Page 105 of Reflections of Peonies
I narrowed my eyes at him, anger prickling my senses.NowI was delicate?
“Gregory’s attitude is slightly better.” She began to knit again. “The fae wouldn’t know the first thing to do under female leadership. So, you see why the first female Xing being born fae is a comedic twist of fate.”
“You’re loving this.” Mr. Weaver glared at Ms. Protean.
“Maybe.” The corner of her mouth lifted, and her gaze flashed over me.
“Do you think it’s karma?” I offered, trying to distract from Mr. Weaver’s tightening expression and the heavy tension descending on the room. “Because of the fae’s uptight attitudes and outdated beliefs?”
She watched me, silent for a short moment, before she smiled. The expression softened the harsh lines on her face. “I think this will work fabulously.”
“You’d say that,” Mr. Weaver grumbled.
“We’ll keep your secret. And don’t worry about Gregory. See what the others have planned.” She turned her attention back toher project. “Regarding our earlier discussion, I think taking off the semester is safe—if you so wish. Afterward, if you’re open to the idea, I may be willing to take on a protégée.”
Miles POV
I looked up from the desk as the door creaked open and held my breath. Dean Abernathy had allowed me to borrow his office for this confrontation and, since then, had made himself scarce. My heart pounded—I generally did not enjoy this type of discussion, and since one of the other parties was Jonathon, it would be especially difficult.
I doubted I could hold my own against him, even in casual conversation. There was something terrifying about his knowing stare.
But I had to be brave—for Bianca’s sake.
Abigail Geier stepped into the room, followed by the shadowing form of her husband. He lurked silently behind her as they both took seats on the other side of the table.
“You wanted to see us?” Abigail asked, her posture stiff with defiance. She crossed her legs and looked pointedly away from me. “We just happened to be in the area when you called. So Jonathon suggested we make an appearance.”
“Hey—” I began, trying to find my footing. How could she show such little respect? Granted, she was a Proxy, but still! “—you can’t just…”
My words trailed off as Jonathon turned his gaze to me. “Miles,” he said softly, “why don’t you just calm down and tell us what you want?”
“You know what I want!” I pointed at him, frustration boilingover. “How could you go behind my back like this? And after you were found out—how could you try to undermine us?”
“This wasn’t about you,” Jonathon replied, his voice calm, almost soothing. “We had to do what was best for Bianca.”
“What was best?” I couldn’t believe the audacity. “Did you know what they were doing to her in that ‘hospital’?”
Abigail and Jonathon exchanged a look before she spoke. “Yes, we’ve heard. That wasn’t the plan. But more importantly, you cannot keep her away from treatment. You’re all acting rashly. Bianca is not well enough to be without supervision. The incident with the Cole family proves that she will continue to put herself in harm’s way. A decision had to be made. We paid good money to ensure she got the best care possible—”
“It wasn’t her fault she was kidnapped,” I cut her off, bewildered by her reasoning. “Besides, don’t tell me you care. You never even visited her when she was an inpatient. If you had, you would have noticed how she was being treated.”
Abigail looked away, her hands wringing in her lap. “She wouldn’t have welcomed a visit from us. But, yes, I do regret what happened with the staff.”
“I will take care of the nurses,” Jonathon interjected, his tone steady, making my skin crawl.
“No,” I said, mustering as much authority as possible. “I will do it. Just not yet—we’re still reviewing evidence.”
In truth, I’d already started dealing with them. Earlier today, I’d stopped by the hospital. Tracking down the nurses who had been in charge of Bianca was easy. They were all low-level witches, some barely able to muster any magic. Of course, they would be afraid of Bianca. But that was no excuse.
Their licenses had been revoked, and they were now relegated to housekeeping and caregiving duties under strict supervision for the next five years. It wasn’t enough. It was far from enough. Butit would have to do… for now. We had other problems to deal with.
Jonathon’s gaze lingered on me, and I forced myself to meet his eyes. For Bianca’s sake, I couldn’t afford to back down.
Abigail cleared her throat, and I turned my attention to her. “Speaking of,” she began, fidgeting slightly. “I heard that Titus and Damen are pushing for the case to be reopened. I would like to—”
“We are retired,” Jonathon cut her off, his voice firm as he looked at her with concern flickering in his eyes.
But Abigail pressed on. “Well, I can help!” she insisted, her voice tinged with determination and desperation.
