Claiming Trinity by Kali Willows Read Free Book Online Page B

perfect.
    “I forget things all the time, especially these past few weeks. I lose things constantly. I can’t sleep. I have terrible headaches and nightmares, and then there are the waking visions of brutal deaths I can’t seem to shut out anymore.” She shuddered.
    “It’s okay.” Arawn reached across the table and set his hand over hers. “You don’t have to share. It sounds too painful.”
    “Oh, pish-posh.” She waved her hand and blew out of her pressed lips. “It all happened when I was six. I found out the truth today.” She shook her head. “But then, Sage gave me some tea, and I feel kinda funky now.” Trinity tipped her head side to side with an exaggerated sigh.
    Kane and Arawn sat in awkward silence .
    I can’t believe such a pure soul as Trinity’s is housing so much tragedy. I don’t sense insanity. Even the presence of mental illness spikes my shoulder blades with potential for danger. I don’t get that with her at all. It doesn’t make any sense. This can’t be right.
    “The worst part,” she continued, “was six months ago.” She propped her left elbow on the table beside of her salad and planted her chin in her palm. Her sensual lips curled downward into a frown.
    “What happened six months ago?” Kane couldn’t help himself. The need to know infused every atom of his being.
    “I cried the tears of blood.”
    “Excuse me?” Arawn whispered. “What do you mean?”
    With an exuberated exhale, she slouched her shoulders. “When a banshee foresees a death, she wails the banshee cry to let people know to prepare to say good-bye to their loved one.”
    “Do all banshees cry blood?” Kane had heard tales of her breed over the last millennia but never a word about this bizarre twist. The more she shared, the more mystery clouded his perception of her.
    “No, that’s the whole point. I’ve only ever cried tears of blood once before, with the pending death of my parents. This time….” Her lower lip quivered. “I foresaw the death of my uncle.”
    “You did?” Kane’s heart sank.
    “Yup. For a brief while, I really thought we would be okay if we lived in the human world.” She sank back into her seat with a pout.
    “Because?” Arawn had pushed his dinner to the side and studied her with dark fascination.
    “My uncle refused to let me live in Ireland, among the other banshees or otherwise.”
    “Why?” Kane cocked his head. Banshee’s come from Ireland. It’s strange not to be raised among your own breed.
    “To start with, he was mortal, but my father was a banshee.”
    “I thought banshees were only women?”
    “It’s true, males are rare in our race, but my father was one. He and my uncle were half-brothers.”
    “Why did your uncle refuse to raise you with your race?”
    “The little information he shared never seemed to paint the whole picture for me. He said after my parents’ deaths, we fled Ireland for safety and the sovereign of the banshee had become corrupt. He honored my mother’s final wishes and raised me away from the tribe.” She bit her lip and gazed at the table.
    “If you couldn’t live among your own, what did you do?” Arawn propped his forearms on the table.
    “We moved a great deal, every few years, and traveled the world.”
    “To travel so much…sounds exciting,” Arawn prodded.
    Trinity pursed her lips. “Not really. Each time we got settled, Uncle Connor would get anxious and pack us up to go. We kept to ourselves mostly.”
    “Well, it would be hard on a child,” Kane agreed.
    “Once I got older, I went to college, got my degree, set up the perfect mundane life, and the humans seemed to accept me and didn’t ask many questions. They didn’t know my history or lineage. My uncle had grown old and frail. I convinced him to stay with me so I could take care of him.”
    “Then what?” Kane pressed for more, cautious not to overwhelm her.
    “We had just come home from a nice dinner out. I glanced at him and his aura turned