Page 103 of Reflections of Peonies
She was an Elder; I guess she knew what she was doing.
“There’s no avoiding it. People will treat you differently because youaredifferent,” she continued. “Besides, you must stay nearby, especially since Caleb went and got himself killed. Gregory is now the only remaining fae Proxy in this realm capable of mentoring their Xing.”
16
“You can’t be serious?”The room grew colder as Mr. Weaver looked between us.
“Don’t let him leave,” Ms. Protean said mildly, waving a knitting needle vaguely in his direction. “Tell him he needs to stay.”
“Oh, um,” I began, my skin growing warm as I flustered. Mr. Weaver had grown quite pale—even for a ghost—and his form began to fade. “Mr. Weaver, stay here.”
When he glared at me, I added, “Please.”
Why, though? It was somewhat troublesome to have to translate between the two of them. It would be much easier if Ms. Protean could communicate with him herself.
With that thought, he rematerialized. However, there was something different in the way he felt. His shadowy form was more solid than before. And there was no question that, now, Ms. Protean was able to see him.
“Just where did you think you were going?” She glowered in his direction.
“How dare you!” Mr. Weaver pointed at her, disbelief stillthick on his wrinkled face. “I didn’t confide in you for you to use it against me.”
“Then think before you act,” she told him. “I didn’t have even to see you to know you were about to run off to Gregory.”
“Of course I was!” Mr. Weaver responded. “How dare he not tell me!”
“Don’t assume anything just yet.” She looked toward me, resting her chin on her folded hands. She looked at me. “Does Gregory even know that you’re Mu?”
“I—I don’t know?” I shrugged. As far as I knew, he didn’t know anything about me. But then again, the boys never told me much of their interactions with Dr. Stephens.
“It seems Mr. Abernathy is resorting to desperate measures to hide your identity.” Ms. Protean touched her chin. “There’s no other reason why he’d be so actively celebrating your marriage to Bryce.”
“They’re married?” Mr. Weaver’s mouth dropped open.
“It was Miles’s idea,” I whispered. “They said it would make people less suspicious of me being around everyone.”
Even though it was still very gross.
“I suppose,” Ms. Protean frowned. “I’m surprised Gregory hasn’t figured it out. It’s a matter of time before he must be made aware. We need the entire team—including Caleb. Joe already knows—he stated so in his memo.”
Memo?
“I also called you here for another reason,” Ms. Protean said, her tone measured. “I wanted to let you know I’ve been invited to consult in the case.”
My blood chilled. “The… case?”
She watched me evenly. “The case investigating Eric Richards and his involvement in human trafficking.”
“T-that’s still o-open?” I stared at her desk as the floor dropped out from under me. “But i-it’s been ten years!”
“I assist in other work, but my specialty is cold cases,” Ms. Protean replied. “I’ve gone through the files. You’re the key witness, but there’s no record of your interview. Will you talk to me about your experience?”
“No!” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I-I don’t want to t-talk about it! They said I don’t have to!”
I glanced at her after she didn’t respond to see that she was watching me, her head tilted and a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she finally spoke. “All right. But know that, this time, you have your family and your quintet behind you. In my opinion, Bryce didn’t only marry you to avoid suspicion or to give you freedom. He did it to give you the protection of the Dubois name until you can be reintegrated with your family of origin. I believe that’s the main reason for this whole façade.”
“That’s”—I pushed my toes into the floor as my shoulders tensed. “I’m fine as things are now. Damen is taking care of me.”
“Still…” Ms. Protean lifted her eyebrow. “You don’t want to reunite with your birth family?” She glanced toward Mr. Weaver, who was watching me. I vaguely realized that he fell into that category—but he wasn’t my concern.
