Page 82 of Whispers of Wisteria
“I’m not.” My hand fell to my side as my attention drifted across the broken chair.
It was times like these that made me glad not to be fully human. Demons were so much more direct.
I’d spent lifetimes trying to understand why Mu cared. I thought I’d gotten a pretty good grasp on human nature. I even thought I might have been starting to believe.
But maybe most peoplewereinherently evil.
I glared at the chair. “Not yet.”
I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it in the future, though.
13
Julian POV
It wasdawn when I came home from my double shift. I expected a house of arguments—Damen, Finn, Brayden, and Bryce were all early risers, and there was always drama. But it was quiet instead.
Something was wrong.
It was probably the reason why Bianca hadn’t answered my messages since yesterday afternoon.
I’d been trying to convince myself not to panic. Shewasokay. Someone else would have called in an emergency.
But…
Bianca was generally very good at responding to my texts.
This meant only one of two things. Either she was upset with me for some reason, but I couldn’t imagine why. Or she’d done something that she knew would anger me.
But I had no reason to believe the latter. She wasn’t that kind of person.
The others would have told me if there were anything else.
Hushed voices drifted down the hallway, and I hung up my coat before making my way toward them. My shoulders were already tense, and I shoved my hands into my pockets and entered the living room.
Conversation stopped, and the room’s inhabitants startled at my entrance.
The stone in my stomach grew larger. Only Damen, Titus, and Miles.
Where were the others?
This was a calculated intervention, then. Whatever this was, it was bound to piss me off. Miles hadn’t spent the night since he left to work on his stupid book.
“Alright.” I glared at them. It hadn’t escaped my notice that someone else was also missing. “Where’s Bianca? Please tell me she’s not somewhere with Finn.”
Thatwouldupset me, and knowing the others, they’d eventually be okay with the two being friends.
“She’s still in her room,” Damen said, moving to his feet. “She’s been there since yesterday afternoon. She said she wanted to be alone.”
I watched him with caution. The onmyoji had moved to the other side of the room, possibly to put more distance between us. He stood in front of the burning fireplace and glared down at the flames.
A muscle on the corner of his temple twitched—he wasn’t worried about me. He was angry.
“Do I even want to know?” I asked.
Both Titus and Miles were focused on Damen. A heaviness was in the air, and the tension grew darker.
So, it wasreallybad.
