Page 71 of Whispers of Wisteria
His bottom lip jutted out in a pout, but he obeyed, throwing himself into a defeated heap at the bottom of the bed. “What?” he asked, his tone petulant.
“I’m still very mad at you.”
Bryce’s forehead wrinkled as his scowl deepened. “I know. I’ll still help you where I can. Don’t worry. Brayden will be a good Er Bashou. He’s not as solid a fighter, but—”
“You’re not getting away that easily.” I stomped across the room and poked my finger into his chest. With him sitting, our faces were almost even. “You’remy Er Bashou, and we’re going to get along.”
He seemed shocked. “We don’t usually get along?” he asked. “I thought we were rather amicable—other than the incident at the hospital.”
I wanted to pull my hair out.
“No, we don’t!” I stomped my foot. “We’re rivals! You’re my arch-nemesis.”
“Really?” His scowl had faded—now he only seemed confused. “Your ‘arch-nemesis’? What makes you think that?”
“You’ve stared me down in class!” Had he forgotten? Because I hadn’t—it’d been so embarrassing. “You’re always trying to challenge my authority.”
“No…” Bryce tilted his head. His hair was in complete disarray after being caught in his shirt, and, for once, he seemed almost normal. “I’m helping you.”
Helping? “You’ve been challenging me!”
To his credit, he didn’t deny it. Instead, he leaned back. “At first, sure. I didn’t know who you were. I couldn’t have someone usurping my position.”
“Then?” I prodded.
“I’m trying to help you,” he reiterated. “A lot of people will try to throw you off, especially in the courts. I’m trying to get you ready.”
“By annoying me?”
Bryce shrugged. “If that’s what it takes. We fae are very competitive.”
I wanted to scream. I totally should have said something sooner. We could have been so much more productive than this.
We could have worked onskillsinstead of all these stupid power struggles.
“And not only that…” Bryce’s expression shifted, and he looked away. “You’re mysister. In the place of our father—as you’re not talking to him—and as the oldest male in your immediate family—”
“You better not finish that sentence,” I warned him.
He did it anyway. “It’s myresponsibility to look after you and ensure you’re taken care of.” Then he paused, raising his eyebrow and shooting me a strange look. “And what’s wrong with what I said?”
Could he be that dense? “You’re not my boss.”
“Get used to it,” he said with a roll of his shoulders. “That’s just the way it is. It’s only because you’re used to life here that I haven’t taken you home.”
Was that so? My eyebrow twitched. “You have no right to take me anywhere.”
“It’s safer there.” He gave me a serious stare, making the hair on my neck rise. “You know I’ve been considering it, especially lately. We could go back toWhisperwind. I’m getting a lot of pressure from every direction to bring you back, and sometimes it almost feels like it’s the right thing to do.”
That made absolutely no sense.
I didn’t know much about society types, but “If the fae are so traditional, why are we living in ourmother’shome?”
Bryce blinked, and his mouth opened into an ‘O’, yet he remained soundless.
“What about theDuboisfamily residence?” I pressed.
Bryce crossed his arms sullenly. “I don’t live with them.”
