Page 143 of Whispers of Wisteria
Still, it wasn’t time to panic yet.
My hands almost shook as I called Gloria—she and I often talked over my research. She wouldn’t ignore me.
No Officer would.
“Gloria isn’t answering either…” I said.
“What does your Quintet Bond tell you?” Finn asked. “It returned when you met, right?”
I looked at Damen. Finally, he was serious.
“I don’t notice anything off,” I offered, meeting Damen’s eyes. We hadn’t talked to anyone about this yet. “But—”
“It isn’t working as it should.” Damen’s expression was dark. “Something is blocking our access. I’m working on it.”
“Oh my God!” Finn looked like he wanted to strangle Damen. “You’re telling me that you’ve been letting her go out all this time completely unprotected?”
Bryce’s face morphed into a storm, and Brayden looked ready to lunge across the room.
“You know she’s reckless! She jumped into a river for him,” Finn said, pointing at me. “And she can’t even swim!”
Technically, she’d fallen. But the point still stood.
“Why the hell would you let her go?” Bryce said accusingly.
Damen turned on him. “You’re the one who told her to go! I ordered her tostay. But you couldn’t say no!”
“This is not going to help us find Bianca,” I pointed out, and they backed off.
“Well,” Damen began, more slowly this time, and his voice dropped in the way it did when he was taking control. “Would anyone know where Gloria is?”
“Why would they?” I cut in, standing. “This was super easy. Cécile runs away like every other day!”
Think positive thoughts.
Damen clenched his jaw and also stood. “I’m sending Kiania,” he said, glancing at Finn. “It’ll be quicker than Kasai because they’re connected.”
That was probably best.
He called the shikigami. The white tiger stood before him almost instantly, her tail curling, as she asked in a snarky tone, “Why are you bothering me, Huo? You’re not my primary.”
No, that was Finn.
But Damen was faster.
“Find Bianca,” he commanded, not rising to the bait.
She blinked at him, cocking her head, then vanished in a gush of smoke.
Gregory stepped forward, looking between Bryce and Damen. “When Bianca returns, you’re to start tracking her movements. I want to know when she leaves the house.”
“I will not do that without asking her,” Damen replied.
“Ask her if you want, but this is not negotiable. She is fae, and she is my niece. She might not understand her position yet, but she will.”
Damen looked away, scowling, the moment Kiania returned.
“I cannot locate her.”
