Page 132 of Ashes and Lilies
“Bianca…” Titus pressed the hair back from my forehead. “You can tell me.”
“I’m scared of a lot of things,” I admitted, feeling pathetic. “But medical professionals are among the top five on my list. They’re not nice to me. This lady was different from the others.”
He stopped touching my head, and my heart skipped, but then he tugged on my hand.
“I wasn’t going to ask this yet, but now I want to know,” he began, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “But where did your parents send you?”
My breath caught.
Titus’s expression softened, but the frown remained. “Never mind.” He sighed, looking away. “Going back to your earlier questions, Finn, Bryce, and Matheus are all safe.”
My breathing evened as Titus continued.
“Matheus was only knocked out,” he said. “They used a gasthat shifters can be sensitive to, and he was left behind as he wasn’t a threat. He woke up later and took Bryce to the hospital. Finn, however, had already contacted Damen by that point. He was following you.”
“I—I know,” I told him, twisting my sheet. “He told me.”
“I’m aware,” Titus replied, and I wasn’t sure how to read his expression. “He didn’t say much to us. He’s fine, by the way. He only had a mild concussion.”
I nodded.
I wasn’t sure what to think about Finn. It was getting harder to stay angry. “How is Bryce?” I asked instead. “Wasn’t he poisoned?”
“Yes,” Titus replied, sweeping his thumb over my cheek. It was almost as if he couldn’t get enough of touching my face. “He is immune to most poison, so he didn’t expect this to happen.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. It was true?
“Now he’s insufferable,” Titus said, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “Not only did he have a moment of weakness, but the Unseelie involved had hurt you after he’d made it known that you were under his protection. Once you’ve betrayed a fae, they’ll stop at nothing to enact vengeance, and Bryce is very high-ranking. The fae have already fled.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s here.” Titus glanced at the door. “He’s a few doors down the hall, actually.”
“He’s still sick?” Now I felt terrible.
“No, he’s fine.” Titus shook his head. “He’s figured out what they used and has been dosing himself with it ever since he woke up. Brayden made him come here. Bryce claims he’ll add it to the list of poisons he has already defeated—or something like that.”
All right, Bryce was definitely terrifying.
“What about Michelle Nolan?” I had only seen her once.
“Michelle is a clairvoyant onmyoji,” Damen cut in as he came through the door. His hair was a tousled mess, and his glasses were pushed onto the top of his head. He crossed the room and sat at the foot of the bed.
“That’s why I didn’t trust her,” he explained. “She’s not remarkably powerful, but it would be unlikely for her to stumble onto a crime scene by surprise. So, I knew she wasn’t being entirely honest. She was Daniel Cole’s girlfriend, and he’s been using her predictions to help further his campaign. She has already been arrested and has admitted to everything.”
I looked toward the door.
“Where are Miles and Julian?” I asked, my voice becoming rustier while my mind grew lighter. The morphine must have kicked in again.
Damen got up and went to the small sink across the room. He returned a moment later, a cup in his hand. Titus sat up and pulled me to a seated position before handing me the drink.
Damen waited until the glass was empty before he responded, “Julian is stalking your doctors. He’s been trying to intimidate everyone into giving him information, but he’s not having much luck.”
Well, at least some medical professionals had ethics.
“Miles is meeting with the Council,” Damen continued. “We’ve left your identity out of the report, but he still needs to review what magic was used and the events that took place. He feels terrible that you had to take care of them on your own.”
“It’s not his fault…” My eyes were growing heavy. “Someone had to do it.”
