Page 131 of Reflections of Peonies
That tipped me off, and realization dawned. “You chose to be born like this…”
His eyebrow twitched, and he squared his shoulders. “It was inevitable,” he replied, almost defensively.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Do you take issue with it?” he asked, tilting his head.
“No!” I replied, my words stumbling out. It was embarrassing, and heat raised to my face. “It’s not that I care either way, and I rather like your current form, and you’ve always been kind of—”
I couldn’t say ‘delicate’ because then he’d cry.
“Different,” I corrected. “But I assumed you being born in this form was a random accident. You’re fae. You know how women are seen among your kind.”
“Prophecies are tricky things…” he mused, his attention drifting past me. “There’s so many things that you can plan around them.”
My senses were on high alert. “What are you plotting?”
“You know who doesn’t like change?” Mu continued, ignoring my question. “Quite a few people. Dragons especially.”
“So why are you a woman? To fulfill the prophecy or to annoy Jin?” I asked.
“No, I’ll leave that to Tu. He and Jin secretly enjoy their bickering.” Mu waved his hand in the air, unperturbed. Then his mood shifted, and his eyes flashed. “But which individual and which realm do you think my new form might affect the most?”
My jaw locked. “Huo.” Annoyance flared through me. He’d come as Bianca for Damen?
“You’re going to need to let go of that resentment.” Mu frowned.
He was in no position to judge me. “Only when he stops acting like this,” I replied.
“Your hatred is impacting how you treat other onmyoji,” he pointed out, not incorrectly. “Which clouds your judgment regarding myself.”
I looked away and clenched my jaw. We would just have to see about that.
21
Bianca POV
I’d been releasedfrom the fear and pain, but something was still holding me back from wanting to return to reality. This dark, quiet place was soft and comforting, where I felt nothing—no shame, no discomfort, just a numbing detachment.
My emotions were securely locked away, unreachable by pain or sadness.
I could stay here forever.
“Bianca.”
The voice sounded louder than I remembered, and I slowly opened my eyes as a spark of recognition broke through the static. Curiosity swelled in my chest, but at the same time, I was almost afraid to learn more.
“What are you still doing here?” A warmth surrounded me, and the voice echoed through the space.
My heart raced at the accusation in his tone, and I felt it seepback into me. Anger swelled in my chest, and I felt annoyance flare up toward the entity that threatened my peace.
I knew exactly who this was.
“Leave me alone,” I said.
“I can’t do that. We’re stagnating,” Mu replied, causing another shiver to rush through me. “This is not what we were born to become.”
“Mind your own business,” I replied, arguing with myself. Or was I?
