Page 104 of Gift from the Tree

“Everyone ready?” Tillman asks, receiving a nod from everyone other than her. He stares into her eyes for a moment, and when he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, he begins to step toward her, but she shakes her head. I see the moment he reads her thoughts to figure out what happened, and I watch as my best friend’s heart breaks into pieces, his eyes misting over, denial warring with acceptance crossing his features. He stops mid-step and backs up.

Tears are filling her eyes again as she brokenly orders, “Let’s go.”

With that, we transport back to the academy training fields. It’s full of healers waiting for our arrival and the E.F. teams that came back before us. The palace teams that were with us will transport the prisoners to the holding cells before coming back to be healed, so we have a few minutes before it becomes a madhouse here.

My gaze follows Gaster as he runs up to Willow and wraps her up in a hug. The same with Draken, she doesn’t hug him back, just lays her head on his chest. I start making my way over to her, as Corentin and Tillman fall into step with me, but Oakly beats us to her, throwing her arms around her in a final hug that she actually returns. That’s the embrace that breaks her because she instantly falls into Oakly sobbing, her whole body vibrating as her tears tear through her.

“What happened? What’s wrong? Talk to me,” Oakly commands, holding Willow’s face in her hands.

“Please, little wanderer. Tell us what happened.” Draken steps back from the girls and gives Willow a pleading look.

At the sound of his voice, she whips her head around and looks at all of us with such hurt and despair. “You happened. You all happened.”

“What are you talking about?” Oakly asks, concern and secondhand anger evident in her tone.

“They lied to me,” she whispers through her tears.

“About what?” Oakly steps up beside her, shoulder to shoulder in solidarity.

This must be what the little research available on Perfecta Anima bonds was talking about. Oakly has no idea what’s going on but is ready to protect and defend Willow no matter what, and if ever put into the position, Willow will do the same. Sisters through and through, just without the blood relation. It’s the same as me and my Nexus brothers. It’s a force of nature not to be fucked with, and I know, in order to reach Willow, now we’d have to force our way through Oakly.

“I’m their true Primary, and they kept it from me. They weren’t sure if they wanted that with me,” she says with so much sadness in her voice, pressure builds in my chest as my bond withers.

“Willow, please,” Draken, who has tears coming down his face, begs, but as he steps closer to her, she steps back.

“Oakly, get me out of here.” Her whisper breaks but the request is clear.

“No,” Corentin shouts, lunging forward to stop them, but it’s too late. As soon as the words left Willow’s lips, Oakly grabbed her hand, and they were gone.

“Fuck. Find them. How do we find where they went?” Corentin immediately begins flipping his shit, a halo of light surrounding his body.

“You don’t. You all need to figure this out here. Give her some time. I’ll try contacting the girls,” Gaster says, shooting all of us looks that would’ve made us cry as children.

“What did you do?” Draken growls as he shoves me in the chest.

“Our awakening happened when she found me. I told her the truth.” I thought I’d die there in front of her, and she needed to know it wasn’t his fault, their fault. I caused this.

“And what version of the truth was that, Caspian, your truth or mine?” His eyes shift back and forth dizzyingly and if I didn’t know that his fire or dragon wouldn’t be able to hurt me, I’d be afraid he was preparing to eat my ass right now.

“Both, Draken. I promise I told her that you’ve been against keeping this from her from the start. I told her you nor Gaster wanted it to be like this from the moment she arrived.” I plead with my eyes for him to believe me.

He lets out a roar so loud, everyone around us, other than our brothers, hits the ground, covering their ears. Then he’s gone. When I turn to the others, both wear regretful looks on their faces. Neither taking it out on me the way Draken just did, but that’s because on some level they know they’re just as responsible.

Corentin walks up to me and pulls me in for a hug, and the turmoil of emotions coursing through his veins right now shake his whole body. But as always, he’s more worried about me than himself. “I’m glad you’re safe, Cas. I thought I lost you again,” he whispers.

“Not this time, brother. She was remarkable,” I say, using the same low whisper he did. No one can find out right now that she’s able to access two elements. Just like us and our rare abilities, it’ll make her a priceless commodity in the eyes of the sick and twisted living in this realm.

“Did they all make it back?” I ask Tillman as we step toward where he’s staring grimly over all the E.F. members who are being treated.

“Yes, of the teams Corentin brought,” he says mournfully. Between what just happened with Willow and now having a moment to think of the three members who died earlier today, he’s in a hard spot. I can see the wildness leaking into his eyes and his posture’s taut with anger, hurt, and unbalance. No longer the levelheaded leader, but a shaken, broken creature.

“Let’s get this situated so we can head home. There’s a lot I need to share with everyone,” I order vaguely.

Corentin’s pacing and pulling his hair again. His need to find her is about to overrule all other logic right now.

“Have any of you seen Oakly?” Ry asks, stomping over to where we’re huddling, followed closely by Nikoli, San, and Jamie

“She just whisked Willow away. We don’t know where they went. Gaster’s going to try to find them,” Corentin informs him, his anger and worry creeping through his tone.

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