Page 93 of Reflections of Peonies
It was too embarrassing to say.
“It doesn’t matter,” Titus said. “I heard arguing. Are you sure everything is okay? What were you talking about?”
My breath caught, and I swayed slightly.
I’d completely forgotten that we’d been discussingKieran.
It was such a slight reaction, but he noticed. He drew closer, holding me against him. With my face pressed against his chest, I could feel his pounding heartbeat, and when he spoke next, his tone had become menacing. “What did you do?”
“It’s okay,” I said, interrupting Bryce and Brayden before they could respond. “They were just asking questions… about Kieran.”
Titus stiffened, and the world shifted in a flurry of movement. His hands gripped my forearms, and his face lowered close to mine. There was a hint of panic in the depths of his green eyes. “You know Kieran?”
I nodded, words escaping me. Why did he seem stunned?
“It’s such a coincidence. Kieran raised her until his death, apparently,” Bryce interjected.
There was a note of hesitance at the end of his statement, and Titus narrowed his eyes at the other man. “But…?”
Bryce shrugged. “Did you know he escaped fromWhisperwindafter Bianca was born? Who would have thought he’d have taken her?”
Titus growled. “You knew he had her!”
“It couldn’t be helped.” Bryce waved his hand in the air. “It’d been easy for him to fall through the cracks.”
“I would have protected her,” Titus protested.
“At seven years old?” Bryce rolled his eyes. “You were barely old enough to shift.”
“Why are you opening up now?” Titus asked, stepping between me and my brothers. “You wouldn’t talk about it before.”
“We swore an oath,” Bryce said. “But we’re not breaking any rules. Besides, we’reonlytalking about Kieran.”
“Technically.” Brayden nodded.
“Whisperwindwas dangerous for Kieran as a mixed breed,” Bryce continued. “He was safer away from the fae.”
“Also technically true,” Brayden interjected again. “As an Unseelie in the Seelie court and trained by shifters, Kieran never really fit in. Beyond the prophecy, there’s the issue of court rivalries. Anyone with mixed blood was at risk.”
“Stop acting like this is about Kieran,” Titus said sharply. “We already know about your family’s background.”
“It’s the same for Kieran,” Bryce pointed out.
“Mixed blood?” I asked.
“Our mother was a Stephens,” Bryce said, as if that explained everything.
I glared at him. That didn’t mean anything to me.
Brayden sighed and clarified, “Our great-grandfather was Unseelie and married into the Seelie court. Our grandfather and Uncle Gregory, who is technically our great-uncle, are half-bloods.”
“What about Mr. Weaver?” I asked, noticing they hadn’t mentioned him. Wasn’t he Dr. Stephens’s brother?
“Uncle Caleb has a different mother. He’s completely Unseelie,” Brayden explained. “Some fae are very particular about blood purity. The Xing family has always been Seelie, so if Mu were born with Unseelie blood, some would see it as a curse.”
“Why?”
“Apparently, Unseelie are thought to have a more aggressive nature than the Seelie,” Bryce said, almost dismissive. “They say we have frightening imaginations and tempestuous tempers. But I can’t imagine where they’d get that idea.”
