Page 49 of Of Blackened Blood (The Blackened Blade #3)

I glance toward Isaiah, a speck of respect growing with the disgust showing through his unkempt beard. He didn’t seem to like Greere Bane one bit.

I guess he gets a little brownie point for having a bit of sense and a spine.

Isaiah pulls a chair out from under the table and plops himself down, getting comfortable before gesturing for me to take the one opposite him. It almost seemed as if it were his house and not the guys’ with his complete ease in this situation.

I peek back toward Creed and notice the tight tick working its way into his jaw with Isaiah’s actions in his kitchen.

“It’s a long story, and there’s a lot to tell.” Isaiah waves toward the seat, waiting for me to take my place before beginning. His expression seems sincere, so I take the seat, waiting for him to start.

But as soon as I sit down, Ezra takes the space beside me, with Annex pulling a chair over to my other side and Mallyn standing directly behind me. Even Creed takes his place beside us with all their eyes focused fully on the man before us.

Isaiah scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“I’m no threat. I would never hurt her.” He watches me, the crease between his brows softening slightly.

“Because you knew my mom ... and uncle?” I ask, wondering what he knew that even Greere Bane didn’t.

“Lucien.” Isaiah replies, a tender tone leaving his lips with the name.

And it sends a small shiver through me, a sense of familiarity trying to work its way around me and remind me of something I’ve forgotten.

“Lucien was my closest friend ... and more like a brother.” A small smile lifts Isaiah’s lips as he continues.

“We met in our later teen years; Lucien, me, and Elandria.” His voice softens further with my mother’s name, a slight nostalgic look entering his gaze before he shakes it away and continues.

“I was orphaned from a young age and was always travelling. A shifter could never stay in one place for too long unless they wanted a nearby pack to attack them, claiming they were rogues.” Another scoff leaves his lips.

“But one day, I had done just that, stayed a day too long in a small town on the edge of nowhere and found trouble with a rogue group instead, wanting me to join them or pick me off from encroaching in their territory.” His brown eyes meet mine.

“It wasn’t theirs, but rogues can be dumb fucks who think they deserve everything they piss on. ”

I hear a small chuckle from Annex beside me as a grin tilts my lips.

“Unfortunately, they outnumbered me five to one and I was a young shifter with no proper experience or strength of my own.” A sigh leaves Isaiah’s lips, but the smile stretching his cheeks tells me it’s a fond memory. Even if his ass got kicked.

“Just as they were getting the better of me, Lucien appeared out of nowhere and lent me a hand. He pummelled three of them with more ease than I’d ever seen even a grown shifter do.

Even Elandria knocked out one with a glass beer bottle that was lying around.

” A chuckle leaves his lips, the sound gravelly and rough, like he didn’t do it often.

“They saved me that day, and I wanted to repay the debt.” A playful glint enters his eyes.

“So, I followed them. I kept chasing them wherever they went until they relented and let me join them. I was a persistent little prick back then.”

“Seems like you still are,” Annex adds, grinning. “Just older.”

My grin widens with their words and the small glare Isaiah gives Annex. One that now seems to lack any of the hostility they shared earlier.

“So, what happened then?” I ask, wanting to hear more about my mother and Lucien.

Greere never talked about my mother or her family. And it was a subject I just couldn’t bring up, not with how she had passed.

I thought it wasn’t my place, or that I would hurt him if I did. Or worse, back then ... that he would hate me more for mentioning her.

There was only one time he deigned to give me a speck of his attention, a night he was heavily drunk and before Seria came. He told me that her family were all gone and that there was no one else around.

No one else to take me ... that he was “left” with me.

I shake the memory away as Isaiah continues, his voice pulling me back.

“We stayed together from then on, helping each other, moving from one place to the next. We protected each other. And I would do anything for them.” His eyes become slightly glossy as they fall to the table, his voice falling a little lower, lost in his memories.

