Page 100 of Reflections of Peonies
She began to speak again, and I glanced at her. “It was important that you remained safe,” Jiayi was saying. “Although I do wish I was notified earlier. I would have transferred, and we could have been in the same secondary school. We would have had the most fun.” She nodded, seemingly coming to an internal conclusion.
“But,” she continued, “better late than never. In any case, I’m waiting for Xavier. He’s supposed to help me. Have you seen him?”
I was conflicted. I wanted to be annoyed with her for not telling me the truth. She didn’t even seem to be the least bit sorry.
But on the other hand—I’d barely known her for longer than a month, and it wasn’t as though she had been the one orchestrating everything.
What should I do? She needed help. Xavier was not here, but since he was my underling, I had a moral obligationto assist her. This was my chance to prove myself. “Xavier missed class earlier, so I’m not sure he’ll show. What do you need?”
“I’m going to curse someone, and I need information.”
Whatever I expected, it wasn’t that. I blinked at her—perhaps I’d misunderstood. “Pardon?”
“My revenge must be swift and deadly. But not quite enough to kill him completely.” She gazed off into the distance. “I want him mostly dead for a time. Perhaps with some permanent scarring.”
How could one be ‘mostly dead’?
“Why are you asking Xavierthis?” I knew that rumors had stated the fae—and especially Unseelie—might be cruel, but surely such stories were exaggerations. “Don’t you have a witch in your quintet? Ask them.”
She sighed. “Catalina is a softy. She’s a firm believer in doing no harm. She’d not approve.”
I blinked at her. Did this mean Xavierwould?
Jiayi ignored my open-mouthed stare. “Besides, this is Xavier’s book, and it seemed promising. But I have questions.”
I eyed the item, which now didn’t seem quite so innocent. “What book is that?”
“Ah.” She shut it, revealing the flesh-colored leather that bound the book.The Practical Applications of Advanced Demonologywas scrawled across the top in rusty brown letters I suspected might be blood. “It’s just a bit of light reading.”
I was unsure of how to respond. I couldn’t ask if it said anything exciting without compromising my morals.
“Does this scare you?” She frowned.
“I’m just surprised.” My gaze dropped to my knees. “You’ve always seemed so… well, poised and put together.”
“I was raised with certain expectations,” Jiayi replied. “In my family, women are meant to be seen, not heard—always something pretty to look at. I discovered my love for fashion when I went to boarding school. It’s the one thing I’ve done for myself. And besides, it works out better this way.”
I glanced at her, puzzled.
“Lure in your prey with innocence and a pretty smile,” she continued, clenching her fists against her chest as she looked up at the sky. “Then you can crush them.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
“Which brings us back to my curse,” she continued, unbothered. “It has to be something potent against witches, too. And it needs to push a man to pick a side.” She glanced at me. “Not that you’d understand. You let everyone walk all over you. I doubt you’ve got a mean bone in your body—”
“Now, hold on a minute…” I started, ready to set the record straight. Hadn’t I stood up to Finn? That was mean.
But my words faded as a white cat emerged from the bushes and made its way toward us before it stopped in front of me,
The amber-eyed feline stared at me, causing my skin to prickle.
“Ugh,” Jiayi groaned, hiding the book and slipping into her backpack. “Cécile. I suppose that’s my cue to leave.”
“Leave?” I frowned. “But why—”
“Bianca.” Ms. Protean appeared. “I’ve been waiting for your return. Another word, if you will?”
Jiayi, who’d been in the process of swinging her bag over her shoulder, made a sound of sympathy. “Someone’s in trouble.”
