Page 79 of Of Blackened Blood (The Blackened Blade #3)

EZRA

M y eyes open, my hand sliding down my neck, my throat feeling torn and ripped with a burning pain I’ve never felt before. Or want to feel again.

My aching body begins to move on its own, edging closer to a large cement wall, sliding down it before leaning onto its cold bricks.

Then I hear it ... a sweet melodic voice that has my heart picking up its beat, almost in rhythm to her song.

It’s Micai. There is no mistaking my Mate’s beautiful voice.

But why is she here? How are we both here?

Panic takes over before my lips unwillingly part and a strange voice flows from my mouth, talking back and forth to Micai. But this voice doesn’t sound like mine; it sounds rough and coarse and like it belongs to someone else.

I hear Micai’s soft voice talking back, pulling me from my thoughts. It sounds lower, a sadness laced in her tone and her voice weaker than normal, as if she is exhausted or frail.

I feel a swirl of emotions run through me, not just mine but also from this body. Sadness, fear, despair, worry.

My hand reaches toward the wall, my forehead leaning against it as an overwhelming feeling of helplessness takes over me. The thought of wanting to protect her and keep her safe flickers through my mind over and over, but I feel so lost and powerless.

Her words cut off, silence filling both our spaces as I hear the rattle of keys, terror spiking through me as my body goes rigid.

I glance toward the door, waiting for whatever is to come. But I hear the unlocking of her door instead.

Rage and fear swirl into one as my body leaps up, running toward the large metal door in front of me as I hear gruff voices speak to her, calling her names and pulling her from her room.

I slam my hands against the door, over and over, my coarse voice growing coarser as I scream for them to take me and to let her go.

But my pleas are lost.

Their footsteps fade into the distance, taking her from me. And I can feel it in the very depths of me ... they are going to hurt her.

She will be more broken when she returns ... If she returns.

I sink down against the door, my head hitting its metal as small droplets drip down my cheeks. An agonising sob leaves my lips with my despair, as I pray for her safety. Praying she returns and that one day ... we can escape this hell together.

My eyes fling open, my heart beating out of my chest as my hands reach for my throat, remembering too vividly the pain of it all.

I try to calm my breathing, glancing around the large white cell, telling myself it was just a nightmare. One of too many I’ve had lately.

I brush a hand through my hair, my heartbeat slowing as I take a deep breath and peer around the room again only to find three sets of worried eyes looking back at me.

“Another nightmare, Ez?” asks Annex, stepping closer. His brows draw together as he takes a seat on the large grey leather bench I’m sitting on, a weary and pissed-off look etched across his face. “Don’t worry, we’ll get home soon.”

He glares darkly toward the large metal spelled door, holding us inside this “detainment” room. His mind is probably wondering how much damage the door can take before it finally breaks.

And by the look of the dents on the wall around it, and the scratches left in the metal door itself, it seems he’s tested the theory a few times while I was asleep. In that nightmare hell.

“Has nothing worked?” calls Creed from across the room, propped against the wall while sitting on his own leather bench. “Not even Desmelda’s sealing spells or advice?”

“She tried.” I shake my head. I had slipped out of town briefly, skipping a couple of classes to meet the Night Seer, seeking her help.

“But she said I was too intricately connected to them somehow, linked to them in some way. She said it was because my power was growing stronger that I was seeing them, and that they could mean something.” But I hope she was wrong.

These nightmares shouldn’t have any other meaning than being buried and forgotten. I never want me or my beautiful Mate to suffer through even a day of that shit.

A tremor works its way through my body with the vivid memory of that small dirty cell from my dreams.

I look around at the Council’s detainment cell, the room looking more like a luxurious penthouse in comparison to the cell from my nightmare.

It fits all four of us with ease and even has enough space for a little bit of walking. The ceiling and walls are a bright white, and the benches and floor are a warm, dark grey tone. The floor below us is also fully heated, and we’ve been given three warm meals a day since arriving here.

Long leather benches sit on both sides of the room and are big enough to sit or sleep on, even accommodating our larger frames.

I peer back toward the large metal door Annex is still having a staring contest with. It’s not the only thing in the room that’s spelled; the walls are also reinforced from top to bottom and laced with shielding and neutralising magic that contains even Mallyn’s beast.

Although I believe if he and Annex put their minds to it, they could break it all down.

But even if it’s no horror show, we are still being detained and wrongfully accused.

I peer around the room to my brothers and follow Creed’s steady gaze to Annex and Mallyn.

Annex notices Creed’s stare and sighs before pulling himself up to stand. “It’s not my fault we’re in here, so stop giving me that look. If you had kept proper eyes on Red, none of this would have happened in the first place.” Annex glares at Creed, anger cutting through his voice.

Creed ignores it, turning away. Even he can see Annex is lashing out because he is worried about Micai.

When we were taken by the Council, she was still unconscious, and it’s plagued all our minds how she’s doing or if she’s awake right now.

Annex begins pacing back and forth. “If you had let me fight them back then, we wouldn’t even be here.

We’d be beside Red, where we should be.” He stops pacing, glaring at Creed.

