Page 62 of Reflections of Peonies
I grabbed Julian’s arm—as he’d begun to prod at my neck again—and my thoughts spun. “You can’t tell anyone!” I told the necromancer. “She said it’s important because—because Huo is an idiot and will ruin everything.”
Damen’s face morphed into a roaring inferno, but his eyes fixed on Finn. “Bring Kiania here now!”
“Hold on! He can’t do that,” Julian protested. He gestured toward me. “We’re not sure how it’ll affect Bianca!”
There was a short pause before the fire faded from his features, and Damen pinched his nose. “Right,” Damen said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, he should totally summon her!” I argued. I sat back up with renewed energy. “I’ve always wanted to meet a talking badger!”
Everyone settled into a shocked silence before Miles tilted his head. “I can’t decide how to feel,” he said, expression torn. “It’s a little bit funny but mostly sad.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Julian rubbed his temples. “They must not have been giving her the correct dosage. Bianca—” he began, and I tilted my head toward him. “How many tablets did they give you at the hospital?”
“The pills you just gave me?” I asked, and when he nodded, I added, “Never seen them before.”
“What?” Julian replied, and his pensive features twisted into something fierce and scary. I nodded and covered my grin. I was so proud of that expression. With that kind of attitude, he might one day be able to fulfill his destiny of killing people after all.
“Hey—” I pulled on his sleeve. “I found a really cool place to dump dead bodies.”
Julian stared at me.
Damen’s mouth thinned as a line of tension moved between them. However, he shook his head.
“I’m not surprised,” Damen told Julian, changing the subject, and I frowned as the two of them ignored my offer of intelligence. “We should have expected this. Those witches were terrible. We still need to deal with them.”
“What does that mean?” Titus asked, tensing under me.
“Yes,” Miles said. “Whatdoesthat mean?”
Julian and Damen exchanged a glance before Damen refocused his attention on the others.
“Later,” he said, nodding toward me. “We have something else to take care of first.”
“Who cares about those stupid, mean nurses?” I asked. I pushed against Titus’s chest, but his hold was firm, and I quickly gave up. I was half-tempted to tell the dragon about them. He needed a snack. He said he had a people-eating quota to fill, and I’d rather have him eat them than Bryce.
But first…
I wanted to see this. “Please summon Kiania,” I begged, looking at Finn. “I want to see if she’s as fancy as she is in my dreams!”
Finn scowled as Damen tensed further.
“I probably could do it,” Finn offered. “If Bianca has beentaking the other medication, it should be safe for a little while. I’ve been able to use Kiania sometimes while she is on them.”
“Darling—” Julian touched my arms. “Have you been taking that medication at least?”
I blinked and cocked my head. “Yeah, they said it made me less scary.”
Julian’s eyebrow twitched, but he looked at Damen. They were silent momentarily before Damen spoke again, “Fine,” he told Finn. “Go ahead. Hopefully, there will be no need for an intervention.”
11
“Wait…”Finn hesitated, looking at me. “Do I have to do it in front of her?”
“Oh, stop.” Damen shot his brother a disapproving look. “You are far too advanced to have stage fright.”
Finn’s face turned red. “I don’t have stage fright! Just shut up. I’ll do it.”
Before I could inquire how someone summons a shikigami, Finn had already put his fingers to his mouth, and an ear-splitting whistle rang through the room. Julian grasped my hand, holding tight as the air in the room warmed.
