Homesick Book 2. The Secrets of Blackthorn Manor

A Fresh Start

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Chapter One

A Fresh Start

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Blackthorn Manor was a flurry of movement. It was the closing days of winter, the air still bitingly cold but the day outside promised weak sun. There was the first scents of fresh blooms and blossoming cherry trees. The winter months had been a long and difficult period for every member of the Blackthorn household, especially its two owners, Adrian Blackthorn and his naga mate, Owethu Selvagem.

To say the relationship was unusual would be like saying the Amazon made a fairly decent river. As far as either of them knew, a relationship between a naga and a human practitioner was unheard of. At least in the sense that the human didn't get eaten at the end of the week. Adrian and Owethu had now been living together for three months, a world record by his own clan's calculation given that naga were not known for emotional connection of any kind. The South African man was certainly blunt. He often spoke without taking into consideration the impact of his statements. He really never cared if others liked his opinion.

Easy to do when you're immune to almost every poison known to mankind, have nearly unbreakable skin and are already over four hundred years old. Adrian often had to remind himself of this when he and his lover argued. Which was often.

'I have no interest in this event,' the naga said as Adrian tried to corner him on the way out of the enormous manor house.

'Neither do I, but we are expected to attend!' Adrian said, already exasperated.

'It is a political event for power-hunger humans and bored super-naturals.'

'You are literally describing every fundraiser by the High Council of Practitioners. As one of the founding families, the Blackthorns have to be there.'

'I am not a Blackthorn," the naga said bluntly.

'No, you are effectively my damn fiancé! We are supposed to be showing the world how unified and put together we are, remember? So, I don't get shipped off to the looney bin?' Yes. A lot had changed for Adrian Blackthorn.

His life had taken a nasty downward spiral when his parents and younger sister, Jenny, had been killed in a car crash the day Adrian had graduated from high school. Instead of celebrating with his friends, he was being consoled in an empty hospital room by several nondescript adults who attempted to tell him that his whole world had essentially been destroyed in a matter of minutes. This loss had only been made more potent by the fact that Adrian was meant to be with his parents and sister that night. They had wanted to celebrate as a family, but Adrian insisted on staying on campus to celebrate with his friends. Unfortunately, this story only got more depressing. See, every practitioner specialised in something. Some were experts in elemental magic, like Adrian's best friend Daniel who was a pyrokinetic.

Adrian's gift was in shield making.

Yes, in case those values weren't adding up, if he, Adrian, a shield maker, had been in the car, there was a very good chance the impact that hit the car never would have slaughtered those inside it. A fact that followed him every damn day. He spent the first year after his family's death merely existing rather than living. Unable to face the enormous manor house he lived in, he had bought a smaller house in the suburbs and moved in.

He even got a cat. Or rather, a cat showed up outside the house one day and decided Adrian was its owner. He named the cat Prince and didn't think his life could get any more twisted, until Daniel had talked him into coming out of hiding and attending the Quadrennial Conference where Adrian found out he had a soul bond to one of the city's oldest nagas.