“What if she wakes up alone? What if ... what if she doesn’t—” He stops, shaking his head of the dark thought, placing his hand on his chest and on his Mate mark to remind himself of their bond.

It’s probably the only thing keeping him calm in here.

“She’ll be okay,” I answer, pulling myself up from the bench.

“Micai’s a fighter, Annex. You saw how she calmed down when we touched her.

Our bonds helped her somehow, and she was okay when we left the infirmary.

” I meet his gaze, watching him continue to rub that small space on his chest. “I know you can feel it like I do ...” I place my hand over my heart.

“If there was something really wrong, we would know ... like we did that night.”

Silence falls throughout the room, all of us remembering how we felt that day, knowing through our bonds that she was hurt and in danger.

An anxious look takes over Annex’s eyes.

“But she looked so weak when we left, Ez.” His voice slightly cracks as he continues, my brother fighting against his fear and own memories.

“When we found her that night ... she was screaming in pain ...” He shakes his head again.

“I never want to feel or see that again anywhere near my Red.” His eyes close tight, willing the image we all remember away, his voice falling to a low whisper.

“I wish I could take it all for her ... or at least be by her side.”

We had all gone crazy searching for her after that beast had pulled her away, Creed and I instantly contacting Annex and Mallyn when we couldn’t find her. We began pulling every bush and tree down in search of her.

But when all three of us felt an agonising ache in our chests, the pain only growing heavier as time went on, we knew it was related to Micai and that she was in danger.

Mallyn instantly shifted into his beast and tore through every tree and rock that stood in his way, lifting them from their roots.

Annex also ripped through every beast that we encountered and beat every student in our path, covering himself from head to toe in blood as he searched through every nook and cranny for Micai, looking like some walking horror story.

It took us tearing the barrier down completely before Mallyn caught her scent and we were able to find her.

We found Gadriel unconscious and slumped over her, protecting her small body as his own became burned and beaten from the barrier’s backlash.

We had only sent him one message when Micai had gone missing, and he had dropped everything instantly to go find her.

He had found and protected our Mate when we couldn’t, and for that I’m eternally grateful.

I had felt the light strings of a bond around him and Micai, my heightened powers sensing it when they were together. I brought him in to help Micai and maybe be another source of protection for her, but I still had my reservations about bringing him into our home ... but not anymore.

We also found a few corpses scattered around them that night. There was obviously some sort of fight. And for some reason Micai had been gravely hurt.

We found out later that the bastards had poisoned a blade and stabbed our Mate. The Domynions or The Facility had to be involved, I felt it with every fibre of my being.

And with every drop of blood in my veins and every bit of magic in my bones, I will hunt the bastards down and watch them burn for this.

My knuckles whiten with the strength of my fists clenching and unclenching. The memory of Micai yelling out in pain for hours, of her body damp with a fever that burnt through her as if it would melt the skin from her flesh, still plays out vividly in my mind.

I look toward each of my brothers. It plays in all our minds, it seems.

I hope with everything I have that she’s okay.

We haven’t known Isaiah too long, but of all the people I could have contacted, he came to mind when I thought of someone to entrust Micai with.

He also showed up at the academy, searching for us after the explosion and helping us straight away.

But none of us thought that this would happen or that we would be here this long. We thought we’d be out of here much sooner and be able to go back to her. But days have passed here.

They seem hell-bent on holding us and are apparently trying to use us as the reason behind the attacks, pinning the other ones on us too.

And I know how these corrupt bastards work. It’s easy for them to find “new evidence” that would point them toward us.

Annex and Mallyn destroying the forest and barrier probably didn’t help either. Or Annex fighting back when they tried to take us in the first place.

We had just managed to soothe Micai’s pain when they came, telling us we were to be detained for our “aggressive and grievous actions.” Bullshit.

They just wanted someone to blame, to make their job quick and easy so that they could go back to their corrupt dealings.

But none of us foresaw them throwing us in here and locking us down. They keep sentinels on all the doors and exits too.

And even though our combined power could probably take most of them down, being on the run with Micai and constantly watching our backs, never being able to settle down, is not something I want for our future together.

We’ll swallow the bullshit for a little longer, but they better release us soon. Or else it won’t just be Annex tearing this place down to get back to our Mate.

I make my way over to Annex, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll get back to her soon. You can feel her in the bond we all share with her.” I place my other hand on his chest. “You know she’s right there, telling us she’s okay and growing stronger each day.”

His anxious eyes meet mine as he gives me a small nod.

Just then the spells over the door glow before slowly receding.

Mallyn and Creed stand up, their eyes narrowed as they prepare themselves as the large door to the cell creaks open.

A blinding light shines in from the hallway as a familiar and unwelcome figure steps inside.

All our eyes widen, none more so than Creed’s, before his gaze turns into a murderous glare, one filled with absolute vitriolic hate.

“You’re being released under my care.” Thadeus grins, his sleek raven-black hair still as dark as his soul. He turns toward Creed, his grin growing at the glare aimed his way. “It’s time for you to come home .”