Page 130 of Reflections of Peonies
His thick brows furrowed, and he frowned. “We had an agreement.”
“I apologize.” The accusation stabbed at me. “I was running out of options. I needed to see—”
“I know what you needed.” Mu’s response was curt, but then his jaw tightened. A look that I knew to be regret lined his face. “And in this case, exceptions had to be made…”
My heart began to race.
Usually, Mu would have lectured me and nursed a grudge. But now, he seemed resigned. This was unlike him. “You’re not angry?” I asked.
“Not in particular,” he said, studying his hand. “I just neverexpected to see you here. Once again, you’ve pushed me outside my comfort zone and were right to do so. You usually are.”
This was new.
“But now you need to keep pushing me. I’m not going to break,” Mu said lightly. “I could never be angry at you for long. You’re one of the few who seems immune to that.”
“I’m not worried about that,” I replied. However, it was a lie. Yet there was another reason why I’d been avoiding this moment. “It’s just that—”
“You thinkshe’llbreak,” Mu said knowingly. “You know, we are the same person.”
“It’s different now…” How could he say such a thing? “She’s tiny, frail, and has been through so much—”
“You’re not wrong,” Mu interrupted. “But you should have more faith. We’ve survived without your meddling for years.”
I cringed. His statement almost sounded like an accusation, especially since Bianca had said the same thing.
“Give me something,” I said. “Anything that we can use to help her because, as it is right now, we are lost.” I reached out to him without thinking—this was always how things had been.
But he pulled back, blinking, as he looked away. “We are not ready.”
“What?” I frowned, my attention lingering on his tight shoulders.
Never before in any of our many lives had Mu flinched from me. A surge of renewed fury made it harder to breathe. I’d assumed Bianca’s fear was limited to our current lifetime—as sometimes things were. But it seemed the effects had migrated into her collective consciousness.
“Just,” he began, still unable to meet my eyes. “I can give you this: be careful.”
“Of course,” I told him. Bianca had become my most importantperson, and I would treat her as such.
“Do not seek to beguile her,” he warned. “Especially you. I do not know if we could ever trust again. We’re extremely fragile from our previous betrayal.”
My eyes narrowed. “You mean Finn?”
“I am not referring to the demon’s descendent,” Mu replied. “His actions are inconsequential, and our anger is misdirected. But we know this, even if we do not admit it to ourselves yet.”
“Then what happened?” I asked.
Mu looked up at the sky. “We were so easy to trust back then, before everything. All we’ve ever sought was to belong. He was the one who harmed us the most.”
“Who?” I narrowed my eyes. “Eric Richards?”
“No,” he said. “We do not like to speak his name; it gives him power over us. However, they are of the same blood. That is all I can say.”
I studied him—the firm set of his jaw—and knew that he wouldn’t talk anymore on this subject. I fought the urge to sigh. I wasn’t sure what we could make of what he disclosed.
“Okay, then let me help you with something else,” I began, and he looked at me again. Perhaps I could get an answer to our other most curious question. “Why are you female? Did something go wrong?”
Mu’s sad smile caused me to pause.
There was something almost broken in that expression, but his eyes glittered with a hint of his ever-present mischievousness. “I have something I must do, but don’t worry. I won’t let it affect you.”
