Page 119 of Gift from the Tree

I’m crying again, but at least this time, it isn’t the Primary bond flooding me. It’s my own feelings. Draken doen’t need to explain it to me. I already know. And Caspian… We’ve got a long way to go no matter what. I know his reasoning from our awakening and that conversation will only happen with time.

I may have felt like they didn’t choose me, but in their minds, they were choosing me, just in a different way. They were choosing my safety rather than including me and us working together. That’s not going to work moving forward.

“Do you all want this?”

“More than anything,” Draken says, as both Corentin and Tillman answer, “Yes.”

Caspian’s the only one who doesn’t respond. Turning to face him, I can see the internal battle he’s having between not trusting this and longing for this. I’m facing the same war in my own mind right now, so when he gives a short nod, I give him one back.

“Do you, little wanderer?”

“Yes, I do, but I’ve got to be honest with all of you. I’m very confused. I’m currently fighting a battle between keeping you all away from me and throwing caution to the wind and diving headfirst in. It’s wreaking havoc on me to the point I’m physically ill, I can’t sleep, and I don’t know the difference between my own feelings or what the bond is pushing me to feel. We have to start over. No more secrets, no more lies. I need your honesty, and I’ll do the same with all of you.”

This part is going to kill me to say, but I refuse to be hidden away or treated as an afterthought. I refuse to live my life with men who don’t cherish me, want to show me off, or truly be with me.

“And I’ll only say this once. Don’t make me feel like a dirty secret again. If you are ashamed of me, tell me now, don’t make me feel worthless or that I’m not good enough for you. Not in private or in public.”

I look all of them in the eye, letting my vulnerability bleed through me as my tears cascade down my face. I won’t shy away from these feelings because they need to see that if they put me through something like this again, I’ll leave. I’ll run as far away as I can, bond be damned. I’ll figure out how to break it.

I can feel the shift in energy as they all surround me. Pinching my chin between his thumb and finger, Corentin tilts my head to force my eyes to lock with his.

“You’re not worthless. You’re worth more than a thousand of us.” He releases my chin as a hand cups my cheek and turns my head.

“You already mean everything to me. I’ll roar it so fucking loud, all of Elementra will hear me,” Draken says as he rubs under my eyes, wiping the tears away. He turns my head toward Tillman, who tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“It’s me who isn’t good enough for you, but I won’t be letting you go. I’m yours, little warrior.”

Caspian steps closer to my back, leaning his forehead on the back of my head. He lays his hand on my hip, gives it a squeeze, and lets it linger there for a moment before stepping away. I won’t get any words from him just yet, but one day I will.

“What now?” I ask.

“We start over,” Corentin states firmly.

“Where?” I whisper to no one, all of them. Where do we go from here?

“Open up the earth, little wanderer. Let’s see what you can do.”

Twenty-Five

Draken

Fuck, she’s an absolute natural.

For the past hour, we’ve sat back and watched Willow kick absolute ass at getting control over her earth element. She crushed all of Tillman’s little tests he set out for her and now she’s creating the things he calls out left and right.

“Is it normal that my air element wants to come out and play as well?” she asks, turning to Tillman, gently patting her chest like she’s trying to soothe her other element.

“I have no clue, but I’d assume so. No harm in trying,” Tillman tells her.

None of us know how this is going to play out with her having two elements now, and her gift still not being present, so we’re learning right along with her. Luckily, both Tillman and Corentin are stronger with their elements than anyone in Elementra. And I don’t just say that because they’re my brothers. It’s a fucking fact.

She sits there for a moment, pondering what to do before she calls on her earth element and opens the ground up beneath her, falling right in with it.

All four of us shoot up, running toward the hole yelling her name, but before we even hit the lawn, she comes shooting out of the hole, sitting on top of what looks like a wave of sand. The air and dirt continue to swirl around her legs as she laughs hysterically.

“Fuck, don’t do that, kitten. I almost had a heart attack. I thought you got yourself swallowed up in that hole.” Mimicking her, I rub my chest to soothe my dragon, who’s now on high alert, pacing around.

“Sorry, I had a super morbid thought and wanted to see if I could get myself out of a grave.” Fucking hell, she says that with a smile still lingering on her lips, like it’s completely normal for people to be put inside of grave holes. It’s strange how that’s now two things that have come up from our awakenings today. First Tillman, but in my awakening, I saw when she was put into that grave by her father as a child. I can’t help but wonder if it happened more than one time.

---