"Mara?"
I turn my head, and to my surprise, Nathaniel Black is standing in the doorway, looking as serious as ever.
"Daddy!"
His blue eyes suddenly soften when his daughter runs to him. She really is his copy... They have the same striking blue eyes, and even her blonde hair is closer to her father's shade. They chat for a couple of minutes, but apparently, they already saw each other today, so Estelle quickly comes back to finish her mix with the flour. I hesitate, and Liam tightens his arms around me too.
"Can I speak to Mara... alone?" Nathaniel insists.
Liam and I exchange a glance, but he reluctantly lets me go to his brother.
"If he's rude, you can burn his eyebrows!"
I chuckle, but I'm still very nervous. Without saying anything else, Nathaniel walks out to the garden, toward the firepit. Ayesha seems to be simply meditating and to my surprise, she's got a sort of big dark lizard with large scales and a strange head on her shoulder... Her familiar?
Nathaniel briefly growls as a warning, probably not happy with yet another witch invited... however, he ignores her, and we walk even further past the firepit. I suddenly realize, he doesn't want the others to hear what he's about to say. I glance over my shoulder, and indeed, Liam is at the kitchen's window, staring our way.
“Tell me if he says something nasty.”
“No eavesdropping, hot stuff.”
With that, I cut off our mind-link. I hope I'm not going to regret being alone with his older brother... If Damian Black is a hurricane, Nathaniel is like a snowstorm. That guy has the aura of a cold-blooded murderer. I don't know if it's my werewolf instinct or my witch senses speaking, but I'm not fond of being alone with him. Are Nora and Selena immune to his aura or something? I can almost see it, the black cloud around him... I blink several times to ignore it, and he turns to me once we're far enough.
He takes a deep breath, and to my surprise, simply puts his hand in his pants' pocket, looking relaxed.
"I think our last meeting wasn't the best," he simply says.
"Uh... yeah, I guess."
When he found me in his brother's apartment acting all lovey-dovey? Yeah, not the best memory I have either...
He lets out a long sigh, and nods.
"I won't apologize for that. I have always done my best to protect my brothers, especially Liam. He tends to be reckless, and with our history, I didn't think him seeing a witch was the best thing either."
Yep, I definitely got the message about that...
"The truth is, Liam was hurting a lot after what happened during the war; Damian and I had... a lot of other things to focus on, and we felt sorry neither of us could really help. Even Nora tried her best, but Liam ignored us for a while. He was at a low point, and none of us were able to help him. He became almost like a rogue."
I nod. I'm not sure where he's going with this, but I'm kind of glad it isn't the he's-too-good-for-you kind of talk... It's not, right?
"Anyway... When you came along, I was rather surprised he was finally learning to be more... open toward others. I didn't think he'd accept another witch into his life so easily."
I cough a bit, unable to hold it in. So easily? I have memories of me running after some stubborn guy in the rain that doesn’t match Nathaniel’s words. He makes it sound like Liam literally fell for me on day one. Not that I would have hated it, but there's more to our story than that...
"Then again, I suppose I can be quite... stubborn, in my own right. I also tend to rely on my wife's opinions a lot, and as you know, Selena wasn't fond of you, either, at the beginning."
"Truthfully, she was right not to be," I sigh. "Selena was able to tell a part of me was... still containing some darkness."
Nathaniel nods, but without looking my way. Actually, I realize he's probably keeping an eye on Ayesha, somewhere behind me. Ever the watchdog, I guess... He takes a deep breath.
"Anyway. Time has passed, and... I have to admit, you've proven yourself to be more than what we thought you to be. I acted rude too, that time at Liam's apartment. Not only to you, but I didn't trust my brother with his... choice, either. I am probably the worst in this family, in terms of being able to judge people."
"It's... alright," I nod. "I wouldn't have trusted myself either. Moreover, I... I am happy that Liam has older brothers like you to count on. ...In case he meets the wrong witch."
Nathaniel smirks.
"Indeed. Anyway, this is my... apology, for before. From both me and Damian, actually. Don't expect this kind of talk from our older brother, though, so I'm just saying this for the both of us."
