by Lyla Oweds
“Hey!” Miles protested in the background, but I ignored him. My focus was pulled to the picture that had been shoved in my face.
At first glance, it was the most adorable photograph I’d ever seen.
Younger versions of the boys stared back at me. They were clearly at a school function, wearing identical uniforms despite their grade differences. I assumed this must be a high school photo, close to Titus’s senior year. Damen stood in the center of the group, a cocky grin on his face and his uniform in disarray. His copper hair was wild, and his arms were thrown over Julian and Titus’s shoulders. Titus, while almost as dirty as Damen, was touching his tie as he glowered at something off-screen.
And Julian, in stark contrast to the two of them, wore his dark grey jacket and slacks impeccably. But even though he seemed so proper, it was the expression on his face that made my breath catch.
He was almost unrecognizable.
His face was emotionless—a mask from a nightmare. Somehow, even through a picture, his posture radiated animosity.
“See!” Damen didn’t notice me staring at Julian. Instead, he pointed, redirecting my attention toward Miles. “He makes me keep this photo as a reminder.”
“Damen!” Miles was glowering at us, his face red. But he made no move to stop Damen. “You don’t need to say it like that!”
“She needs to know,” Damen said, unapologetic. “She’s your controller.”
“Controller?” I tore my eyes from the darling sight of a younger Miles eating a pink donut. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass in front of the group, and I wanted nothing more than to pinch him. “What’s the problem? He’s cute. I like his cheeks.”
“The problem isn’t his weight.” Damen rolled his eyes, shaking his wallet in my face until I took it from him. “Although, it is true that Earth types pick up the pounds easier than others. But that’s not what I’m referring to. Look at his face. Look at Julian.”
I glanced back at the picture, this time studying Miles’s expression. It took a moment, but then I picked it up. He looked aimless.
“Miles had just returned from France when this picture was taken,” Damen explained. “He didn’t grow up with us, and we needed time to undo the damage his absence created. We’re a cycle. We complete each other, help each other, and control each other.”
I nodded. Miles had spoken about this before.
“Earth is yin—a passive element,” Damen continued. “Earth types enjoy food, relaxing, and lounging through life. They try to set others at ease. They are jokesters, but sensitive. A witch’s powers manifest in that manner as well. The magic is powerful, but subtle. Their targets will be overwhelmed before they realize anything is even happening.”
I wondered what Miles’s powers were, exactly.
“I was depressed and in a bad place.” Miles’s leg bounced as he studied a point across the room. “I didn’t grow up with the others, and I had no idea how to motivate myself. I was behind in my magical education, since we’d lived in seclusion in France. By the time I got back, it was almost too late. I ignored Julian and didn’t do my job properly.”
I cocked my head, studying him. “Job?”
“Earth controls Water,” Miles explained. “It is my job to watch Julian, to make sure that his moods and energy move toward productive things. Otherwise, he can dwell until his emotions overwhelm him.”
Interesting. “What about me?”
“Wood is the controlling element of Earth.” Miles’s brown eyes met mine, hesitance in his gaze. “You’re supposed to be the one who directs my attention.”
I raised my eyebrow, considering his words. Did he mean like… a coach?
Damen broke in, “What he’s saying is, he’ll look for excuses to not do things. He prefers to eat and read. He’s probably already tried to get out of soccer about a dozen times this week alone. And he skips classes.” He looked at his watch. “You will be going. Don’t think I’m not watching the time.”
Miles sighed but didn’t interrupt.
It was true though. Miles had tried to skip soccer practice yesterday. But even more importantly…
“You like to read, too?” I cut in, awed. A well-read man was so attractive. He spoke French. He liked food. He was perfect.
“That’s not the point, Bianca.” Damen waved his hand in the air impatiently. “I can only do so much. Sometimes, he needs a kick in the ass.”
Trepidation filled me as I looked between the two stronger, formidable men. I couldn’t help but compare myself to them.
Somehow, they wanted me to… kick Miles’s butt? There must be a mistake, there was no way this would work. “Um…”
“If you don’t help him,” Damen continued, “Miles won’t go to practice or class at all. He’s already missed some time this year. He could lose his scholarship. You’ve got to make him do it. Otherwise, he won’t take care of himself.”
Oh no! I had been right all this time. I freaking knew it.
“Don’t tell her that!” Miles was shooting Damen an annoyed look. “I’m not that bad. And why in the world would I lose my scholarship? It doesn’t matter, so long as my grades are good. Isn’t—”
“No time!” Throwing the wallet at Damen, I jumped to my feet. “We need to go to school!”
Miles crossed his arms. “But we have an hour before my class starts.”
“I need to get dressed! My makeup and everything.” I pointed at him, ignoring the way his chest made my attention to waver. “Get a shirt on. I’m taking you to class.”
“Why are you taking me to class?” Miles actually seemed taken aback. “I don’t need you to take me to class. What are you going to do for two hours?”
“I can read The Hobbit. I’ve been doing research.” I folded my own blanket and stacked it over Julian’s. “I need to check your schedule. Everything is on my phone, right? We can’t let you miss practice.”
