Page 38 of Ashes and Lilies
“We’re leaving,” Damen interrupted. He gently tugged me after him. “Finn, if you’re not going to explain your reasoning, then there’s nothing I can do to help. This is Bianca’s decision for now, and we will support it.”
“Damen,” Finn said as we turned. “You told me that you trusted me.”
The air from the room seemed to vanish as Damen froze, and his eyes widened. His shoulders grew tight as he looked behind us—at Finn’s arm-crossed form and stoic expression.
“What?” he asked.
“You have to pay attention,” Finn said.
Damen narrowed his eyes.
“Bianca worries about others before herself,” Finn continued,glancing at me. My skin prickled at the unbridled guilt in his expression.
“She’ll never say anything,” he continued. “Not even if she gets hurt. She’ll never admit anything is wrong. You should know that.”
“That’s because nothingiswrong!” I protested. My face burned, and I pulled away from Damen’s suddenly lax grip. What was he talking about?
“Take your medicine,” Finn said.
“No!” I answered. “Now mind your own business.”
“Bryce,” Damen addressed the other man. He, in turn, dropped his petulant look and blinked at the onmyoji. “I will need to borrow you and Brayden for a while.”
I gasped and turned on Damen as the hurt cut through me like a knife. “What?” I asked. How dare he! This was my ghost! “Why?”
But he wasn’t looking at me. There was a seriousness in his posture that caused my angry protest to die in my throat.
It wouldn’t matter what I said—he had already decided.
I couldn’t believe this.
“Excellent!” Bryce nodded, victory heavy on his aura. His impassive expression somehow also eluded smug glee. “Let me know when.”
No!
“Damen!” I tugged on his sleeve. How could he have betrayed me? We were supposed to be united in our hatred. “What—”
“Shhh, baby girl.” Damen put his finger to my lips. “We’ll discuss it later. Maybe it’ll be nice to have you all in the same room.”
My skin flushed. I’d re-earned the annoying nickname, but why did he have to say it in front of Finn? And what good would come from Bryce and Brayden intruding on my territory?
But then I paused as my eyes widened—his intentions suddenly clear.
Yes, it was an excellent plan—we five, all alone with Bryce… and Brayden. But Brayden probably wasn’t all that much anyway.
Damen hated Bryce. We’d been blessed with the perfect excuse to lure Bryce into a private space to exact our revenge. Under the cloak of darkness, there would be no stopping us. And no one would suspect if Bryce vanished forever in a haunted house.
Damen was brilliant! I couldn’t believe how in sync we were with each other.
“Yes,” I said, rubbing my hands together. I grinned at Bryce. This would be an exciting partnership. “I look forward to working with you.”
Bryce’s mouth dipped, and the excitement dimmed from his eyes. However, there was also something notably different in how he looked at me. No longer was there a condescending glimmer in his gaze, and no smugness radiated from his almost-attractive face.
My stomach dropped. Something had changed between us, and now it almost felt like I was bullying someone unfortunate. The heart had been removed from our rivalry.
“I mean, sounds good,” I added. This wasn’t as fun anymore.
Damen shot me a curious look, but I shook my head. There was no fathomable way for me to describe my current feelings.
