Page 121 of Reflections of Peonies
I eventually sent him to deal with Belial. Usually, I would never let even my Er Bashou communicate directly with the Overseers. But this was an emergency. The demon had been vying for my attention, and I had no patience to talk business with him.
I hadn’t seen him since—but Kiania wasn’t alarmed. This meant that Belial had, most likely, started telling Finn his entire life’s history, and my brother had passed out from boredom.
Still, the Underworld no longer mattered.
I often found myself by Bianca’s side, running my fingers through her hair, speaking gently, and seeking any sign of recognition or recovery. But the void remained, and Trinity’s looming deadline was fast approaching.
“Nothing is changing.” Brayden’s voice broke through the silence, his hands twisting together in worry. He looked at Bryce. “We should just take her.”
“I have an idea…” Miles began tentatively, only to abruptly halt, his gaze moving to Julian, who was lying on Bianca’s bed. Miles dismissed his thought with a slight frown, muttering, “Never mind.”
My attention flickered between him and Julian, who seemed oblivious to Miles’s aborted suggestion. I was about to probe further when a harsh ringtone cut through the room.
“Could you have made it any more obnoxious?” Miles stalked across the room and snatched my phone from the top of Bianca’s vanity. He threw it at me.
“It’s Gregory,” I protested, glancing at the screen. “And since I don’t always know where my phone is, I have to make sure I can hear it.”
“Then put it somewhere you’ll remember,” Miles said. “No one wants to listen to your stupid theme music.”
“It’s Gregory!” I repeated as a sudden bolt of excitement coursed through me. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? And it was perfect because he was due to arrive at any moment.
I knew this would work out!
“You just said that.” Bryce shot me a barely concealed look of concern.
“He can help us, you idiot.” I lowered my phone, glaring at him. “He meets me on Mondays to go over the schedule for the week.”
“It’s Monday?” Bryce sounded unsure, although I’d just told him. “I didn’t realize.”
“Did you seriously abandon your classes and not post a warning?” Brayden frowned at his brother.
Bryce shot him an annoyed look. “I’ve had other things on my mind.”
Miles seemed to catch on to my excitement and jumped to his feet. “When is he supposed to be here?”
“He’s here now.” Titus had been sitting with his legs straddling the back of a chair, and at his statement, he rested his chin on his folded arms.
“That’s right,” I said, and the doorbell echoed through the room. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere!”
“Where are we supposed to go?” Brayden called after me, but I ignored him.
We only had a short amount of time before Trinity came back.
“Gregory!”
The older man jumped when I threw open the door, and before he could blink, I’d already grabbed his arm and dragged him into my house.
He’d barely regained his footing as he spoke, “What in the world—?”
But I was already pulling him up the stairs.
I didn’t have a lot of time to explain.
“Bryce and Bianca got married. Then Bryce triggered her, and now she’s unresponsive.” I breathed. “Trinity wants to take her to the hospital. But I’m concerned because she’s got trauma related to hospitals, and it might make her condition worse. So now you need to figure out what else we can do.”
By the time I’d finished my explanation, we were in front of Bianca’s room.
“See!” I threw open the door, revealing the interior and the others.