“We became the family none of us had. They helped me through my darkest of days, and I helped them with theirs.” He pulls himself from his thoughts, his gaze clearing as he meets my eyes again.

“It took them a little more time to open up to me like I did them, but when they did ... they told me everything they could about their past and family.” He glances toward my wrists, a slight smile lifting his beard up.

“But it seems you’ve already survived your first awakening.

” The curve of his lips turns apologetic, joining the look in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help. I remember how difficult it was for Lucien during his second awakening. ”

Second awakening? Will I have another one?

I twist my wrists around, fully showing my marks to him. “You know about these?”

Isaiah nods, his hand reaching toward mine before stopping in his tracks after hearing Mallyn’s light growl behind me.

Isaiah meets Mallyn’s gaze behind me and smirks before shaking his head. Like my Mate’s protest was cute .

“I know you have other marks on different areas, but those ...” Isaiah points to my wrists, keeping a respectful distance from my hands.

“They signal a higher awakening, and the start of your true journey with your abilities. Lucien already had those on his wrists when we met. But they may appear at different ages or stages for you with not having a blood guardian to help.”

“Did my mother already have hers too, like Lucien?” I ask, wondering if I was more like her and when she got her marks.

“Elandria was different. She didn’t get marks like Lucien or the rest of their family.” A small frown pulls his mouth downward. “She didn’t have the same power or strength they did either ...”

My brows furrow. What does that mean? Why was she different from her family? Then how do I have these abilities if she didn’t?

“Did I inherit this ability from the rest of her family? What power did she have? Why was she different?” My words rush out, impatience taking hold of me. How was something like that possible?

Had she passed on the abilities on to me but had none for herself?

Did she have any type of ability?

Isaiah brushes a hand down his jaw before briefly glancing toward my guys, a hesitant look in his gaze.

“It’s okay. They’re mine.” I meet Ezra’s, Annex’s, and then Mallyn’s gazes, their eyes softening instantly as we meet.

My words and glances toward my men have Isaiah’s eyes widening before a small grin curves his lips upward. “I guess you take after your mother in that respect.”

“What do you mean?” My brows cinch together in question as I look to him.

“Elandria always knew what she wanted. She was kind and soft-spoken, but she was also unstoppable and invincible when it came to the people she loved. She may not have been a powerful fighter with abilities like Lucien, but she loved to a fault, always trying her best and giving everything she did her all. She was just that kind of wonderful, a rare ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak world.” The smile tugging at his mouth and warming his gaze has me falling silent.

Then his words seep in. And a strange lump forms in the back of my throat hearing about her.

Nobody would ever tell me much about my mother, even her name was taboo in the Bane household. I could only glean bits here and there listening to the staff whispering around the manor when I was younger.

But the way Isaiah speaks of her ... it’s completely different.

There’s a warmth in his gaze and a softness in his voice.

It’s not rushed or whispered secrets or angry voices.

There is a care and affection around every thread of her story, and it makes me want to lean closer, letting the hours drift by as he tells me every piece of her past. Every little crumb and morsel he was willing to tell, I would happily take.

Listening to him makes me feel like I know her too.

Isaiah clears his throat, shaking away the emotion from his expression, pulling me from my own sentimental thoughts before he continues.

“Elandria’s ability was different from anything I have heard of, seen before, or since.

She could tell when bad things were going to happen and helped us avoid a lot of trouble.

It wasn’t all the time, and it wasn’t an ability she could use frequently, but .

.. we were able to avoid those that were hunting us because of her.

” His eyes darken, anger twisting his lips before he continues.

“Elandria knew certain things before they would happen and had a wisdom and clarity far beyond someone her age had. I don’t know much more than that.

Lucien said the less we knew the better.

I was just grateful for it and them.” Isaiah rubs a hand down his face, looking more tired as his elbows fall to the table.

“Who was hunting them?” asks Ezra, his face slightly pale as a look of worry flits across his features.