Page 33 of Ashes and Lilies
I grumbled under my breath as I pulled out my phone and opened my texts. I had a series of unread messages from the guys. Julian was checking in, and Titus was asking about my day. Then there was Miles, who’d started sending me French stuff that I’d have to translate later.
Lastly, Damen was on his way to pick me up. I had to respond to him first.
Me
I’ll be right there. I got sidetracked.
I pushed the send button as I turned back the way I’d come. It would take at least five minutes to get to the library from mycurrent location without running, and I had no intention of resorting to that extreme.
Besides, this gave me time to come up with a super professional reason for my tardiness.
The phone vibrated in my palm, and I glanced down.
Damen
Sidetracked doing what?
I frowned—he sure was a nosy one. Asking me questions before I could think of a decent excuse.
I couldn’t admit I hadn’t been paying attention. Then he’d think I was absentminded.
A shadow fell over my path as a familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. “You are insanely difficult to find alone these days.”
My fingers tightened around the device, and I looked up as fury raced through me. Damen’s response was all but forgotten as my entire focus redirected on the object of my hatred.
I hadn’t seen him since we’d both been almost killed by a ghost.
“Finn!” I pointed at him with my phone-grasping hand.
He was meticulous as ever, of course, at least on the surface. However, there was a tiredness and sadness in his eyes that hadn’t existed before.
I almost felt bad for him. Almost.
“Bianca,” he started, his kind tone was reminiscent of the early days of our friendship. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” I moved past him, loathing the brush of his sleeve against my own. But he was in my way, and I wouldn’t be the one who stepped aside. “I’m meeting Damen. We’re off to have an adventure.”
Before I realized what happened, Finn blocked me between his arms and the wall. “You can’t yet!” he told me.
My annoyance grew. I was going to kick him. Screw Miles saying it wasn’t part of the plan; he deserved it. “Don’t you get it? I’m angry at you. What happened the other day doesn’t change that.”
If anything, it just made me even more upset with him. After all, it’d been more than obvious he not only knew who I was but had been actively hiding me from the boys.
Suspicions further proven by his next words.
“I don’t care about that right now. You can’t go out with Damen!” Finn repeated, still panicked. “Or have adventures. Especially his kind of adventures. You’re not ready. Believe me, you don’t even know how not ready you are.”
How dare he. Zeroing in on my insecurities and making me feel inadequate seemed to be a special skill of his.
“Begging your pardon.” I put my finger to his chest and pushed. “Damen and I fared rather well in our battle against the hyena horde. I even smacked one on the head, and Damen didn’t even bleed that much.”
Still, though, the guilt I felt at the thought of him shedding any blood on my behalf took my breath away.
“Wait.” Finn blinked, and his arms relaxed slightly. “What?”
My heart raced, but it didn’t matter how cute he was when confused. We had passed the point of redemption long ago. I only needed to think of the injustices I’d suffered.
“Besides, what are you doing here?” I asked, my anger growing at the recollections. “I thought you were supposed to be redeeming yourself. Someone is going to see you talking to me, and you’ll get into trouble.”
