Page 61 of Reflections of Peonies
Miles, who’d been listening from a spot on the couch, spoke up. “So what do we do? We can’t suppress Bianca’s abilities for the rest of her life, and—” he looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, mon rêve, but even you aren’t strong enough to support Damen in this situation.”
A warm tingling had begun to crawl under my skin, but even that couldn’t fully distract me from his strangely foreboding words.
Would they try to find a way to replace me with Bryce? It couldn’t be. Finn had just said that Bryce was a weakling.
“Okay.” I grinned at him despite the tears welling in my eyes, and Miles raised an eyebrow. My thoughts were slipping, and even though I knew I should be frustrated, it was getting harder and harder to focus.
What was wrong with me? I was completely useless to them. How could I help anyone?
Stupid Kiania. I wanted nothing more than to strangle her with my own two hands. She would die a most painful death, and then, I would ask Damen to punish her for all eternity.
Perhaps he’d toss her in a bottomless pit. I wasn’t sure what form she had, but I hoped she couldn’t fly. That would ruin everything.
“That’s rather unkind,” a melodious voice echoed through my mind. “Especially given our history together.”
My tears dried instantly as my breath caught.
It was she! The fiendish woman in my dreams, aka my imaginary friend. She was that horrible shikigami!
And she could talk to me in my head. How wonderful.
Could this day get any worse?
“Darling?” Julian’s brows were furrowed in worry. “What’s wrong?”
“In a second,” I told him, holding up my hand. I would tell him about her. But first, I had to figure out whether it counted to curse someone in your mind. Would it make me foul-mouthed and rude?
But she deserved it.
I wondered if she could readallmy thoughts.
“Bianca?” Julian’s frown deepened, and Titus moved from his place near the wall, but I had to focus. I needed to let that she-devil know that bright red lipstick didn’t look good on her. Plus, she desperately needed a haircut. Also, I bet her shikigami form was stupid, like a badger.
I touched my fingers to my lips and giggled.
“What the hell?” Titus sounded alarmed. “What did you give her?”
“It’s only morphine,” he answered. He was taping the wrappings over my shoulder, but his eyes were warily moving over my face. “It’s less than what she got at the hospital.”
“She’s not high, is she?” Miles asked.
Julian opened his mouth, but I interrupted him as I narrowed my eyes at the witch. “No,” I said, my voice slurring as the word drew out longer than intended. I pointed at the fluffy-haired man. “I’m just trying to figure out how to reply to the lady in my head.”
Miles’s mouth thinned, and Julian’s eyes widened.
Damen leaned forward, grabbed my hand, and responded, “What lady?”
“The lady in a red dress. She is very rude.” I swooned, and Titus moved forward and—after nudging Damen and Julian back—lifted me into his lap as he sat back in my chair. I snuggled up into his lap as I added, “She used to talk to me a lot, but then stopped. But she came back!”
Damen’s eyes were flaring with fury, and he glanced at Finn.
On the other hand, Finn was watching me in shock—his pale features are even more pronounced now.
“You didn’t say that Kiania could communicate with her,” Damen said accusingly.
“I had no idea!” Finn’s eyes tore from me. “Neither one of them ever mentioned it!”
“Yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes as I pressed my cheek against Titus’s chest. “Like I’m going to admit to something like that. This is—this isyoursecret! Now you get one too, just like Bryce!”