“Hold on just a minute,” Miles protested, not obeying me at all. “What are you researching? And are you taking me to my classes and attending all my practices now? You can’t do that.”
“I must do it.” I threw the blanket he used at his head. “Hurry up and fold this. You need to clean up after yourself.”
The blanket smacked his face and fell to his lap, but he didn’t seem to notice. He only blinked at me. “I’m so confused. When did my life turn into this? That’s not how this is supposed to work.”
But then I realized I’d forgotten something extremely important. I paused, glancing toward Damen. “What about breakfast?”
Miles perked up, but Damen sighed. “There’s not going to be any time. Not if you’re suddenly walking Miles to class this morning.” He almost sounded upset but continued before I could call him out. “But I’ll be there to pick you up after your two o’clock class. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to take you somewhere. Miles can deal with his afternoon classes on his own, or you can punish him later. I’ll pick you up.”
“Don’t encourage her!” Miles said.
I ignored Miles’s bad attitude—change was always hard. Besides, what was Damen planning? Was he finally taking me to get some food? I should test him, try to deduce what he was plotting. I didn’t want to sound desperate, but he had promised.
“Oh…” I studied my nails, trying to appear nonchalant. If I did this the right way, I might be able to get a fancy meal out of the deal. “That’s almost dinnertime. Where are we going?”
“We’re meeting Gregory. He returns today,” Damen replied, not even looking at me as he finished packing his bag. “Then we’ll be taking a trip to the Almond Terrace.”
“Dr. Stephens? Didn’t you say that he’s an elder of this… council?” His unexpected reply distracted me from my thoughts of pasta and breadsticks. “Isn’t it a bad thing to see him? And what’s the Almond Terrace?” That didn’t sound like an Italian restaurant.
“Dr. Stephens is retired from the council. And the Almond Terrace is a retirement community,” Damen a
nswered, glancing at me. “After you spoke to her, I asked Brayden to look into Gloria Protean and her family. He’s discovered that Gloria registered her sister Grace there under an alias. We should see what she has to tell us.”
Chapter Three
Bianca
Flower
Even though I’d assured Miles I would be fine, waiting was boring.
I knew he was worried still. He made me promise not to meander around the campus, even though I really wanted to get a coffee. Instead, I had to wait outside of the science building for two hours for him to finish his classes.
He knew how to get me now. Miles had threatened to skip his own classes unless I promised to stay. I had no choice. So sneaky.
But even with hardly anyone outside this early, I hadn’t been able to concentrate on my book. My mind was too full of the morning’s discoveries.
So many things were happening, with so much new information coming in that it was difficult to make sense of it all. Even though I knew I didn’t need to figure out everything at once, I still wanted to.
In fact, I’d even started my own research with my new phone.
Yet, Google only helped so much when it came to information on the Wu Xing. Basic things that the guys had already covered: the Chinese Five Elements and their relation to each other. But nothing about magical powers or supernatural abilities.
Nothing about the world they’d described.
As sad as I was to admit it, I would have to settle for being woefully unprepared. It was unfortunate. Going into situations without the relevant information at the ready was not my favorite.
“What are you doing?” a deep male voice sounded from behind me, breaking through my thoughts.
“Miles!” I turned in my seat, placing a hand over my chest. Why did he have to scare me like that? “You can’t just do that to a person.”
“Sorry.”
He almost looked sorry, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
A second later, I forgot why I was annoyed at him to begin with. His cheeks were flushed, as if he’d run here. And there was a new level of cuteness in his expression.
And the aroma drifting from him was intoxicating.
“Here you go.” He held out a paper towel-wrapped parcel toward me. “I brought you breakfast.”
There was something not adding up here, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it might be. It was so hard to focus. I was starving, and Miles had actually brought me food. Damen always forgot to feed me.
But Miles, he always remembered. It had been his idea to go to the restaurant the other day. He was the one who picked up the Chinese. And he even brought me French food yesterday.
He was so sweet.
“Look!” After I accepted the sandwich, he pulled a flower from behind his ear. “I saw this outside of my building and picked it up for you.” He waited until I’d grabbed that also before he moved to sit beside me on the bench and pulled out his own breakfast.
I studied the camellia, temporarily forgetting about my sandwich. How interesting.
How odd was it that Miles happened to discover a flower of east Asian origin growing outside the Business Hall? Surely, I’d have noticed it earlier. But then again, I had a lot on my mind these days.
How did it get there? Could someone have raided the conservatory and scattered seeds throughout campus? It was the only explanation.
It was probably Bryce. He had access to everything, including the greenhouses. I wouldn’t put it past him to mastermind such chaos.
“Thank you.” I smiled at Miles regardless of my reservations. It wasn’t his fault, after all.
He grinned but didn’t say a word as he greedily ate his food.
After a moment of watching him, I nibbled at my own breakfast. Miles being here made it easier to relax, and the morning grew peaceful. We were alone, outside of the occasional walker. We sat under a tree while the cool autumn air brushed past us.
I could get used to hanging out with Miles.
