said it…” I shrugged. “Apparently, it’s a ‘complicated situation’.”
Damen frowned. “That’s not an answer.”
It was an answer!
“I’m messed up!” I snapped. The sight of him wavered in my watery vision. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s clearly a lot I don’t know, and I don’t know why I don’t know. But there’s a lot of things he can tell you about me. I get scared easily and I’m terrified to talk to new people! I can’t answer for him. I don’t even know why he hasn’t told you about our past. Maybe he’s just embarrassed?”
Julian and Damen exchanged a glance—a habit that was growing increasingly infuriating—before Damen’s attention returned to me.
“Bianca,” he said. “None of that is anything you should be embarrassed about, and I can promise you that even though I do not know his reasons, that is not why he wants to talk.”
“You’re making excuses for him?” Julian growled, outraged.
“No,” Damen shook his head. “I’m not. But I do know that he’s not the type to judge people based on their fears. Instead, hetends to lean in the opposite direction.” His frown shifted into a contemplative twist “He can be smothering, even.”
“Forcing someone to be dependent on you is still abusive,” Julian replied.
I shifted nervously in my seat. I didn’t like this. They were starting to argue, and it was my fault. “I’m sorry…”
“Why are you sorry?” Damen asked, and it was impossible not to hold on to his every word. “And I’d like to add this: everyone has issues to work through. That doesn’t define who you are or take away your value.”
I stared at him. I’d heard similar sentiments before, but…
There was something different in the way he said it. Although we hardly knew each other, it was easy to see that he believed in it.
How was he able to do that? How could he take one look at me and bring all my secret fears and thoughts to the surface? All I wanted was to be normal, but Damen and his psychology mojo had a way of breaking through my barriers.
“No matter what Finn tells me,” Damen continued, “you have nothing to worry about. There’s no going back now. We’ve already taken you in.”
“Oh…” I clenched my hands against my lap. What was this growing lightness spreading through me? “Thanks.”
Julian cleared his throat, and Damen glanced at him.
“Bianca’s had a rough evening,” Julian said. “Maybe she should take some time to regroup before Miles and Titus get here?”
“Yeah,” Damen agreed. He moved to the corner of the room and picked up a worn, leather knapsack he’d tossed aside in his dramatic entrance. He knelt to the ground and began to root through it.
“Or maybe,” Julian continued. “Do you think we should have that head injury looked at?”
“Why?” Damen asked, looking up from the tidy pile of rope and nails. A trickle of alarm laced his voice as he asked, “Is it that bad?”
“No!” I protested, clutching the blanket against my chest. I already knew where this was going.
“Bianca,” Julian said, placatingly holding out his hands. “I really think you should get seen by a doctor.”
