Page 141 of Brambles and Bellflowers
He moved his hand to his face, nipping his palm where I’d bit him. And my blood chilled as he grinned. “You held your own—just like in old times. You’ve always enjoyed the game.”
“What?” I heard myself ask.
“You don’t remember,” he said, the grin turning into a frown. I got the distinct impression I’d disappointed him when he continued, “I thought you accepted the past.”
What was he talking about?
A coldness began to overtake my chest. “The p-past…?” I stuttered. “There’s n-nothing…” My throat closed over.
Why was he so much more intimidating now?
Miles’s brows furrowed as a blackness cloaked over his expression. “Mu.” He scowled, his deep attention moving over me in an unnerving way.
I couldn’t tell if he was answering my question or addressing me, but it was becoming difficult to think. As the morning lightfaded, the tightness in my chest intensified. The air pressed into me from all directions.
“I was talking about you and me,” he clarified in response to my unspoken question. “Which, now, is clear that you don’t recall this memory. However, your response is also one we’ve wanted to address.”
“W-what are you talking about?” My laugh was a weak, breathy chuckle.
“Your obsession with trying to fix me, which is a projection of your issues,” Miles said, his forehead furrowing. His intense stare was too much to handle, and I shifted my gaze to my knees. Despite getting the extra-thick fabric, the leggings were already worn in several places—probably because of the brutal use of the last few days.
I would need to get more of these pants. I would fill my closet with them—
“Are you trying to pretend this isn’t happening?” Miles’s voice was impossible to ignore, and I twisted my hands in my lap. “I’m not going to give up that easily.”
I wished he would.
“We need to find the others…” I muttered, pushing to my knees and pressing my fists into the dirt.
It was time to leave.
“They can wait.” Miles moved to his knees and grabbed my shoulders as he stopped my hasty retreat. My heart fluttered dangerously as the warmth of his touch sunk into me, seemingly chasing away the air’s sudden bite. Brown eyes flared and swirled with gold, and Miles’s—Tu’s—determination was unshakable. “It’s not often I’m this close to the surface—and this ismyjob.”
Job…
I sat back on my ankles. I wassotired of these random role delegations.
“You helped me last night.” He sighed. “Let me help you. You’ve been avoiding anything that might help you. You won’t even speak to the necromancer they assigned to you.”
Necromancer… Was he talking about Dr. Nam?
“I don’t need to talk to Dr. Nam,” I pouted. “I talked to Damen.”
“I have a suspicion about that, which I’ll get to in a moment,” he said. “Regardless, you’re not allowing yourself to feel anything.”
He was wrong. I was feeling quite a bit of anger right now. It flared through me, making my blood heat. My panic faded as red crept into my vision.
Miles—Tu—whoever he was… He had no right to tell me how to live my life. Everyone just needed to butt out. I’d been doing perfectly fine; in theory, even Mu said so himself.
Wasn’t it good enough? Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good morning?
I would have to make him drink more water so that he would pee out the rest of that garbage potion and go back to normal.
“It’s none of your business!” My nails dug into my palms. “It’s not like you know anything about me.”
“I know you well enough.” He crossed his arms. “Shui might support your endeavors, but I was the one you came to for advice. Don’t you want to talk to me anymore?”
“Of course!” My pulse echoed in my ears, panic and fury threatening to tear me into two.