Yet, as Miles finished his food and leaned back, relaxing his arm around my shoulders, a sense that something was off began to grow louder. I watched him as he sat with his eyes closed, trying to figure out the cause of my discomfort.
Was it the fact that as we sat, the area began to slowly trickle with students as classes changed? But why—
“Hold on!” The answer clicked as a crowd of student passed us, leaving the science building. “Miles, how in the world did you get here so fast? And with food? Your class should have ended like ten seconds ago.”
Miles’s eyes opened and his mouth quirked. “Don’t worry,” he said lazily. “It was a seminar class. I was excused early. That happens sometimes.”
I narrowed my eyes at him—he was lying.
“I’m not lying.” He moved forward, placing a hand on my knee. Even so, I continued to watch him, disapproving. I couldn’t allow his charming ways distract me.
He seemed to pick up on my displeasure. “You can ask Jin. He has that class with me.”
My brows furrowed as I tried to place the name.
My thoughts must have been obvious because Miles grinned sheepishly. “He’s my Er Bashou. I asked him to watch you yesterday. He was at the Starbucks.”
Oh, that’s right. The long-haired Asian guy who’d been so terrible at stalking me. Ms. Protean had said he was not a good detective.
The mention of his Er Bashou brought up something I’d been thinking about. “Didn’t you guys say that siblings usually ranked somewhere in the top three? What about Colette?”
Miles’s hand tightened slightly before he responded, his tone stilted. “Colette isn’t a witch, and she wants nothing to do with our world.”
There had to be a story behind that, but from his closed expression, now was not the time to pry.
“So…” Miles blinked, and as suddenly as it’d come, the dark edge of his posture vanished. He released my leg and pulled me into his side. “What are you researching? You’ve never said.”
“I’m reading The Hobbit.” I nodded toward the book, which now rested on top of my backpack near my feet.
“I can see that,” Miles replied, bemused. He studied the book a second before his gaze returned to my own. This line of questioning seemed to make him happy, for some reason. “And what are you researching?”
Wasn’t it obvious after our discussion yesterday? “Dragons, of course.”
My answer appeared to make him positively delighted, and his eyes widened in excitement. His smirk grew even wider as he responded. “Really? And why would you do that?”
Did I need to elaborate? I couldn’t imagine why. “Because of Titus…”
“That’s an absolutely inspired idea,” Miles praised, petting my head. “You should also read Eragon and The Chronicles of Narnia. They’ll help a lot.”
Eragon… I had never read that one before. But if Miles was suggesting it… “Okay.”
“Don’t let Titus know yet,” Miles continued, radiating innocence. “Not until you’re finished. First, apply some of your newfound knowledge to your interactions with him.”
“Oka—” I started, but stopped. No one looked that innocent without evil intentions. “Why?”
His expression didn’t change as he shrugged. “Because it’ll help.”
It would help what though? “Do you like to pick on Titus? He always seems to be on your case about being from France…” I wasn’t getting involved in a rivalry, was I?
“Titus doesn’t like French people,” Miles replied nonchalantly. “But that’s neither here nor there. You and I, we’ve got to keep him young. This experience will be good for him.”
“What experience?” Now I wasn’t sure about my plan at all. “What is the Metal element to you?”
Miles rolled his eyes. “You’re overthinking this.”
“Tell me.” I poked his arm.
“Fine…” He groaned. “In the cycle, Earth creates Metal. It is because of witches that shifters can maintain t
heir animal forms. So, you see, I’m helping Titus.”
I wasn’t certain of that. “Are you?” I asked. “Are you helping Titus?” Maybe I shouldn’t read these books at all. Maybe I should just talk to Titus directly.
“It’ll be fine.” Miles moved to his feet. “And it’s almost time for your class. Don’t antagonize Bryce today, for Damen’s sake. We’ll talk about Bryce and Brayden later tonight. Just stay out of the way and ace your quiz. I’ll pick you up to take you to French.”
But I wouldn’t have a quiz.
Everything else sounded doable though, especially the plan for lunch. So, I allowed Miles to change the subject. “Okay.”
Don’t antagonize Bryce.
What a joke. I never antagonized anyone. Ever.
I could do this. I would remain discreet and avoid my arch-nemesis’s attention for an entire class period. We were in a large lecture hall of fifty plus students. How difficult could it be? It already worked in my favor that Bryce hadn’t even glanced at me since he’d stalked into the room.
It was as if he knew.
He must realize our rivalry was at an all-time high. He knew he had no choice. That he was destined to be the loser. I was on to his antics, and he wouldn’t defeat me.
He was beginning to submit. He was learning.
Excellent.
The second the thought crossed my mind, he stopped mid-speech and his attention snapped toward me. As our eyes met, goosebumps broke over my skin and the weight of his attention caused my breath to catch.
I hadn’t expected this.
Why was he looking at me? I’d deliberately sat at the other end of the room. I was as far away from the offensive man as humanly possible.
But still, the way his gaze held mine—it was as if we were only feet apart.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from his, even though I longed to do so. The first two weeks of the semester, it’d been so easy to ignore him, to avoid his gaze. But now… something in me rebelled at the idea, even though I felt physically ill only looking at him.
