Page 41 of Gift from the Tree

“Oh, I didn’t realize that was what I was drinking. I thought it was just tea. That makes sense, though, seeing as I feel amazing every time I drink it.” She shoots Gaster an appreciative smile. One she’s never given me, and probably never will once she finds out everything I’ve been keeping from her.

“Would you like to join us?” I ask Gaster before he goes inside, knowing it’ll make her happy, but also because I’m tired of getting his cold shoulder.

“No, you kids run along. I have lots to get together here before we all head to the academy in the morning.”

When he returns, he has two healing vials, one for the trip there and one for the trip back. He goes to hand them to me, when Willow cuts in, “I can carry them with me since I’m the one who has to take them.”

“It’ll probably be best for Corentin to carry them, little wanderer. Instead of throwing up, you might pass out. Don’t want to break them.”

She grimaces at Draken’s words but nods in agreement. I hope she doesn’t do either but better safe than sorry.

“Who am I transporting with? And when can I learn to do it on my own?” Her previously stricken face is replaced with an excited smile.

“That can be something you and Gaster work on during your morning sessions if he believes you’re ready for it. And you can transport with either me or Draken, whichever you prefer.” I figure giving her a choice rather than ordering her to my side would help me in the long run. Pick my battles and all that shit.

“How about you transport with Corentin there and me on the way back? That way if you do throw up on the way there, it’ll be on him not me,” Draken suggests with a wink at her, which makes her laugh.

Surprisingly, she listens to him and steps right up beside me. “I’m not sure what to do. I’m not even one hundred percent sure what a transport is other than it gets you from point A to B. When Gaster transported me here, I couldn’t even hold myself up, so I was hanging onto him for dear life.”

“This time shouldn’t be as bad as that. You were jumping realms when Gaster transported you, which is very different than transporting within Elementra.” I stick my arm out for her to grab ahold of, not specifying all she has to do is touch my arm.

Instead, she links our arms together and cuddles closer to me. I can feel the outline of her body pressed against mine and fight to keep my shit together. The fucking bond in my chest ignites, pushing at every instinct in me to wrap her tiny little body up in my arms and never let her leave my sight.

Needing a distraction, I dig through my nonmagical realm history to think of a way to explain to her what transporting is. Draken told me she likes things in simple terms, but that she catches on to pretty much anything fast, so I figure a quicker, simpler explanation with suffice for now, and she can get the technical terms from Gaster later.

“In the nonmagical realm, I believe they’ve debated for many years what they call teleportation. Well, the concept derived from this realm, but we have always called it transporting, but it’s the same thing. When I begin transporting us, you’re going to feel like we’re spinning in darkness, but it’s only going to last a few seconds. That’s us moving through the fabric of Elementra. Then our destination will appear in front of us, like an opening, and we just step out.”

“Holy shit, yeah, it’s been debated but never done. Whew, okay, let’s do this.” She blows out her breath and bobs her head up and down, giving herself an internal pep talk. I wait until we enter the darkness to let myself smile at her.

Fuck, this is going to be harder than I thought.

“Not too bad, little wanderer. You just wabbled a little.” Draken beams a huge smile at her as she throws the healing vial back. She didn’t throw up, but as soon as I saw her sway and her pale face, I handed it over to her.

“I most certainly would’ve gotten sick if Corentin hadn’t handed that over so quickly. It would’ve happened when I took a few steps,” she admits, leaning against me, closing her eyes and waiting for the remaining dizziness to fade.

“Still, for your second time transporting, you handled it like a champ,” he says as he steps up beside her and starts rubbing her back.

“Thank you.” She hums in appreciation. “You were right, Corentin, that wasn’t nearly as bad as when Gaster brought me here. It was way faster, so I think that helped. The last time I felt like we were spinning for minutes not seconds.”

“It’ll get easier. You won’t even feel the dizziness by the end of the week,” I tell her confidently as she shakes out her body.

“Fuck, I hope so. Where to now?” she asks before turning around and gasping. I think she’s about to be sick when she throws her hand up to cover her mouth, but when I step up beside her, I see the look of surprise on her face.

“Holy shit, it’s a castle. Oh my God,” she shrieks, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

About a hundred yards in front of us stands Vito Academy in all its glory. We’re currently standing in the front courtyard, getting a perfect view of the massive stone building. My family founded the academy over a millennium ago. My great-great-grandparents’ Nexus built the entire grounds with their elements and gifts. Making a haven for the strongest of our community to come and learn how not to be a threat to others and how to protect themselves from those who were a threat to them.

“Shall we?” I extend my hand toward the academy, gesturing for Willow and Draken to move forward.

Draken grabs her hand, dragging her ahead as he informs her we wouldn’t be transporting in here when classes start, but we wanted to give her the full view and tour.

As we approach the front doors, I reach out to grab one door handle, Draken the other, and in sync, we open the doors to reveal the huge, open entryway. The massive windows cast a glow of natural light, highlighting the room in different shades, and with them open, there’s always a gentle breeze that smells crisp and fresh.

Soft greenery covers the dull stone of the walls, with a never-ending fireplace underneath the balcony that sits where the two staircases round and meet on the second floor. Hanging from the banister are five flags, each representing one of the four elements. The middle flag represents a Primary, completing the Nexus.

“It’s so homey and welcoming in here. I was expecting very lavish and ritzy,” she says with wide eyes, taking in the large foyer.

“Is that a bad thing or a good thing?” Draken asks nervously. He’s going to search for her approval all day.

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