Page 90 of Reflections of Peonies
The following silence was so heavy that, for a moment, it took precedence. My attention turned to them.
Bryce was staring at me, his jaw slack and expression pained. And Brayden… He’d gone so pale that I thought he might faint.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, Bianca.” Brayden was the first to snap out of his stunned state. He leaned forward, closing his hand around my fist. “I didn’t realize you didn’t know.”
“Our mother is dead.” Bryce gazed at the dusty glass walls. “She’s been gone for nineteen years.”
Dead?
The room turned suffocatingly warm even as goose bumps broke out over my arms. The light drifting in from the ceilings darkened, and Bryce’s wary figure was the only thing I could focus on.
I couldn’t breathe.
It was stupid that I’d be surprised. I’d always known my biological parents might not be alive. Growing up, I imagined a tragic accident had befallen them, which had given authorities no choice but to leave me in the care of the state.
The alternative was harder to accept.
But then, after learning that my family was alive… I had siblings, and they had mentioned my biological father… I was an idiot for assumingshewas there, too.
I should have known better.
So why did I feel lightheaded?
“How did she die?” I asked although the answer was obvious. It had been nineteen years. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together—after all, I had just turned nineteen. “What happened?”
Bryce and Brayden glanced at each other for a moment, expressions unreadable, before Brayden returned his focus to me.
“Why don’t we talk about this later?” he said, petting my hand. “You should lie down.”
I jerked from him, holding my fists against my chest. “Tell me.”
Brayden was still reaching for me, and he blinked. “I’m not…” He glanced at Bryce again, almost pleadingly.
Bryce sighed. “She died when you were born,” he said, confirming my earlier suspicion. “But we never learned how…”
“How is it not obvious?” I snapped. “Women can die in childbirth.”
“She didn’t die giving birth to you,” Bryce replied. “The circumstances surrounding her death were strange, and Father suspected foul play.”
“What?”
“It happened so fast…” Bryce’s gaze returned to the glass walls. “When a Xing is born, the family is the first to see them. After that, your quintet members visit.”
“But because of everything, Father didn’t even get a chance to hold you.” Brayden leaned forward again, eyes piercing. “Despite what you believe, he cares about you. He’s been searching for you your whole life. He had no idea what was happening.”
“It was only supposed to be temporary.” Bryce nodded.
My pulse raced. I was going to be sick. “Whatwas supposed to be temporary?”
“You were born at home. Immediately after, Mother went into cardiac arrest, and Father was occupied,” Bryce said. “Brayden and I were in the family waiting room a few rooms down. A nurse brought you to us. She left to help. She was supposed to be right back.”
“She’d hardly left the room before the first attempt on your life was made,” Brayden interjected. “But Kieran killed him.”
The name washed over me, and bile gathered at the base of my throat. “K-K-Kieran?” I wasn’t naive enough to assume they were different people.
“He was Mother’s bodyguard,” Brayden said, his tone wary. He seemed almost relieved at my reaction, but I couldn’t imagine why.
