Page 81 of Black Onyx
Without looking at Killian, I ask, “Can you clear all of our magical signatures and any DNA from the room, please?”
I see him nod slightly from the corner of my eye and walk away from the area and back to the others, still not looking at any of them and keeping my face blank. I know they all saw the blade, and I know that they’ve all heard the stories of the assassin who uses black blades embedded with purple gems. They’ve also just listened to what I’ve said to my father. They’re going to have questions, and if they don’t decide to abandon me, I will answer them. It's time that they knew that part of my life. No matter how nervous it makes me. I’m preparing myself for rejection and mistrust. How that will play into the fact that we’re stuck together for life as a team, I don’t know. Not to mention the Warrior games.
I jump when I feel a hand rest on my back. I have no idea who it is but my hope soars. They wouldn’t touch me if they were about to abandon me, right? Poca appears at my side, and I bury my hand into the fur on his back, needing his unending and unconditional support.
“It’s all done. All traces of us are removed. We need to head back.” Killian says, barely above a whisper.
I nod and pull my magic forward, feeling two of them thread their fingers through mine as I pull us into the Void, and we start forward along the path that only I can see in silence. I can practically feel the questions hanging in the air.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Alright, no. Stop.” Loki suddenly says into the silence, pulling me to a stop. “Farren, please explain.”
“Now?” I ask.
“Yes, I don’t want something to distract us when we get back, and I think we all want to know what we just saw.”
I take a deep breath, “Okay, I owe you that much. Just remember that whatever I say next, you can’t let go of me, or you’ll be lost in here.”
“Alright,” Storm is the one to reply, and it shocks me when I feel a squeeze on my other hand and look up to find him holding it.
“The weapon is mine; I have several, and they’re made specifically for me.”
“So, no one else could possibly own one of these?” Mayhem clarifies.
“No, and I’m sure you know what that means. You all know my father was an absolute bastard, but it goes a bit deeper. He trained me from when I could walk to be the ultimate killing machine for him. He’s always had his own agendas and people he wants dealt with without going through the proper channels. I guess he assumed what better way to ensure obedience than to train and torture your own daughter into compliance. No one would believe that such a kind and generous man could ever treat his beloved daughter that way, and he had enough guards and staff that would vow on their deathbeds that he was an amazing father that I couldn’t tell anyone even if he hadn’t tortured me into compliance due to fear of worse.” I pause, studying their horrified faces. “When I was fifteen, he sent me out on my first kill job. I succeeded barely; after that, it was more training and more assassinations. I’ve lost count of the people I’ve killed, and I know that sounds callous. I can tell you the number of all the innocents I saved from him though, new identities, locations, and he still, to this day, he thought they were dead.”
“How many?” Rival asks gently.
“One-hundred and fifty-nine.”
“Holy fuck.” Killian exclaims, his tail for once dead still as if he’s in shock.
“Something happened three years ago, something that I can’t talk about yet. I’m sorry. But when I was finally found, a few months before I came here, it did something to my father, and he finally allowed my uncle to enrol me at the academy.”
“Farren, look at me,” Killian asks, his voice soft.
“Look at us, please?” Storm adds his tone the same as his brothers.
I look around at them all, and my heart stops. There’s no judgement, no hatred, nothing but understanding.
“Love,” Loki starts gaining my attention, and my eyes drift to him, “we’ve all been fucked over by our families. We’ve all been made to do things we shouldn’t have had to do. There will be no judgement from us.”
“Even though I’m insanely curious, I’m not going to ask how you managed to save that many people on such a large scale. It’s fucking impressive.” Mayhem adds, surprising me when he leans forward and kisses my forehead. “We’ve got you, and we aren’t going anywhere. You fit, remember? The last piece of the puzzle.”
“Well said, mate,” Rival agrees, slapping him on the back and looking at me meaningfully.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Loki adds.
Reaper just nods firmly once and looks like he’s trying to stop himself from reaching for me, Killian and Storm just stare at me, and when I raise my eyebrow in question, they roll their eyes and give me the same duh look, making them look more like the brothers they are than they ever have.
“Thank you,” I whisper and then turn to look at Mayhem, “I’ll tell you all about it one day, but for now I can tell you that I’m very good at illusions.”
They look confused, so with the Void fuelling my magic, I create an illusion of a dead body on the floor by our feet.
“Whoa, that almost looks real,” Rival mutters, creeping closer.
“Touch him,” I suggest.
