Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown #2) - Keri Arthur Page 0,42

to start giving me some answers.”

She sighed. “Fine, although I will add that Vita did heal you, which indicates your De Montfort genes are not only present but viable.”

“Except De Montforts have never been able to heal themselves.” I motioned toward her booted foot. “For example.”

“Well, yes, but few De Montforts have ever been able to access Nex’s power in the way you have, and I suspect the same can be said of Vita.”

Confusion stirred. “Doesn’t their power come from centuries of De Montforts using them as conductors?”

“Yes, but that was not their initial intent. None of your more recent ancestors have accessed them in the way you have. Your mother certainly didn’t.”

“But I have vague memories of her using them—was she simply channeling her own force through them?”

Mo nodded. “Not even Rhedyn—who was the only other De Montfort to call lightning from the daggers—could access their full magic.”

There was something in her voice this time that caught my attention. “Was she … your daughter?”

Mo smiled. “No. She was my granddaughter.”

Which meant she’d been alive well before Uhtric’s time. I reached for another biscuit to help me cope with that gobsmacking revelation. “So you were already ancient when the main dark gate was breached?”

She whacked me on the arm. “In near immortality terms, I was barely out of my teenage years.”

“So this would be your middle age?”

“It’s perhaps a little more than that.”

“So why didn’t you know what was written on the back of the throne? Or even what’s written on the King’s Stone?”

“Because I left Ainslyn once Darkside had been re-caged.”

“Why?”

She grimaced. “Uhtric and I … we didn’t exactly get along. He was an excellent warrior and a good leader, but as a man? He left a lot to be desired.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Did you and he ever …?”

“Good god, no! I think I have better taste in men than that.” She took a sip of tea. “He was not only arrogant, but unfaithful to his wife—two traits I can’t abide, even if it was quite common back then.”

“How long were you away from Ainslyn?”

“Long enough to lose contact with my descendants here. I came into your father’s life when he was barely two.”

“I never knew that.”

“Gregory—his father—died in a bus rollover. I stepped in to help Fiona raise the two boys. Sadly, she passed just before you and Max were born.”

I topped up our teas and then said, “So why was Rhedyn given Nex and Vita in the first place? And what, exactly, was their original purpose?”

Mo pursed her lips. “Rhedyn was the Queen’s Defender—”

“She was a Blackbird?”

“No. Blackbirds were the king’s knights and protectors of the crown. They were—and are—always men, so it was impossible for them to guard the queen in all situations.” A faint smile touched her lips. “The queen’s guard came into existence after Gwenhwyfar’s fall from grace.”

Gwenhwyfar had been the first Witch King’s wife. She’d apparently fallen madly in love with the Blackbird sent to escort her back to the court for the wedding and had paid a high price for it. She’d been forced to uphold the marriage contract and bear the king an heir and had eventually decided it was better to kill herself than remain with a man she did not love.

The Blackbird had things a whole lot easier, as he’d only been banished. He’d apparently gone to the Lady of the Lake seeking help, but the fact he’d left the kingdom without the woman he loved incensed Vivienne. She decreed their souls would be reborn down through the ages but would never find happiness until he held true to his heart rather than his duty and allegiance to king and crown.

Mo believed Luc and I were this generation’s rebirth, and I wasn’t about to argue—not only because of the instant and undeniable attraction that existed between us, but also because I’d been able to see into his memories with just a touch. I wasn’t telepathic in any way, shape or form; the ability had apparently come from the fact that, with each rebirth, the bond between us strengthened; eventually, we would be one in heart, mind, and soul.

Of course, I’d only gotten a glimpse into his thoughts and memories that one time, so whether that meant our link still had development potential, I couldn’t say. And I certainly wasn’t sure I wanted to catch his thoughts on a more regular basis—especially if it confirmed his mind really was set on living an ‘unencumbered’ life, as he so charmingly