Page 53 of Reflections of Peonies
“Finn’s dad owns the college?” I repeated, recalling past events. “Is this how Finn could close off portions of the library? Or manipulate the teacher’s schedules?”
“Partially.” Bryce frowned. “I’ve spent some time with himsince the semester started. He’s admitted to having some skill in hacking these days, which makes sense. Although it was a bit surprising, considering his interests don’t normally lie in that direction.”
“How does that make sense?” My voice rose an octave. How could Bryce say something like this so casually? “It doesn’t make sense to me!”
“Finn’s mother, Rhea, is the founder and CEO of a global internet conglomerate. She’s a genius in software engineering,” Bryce said. “But neither Finn nor Damen were interested in their businesses. Damen is terrible with technology, and Finn used to follow Damen around everywhere. When Damen decided to focus on law enforcement, Finn wanted to be with him. But when Finn contracted with his shikigami, everything changed.”
“What…” I began. I’d known that Finn once wanted to be the chief of police. But I’d never known why. I also knew Damen and Finn used to be close. When we first met, Finn gushed about him constantly.
“What does his shikigami have to do with anything?” I asked.
“Kiania was one of Huo’s most frequently contracted shikigami,” Miles said, sliding some serving plates onto the table. He pushed my chair back toward the table before he slipped into the seat opposite mine. “No one outside Huo can sustain a connection with it, although many onmyoji have died trying. Kiania expected to be contracted in this life, but Damen decided to contract with Kasai instead. We thought it was over, but no one expected Finn to contract with Kiania, and since his ceremony was private, no one was there to stop them. Once a contract is established, only the shikigami or onmyoji can change the terms.”
“Finn refused to break the contract.” Bryce cut in as he spooned scrambled eggs onto my plate, and I began to eat as he continued, “He stubbornly insisted that he was strong enough,but everyone was afraid he was going to die. His health declined, and his parents fought. Dean couldn’t convince Finn to change his mind. Rhea is a divination master, but she only knew things would eventually work. Over summer break, they divorced because they couldn’t agree. Damen continued to live with his father. Finn began to attend one of the sister schools while living with his mother.”
“I was out of the country, but I heard he was in pretty bad shape.” Miles pushed the bacon toward Bryce. “But eventually, Finn pulled through and can maintain the contract now. No one questioned how because since then, he pulled away from his quintet, our group, and wouldn’t associate with anyone.”
Bryce was stacking bacon on my plate. My dish was packed in front of me, but a question lingered in the back of my mind that made it hard to focus.
“Wasn’t it my fault that he hid from everyone?” I whispered. “We both transferred into the school around the same time. I started a few weeks after the year began.”
Bryce, who’d begun to butter my toast, froze, and three sets of eyes focused on me. “How did you become friends with the lout anyway?” he asked finally, putting the knife away.
“So—” There was something I needed to know before I could answer that question. “A shikigami that’s actively sucking the life away from an onmyoji wouldn’t happen to look like a dark shadowy figure and feel like a demon, would it?”
“Maybe,” Bryce replied, looking at me evenly. “They’re a bit more unstable than shikigami in equal partnerships, although there’s always a demonic undertone. Why?”
“But they’re not demons,” Miles interjected, and when Bryce and Brayden shot him a look, he added bristling, “Well, they’re not! Damen doesn’t appreciate the stereotypes.”
Well, that cleared up a lot. Now, everything Finn had beenwhining about was beginning to make much more sense. He and I would have to have a very important discussion later.
“It’s fine,” I told them and grabbed my fork. “No reason to worry.”
“You’ve met Kiania.” Bryce placed his hand on mine. “When?”
How dare he ask me a direct question!
“It—it wasn’t like she introduced herself!” I pulled my hand away from his.
“Okay.” Bryce was still watching me in suspicion, and the hair on the back of my arms stood straight. “But you’re well aware now of whom it was. So, whatdidyou talk about?”
Darn him!
“It’s not your business. I—I’m not supposed to tell you!” I protested, pushing back in my seat, but it wouldn’t scooch away this time. “Only Finn! Otherwise, she said it would be very bad!”
“Bianca.” Miles reached across the table, grasping my hand. “What did Kiania say?”
“It might not be her—it wasn’t an animal. She was a human,” I looked at him.
“Shikigami do have human forms, although they rarely take on those appearances in this realm,” Miles responded pensively. “It makes them vulnerable. What did she say?” he asked again. “Was Finn there?”
I shook my head and let my attention linger on my uneaten breakfast. “She was waiting for me when I was alone. She—she said that he was dying, but he could live… if I helped.”
“If you ‘helped’ how?” Miles asked, and my pulse jumped as he continued, “What were the exact words of this exchange?” Of course, he would be the one worried about the legalities.
“Ah,” I mumbled and looked to the ceiling. “I—I don’t exactlyrecall. But, see, she might have asked me to let her use me instead of him… and I said okay?”
“What do you mean ‘okay’?” Miles asked, sounding perturbed.
