Page 30 of Shadows of Nightshade
I didn’t hear Finn’s reply. But the sight of Miles’s stony features was enough to fill my body with dread. Despite that, I was aware that Damen’s arm was shaking over my collarbones. I couldn’t fathom why he was angry. But I was grateful that he hadn’t been the one who took my phone.
Finn would have recognized his brother’s voice for sure.
“She’s fine.” Miles glared into the fireplace. “It’s none of your business who I am—you’re scaring her. Now get a grip before you even think to contact her again.”
With those words, Miles pulled the phone away from his ear and disconnected the call.
“Sometimes I don’t understand why you put up with him,” he growled.
“Good job controlling your temper,” was Damen’s dry reply. “Well done.”
Miles’s movements were tense as he turned off my phone and looked at Damen. “Oh, stop. I had to do something beforeyoudid.”
I held Damen’s arm as my lips turned numb. “Finn is so angry…”
What was I going to do now?
9
Damen squeezedme once before letting me go, then turned me to face him. He kept his hands on my shoulders as he spoke. “Who cares, Bianca? What’s the big deal?”
While his words seemed harsh, this tone was curious and comforting. His gaze sought out my eye—he was done waiting for answers.
But the truth was that I’d messed everything up. I should have known better from the start than to bring Finn into this. I set him on this downward spiral. I should have gone after Damen on my own or solved the haunting by myself.
But my biggest mistake had been my response to his question about my medication. I’d said too much. Of course, he was concerned and suspicious.
And now he wasn’t going to let it go.
Finn on the warpath was terrifying. He was relentless when he wanted something. He’d always been on my side, but could that change?
This was the first time I’d gone behind his back like this, and Iwasn’t going to be able to hide it. There was no way he wouldn’t find out about Damen. There was no way he wouldn’t put two and two together.
No way that this wouldn’t end badly…
“Bianca.” Damen snapped his fingers and pulled me out of my buckling thoughts. I jerked back, my focus resettling as Damen frowned. “How did the two of you meet?”
When had I gotten back to the couch? Damen was on his knees, facing me. My gaze was level with his face, and his arms were braced around me.
Why did he care so much? Would this make him take it back?
But I had gotten him involved—Damen and Miles, and by extension, Julian and Titus too. I was sure that Finn would blow this up. They had to know what to expect. They had to have some context of our history. It was only fair.
Otherwise, they might get hurt.
“I met Finn when I was eight,” I began. My nausea finally faded. I embraced the comforting numbness. “I’d only just been adopted.”
Damen moved his hands to my knees, and I spotted Miles. He’d taken a seat in Damen’s abandoned chair as he followed our conversation. His brows were drawn thick into a furrowed focus, but neither man said anything while they waited for me to continue.
“I’ve always been able to see ghosts. But when I was little, I was told that it had to stay a secret. When I moved to new places, keeping that secret became a way to survive.”
Damen started to say something, but I cut him off. I needed to talk before I lost my nerve.
“Then I was adopted and started a new school. Finn was in my class. He was always alone too. I-I didn’t trust anyone, and hewas always around. I could see… Well, there was something attached to him.”
Damen was more contemplative than concerned. “Do you know what it was?”
I shook my head and studied my hands. “I’d never seen anything like it before, but I also didn’t know a lot. It wasn’t human. I didn’t know what to do, so I… talked to it.”
