Page 56 of Reflections of Peonies
“What’s going on?” he asked. His voice was light despite the tension in his forearms. “I leave the house for five minutes, and now she’s upset again.”
“Titus!” Julian seemed relieved to see the other man. “I knowyou’ll agree with me! I can tell already that Miles doesn’t—and Damen’s opinion doesn’t matter in this instance.”
“Hey!” Miles protested as Damen frowned at Julian. The witch finally stepped away from the breakfast nook where he, Bryce, and Brayden had been watching. “I haven’t even stated my thoughts yet.”
“You don’t want to kill him,” Julian replied, waving a hand dismissively at the other man.
“Well, no,” Miles began, “But that’s because—”
“Then I don’t care what you have to say,” Julian interrupted.
“What do you want me to agree with?” Titus asked. “You’re not an idiot—you know damn well that Finn isn’t to blame. You’re just latching on to the first real opportunity you’ve had to get rid of him. We all know how long you’ve been waiting for a chance.”
“Three years ago should have been that chance—and how many times since then? Yet he only gets warnings.” Julian’s expression darkened further as he pointed at Damen. “You need to do something. It will be your fault when he finally crosses a line!”
“I will not destabilize the Er Bashous without knowing the full story,” Damen stated, crossing his arms. “Hasn’t it been made obvious, especially now, that he’s not working against us?”
Julian clenched his jaw and glared at the ground.
I gripped Titus’s arms. What happened three years ago? Finn and I had been in high school, but I hadn’t been aware of him getting into any major fights around that time. Still, this was useful. My earlier suspicions had been correct—there was much more behind Julian’s hatred for Finn.
“Julian—” Miles closed the distance between them. The ground seemed to rumble under my feet as he grabbed Julian’s elbow, and the necromancer glared at him. “You need to calmdown. This is no time to make a rash decision. Right now, Bianca needs help. You won’t get anywhere if you continue in this direction.”
At the mention of my name, Julian’s posture dropped. He closed his eyes, and my heart twisted as he pulled his hands behind his neck.
“You’re right,” he said after a moment, dropping his arms back at his side. “I’ll have to thank you later.”
“I’m right here,” Miles looked at him disapprovingly. “You could just thank me right now.”
Julian ignored him and turned to me. “Bianca,” he said, lifting his hand, but the mask was back in place when I looked at his face.
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted when Finn strode into the room with Anthony on his heels. Both looked confused, but the expression wiped from Finn’s face once he spotted me.
It made me feel even worse.
“What do you want?” he said, turning to Damen. “I’d just spiked Anthony’s coffee with NyQuil when you texted. As you can see, it hasn’t worked yet, but you’re ruining my only chance at what could have turned into an otherwise peaceful day.”
“It’s not like I have a choice,” Anthony said, then frowned at the paper cup in his hand. He tossed it in the sink, then gestured at Julian, unperturbed by potentially being drugged. “He told me to.”
“And for good reason!” Julian’s temper was beginning to bubble over once again. “Why do you keep medicating people? Did you actually put something into his drink?”
“Finn!” I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. I pushed away from Titus and crossed the room until he and I stood toe to toe. I wrung my hands as my mind raced.
Where were my brilliant ideas now? “Finn, I didn’t know…”
“You didn’t know what?” Finn’s voice was detached, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes. Something he often did when trying to act brave.
Jiayi was right! I might not have known the truth about Finn’s life, but I did recognize his mannerisms.
Noteverythingwas a lie.
“What do you want?” he ignored me and addressed Damen again.
“I’m only going to ask this once,” Damen said. He’d moved to the counter and rested his hip against the edge. “Why didn’t you come to me when your contract with Kiania changed?”
Finn stiffened; his breath locked as his gaze remained steady on Damen’s. I was right in front of him, but I had no idea how to warn him. I was the worst ex-best friend ever.
“I’m sorry…” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
