Page 136 of Gift from the Stone

“I have no clue why they continue to warn me to stay out of trouble. I don’t do anything to get in trouble,” I grumble sarcastically to Oakly and Gaster when they leave.

“No, nothing. It’s not like you’re jumping in front of poisoned daggers and almost dying or anything.” Oakly snorts.

“Oakly,” I shout at the same time Gaster yells, “What?”

“Shit. I forgot. I’m sorry.” She swears wide-eyed, looking between me and Gaster.

I haven’t told him what happened at Terravile yet. I asked everyone not to bring it up with him, that I’d tell him. I knew he’d take this news hard since he’s already lost one Guardria bond, and hearing that he almost lost me wouldn’t go over well. So I wanted to do it alone, at his cottage, where it’d just be the two of us.

“That disturbance I felt. You all said you got hurt fighting but were fine. Willow…” Gaster says sternly. This is the first time he’s ever been upset with me. He’s not even attempting to hide the rage swirling in his eyes.

“I jumped in front of a dagger meant for either Tillman or Lyker. It was laced with Tarring poison,” I admit softly, tears threatening to fall.

His emotions are pounding against my rib cage—hurt, fear, anger, sadness. It feels like a stampede of bulls is trampling all over my chest right now. I knew this would cut him deep.

“I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you alone so we could talk about it, not in the training gym with everyone there with us. My vision in your pocket dimension showed me Lyker getting hit with the dagger and dying. Once the fight broke out, it veered to Tillman getting hit and dying. Me jumping in front of the dagger was the only way to save them both.” I cry, not bothering to hold the emotions back.

“This will be the only time you must sacrifice yourself, right? No more of this.”

I can’t tell if his words are a demand or a question, but either way, I can’t give him the answer he’s looking for. To tell him I’ll never have to do something like that again would be a lie.

The longer we stand staring at each other in silence, the more Gaster seems to turn gray. The brightness of his sky-blue eyes and his luminescent silver hair fades, his silhouette morphing into a black-and-white picture.

“What does gray mean?” I ask softly. My question prompts him to pull me into his arms in a hug and the deep sigh he releases ruffles my hair.

“When I was around the boys’ age, I questioned absolutely everything. I was so mad, so angry with Elementra for not blessing me with a Nexus. I wanted brothers, a family to spend my life with. I couldn’t understand what I possibly could have done to deserve the loneliness Elementra was cursing me to. Then the Vito family came along, and my life changed. Then you, and it changed even more.

“To lose you, child, I’m sure would be the end of me. The gray aura you see is my deep-seated fear of losing you. I quit questioning Elementra’s plans a long time ago, or so I thought. I can’t help but question everything she’s placed in front of you, but I will do everything I can to teach you and protect you. Starting with reading an aura,” he swears, kisses my head, and steps back from me.

I’m not sure if it’s just my inability to hold onto sensing his aura or if he knows how to hide it, but the grayish color wanes away, leaving Gaster back to his normal coloring, and I blink my eyes a couple times to make sure I’m seeing clearly again.

“You’ve seen me reddish orange and now gray. Any other times you have spotted colors?” he asks.

“During the… I saw the color of our bonds, but I figured the guys saw that too,” I admit a little embarrassingly. No girl wants to bring up anything sex related to their grandpa.

“I didn’t see the color of mine either time,” Oakly announces, helping break up the awkward moment.

“The boys more than likely didn’t either. I assume it happened in that moment because of your heightened emotions. That seems to be when Oakly’s and my gifts make themselves more known. Now that you know what’s going on, you can focus more. The most important thing to always remember when it comes to your magic, gifts, elements, and even your dominance, is intentions. Your intentions set the motion for anything you do,” Gaster states firmly.

He’s told it to me over and over. My intentions are the driving force for all that I do. My enchantments, control over my elements, even when we brewed the curing potions, he preached that my intentions have to be set and firm, and there will be nothing to stop me from doing what I intend to do. And for the most part, it’s proven true. The only thing stopping me is myself. My self-doubt is constantly at war with my mind.

“So just like with my magic, elements, and other gifts, other than the sight that doesn’t listen for shit, I need to set my intentions on what, the colors I want to see?” I ask.

“Sort of. So let’s start with a basic sense of auras. I’ll focus on the main colors you will see but know these colors can blend and change shades, which the more you learn, is where you will begin to pick up someone’s true feelings and intentions behind their mood. Focus on Oakly. Think about seeing a halo of color surrounding her,” he instructs.

It’s honestly hard to focus on her cause she’s smirking, distracting me from my task, so I refuse to look her in the eyes. Instead, I focus on her hair, her outfit. I run my gaze up and down her body before deciding to just stare at her forehead.

I fight my eyes not to go crossed from staring for so long at the same spot and will them to stay focused, despite their need to blink. She knows I’m struggling too because she giggles when I huff my frustration, but that’s what does it. Grasping onto what I’m seeing, I laugh in excitement.

“You’re pinkish orange. Gaster, do you see it? What does it mean?” I cheer, and the louder I get, the brighter she does.

“Very good, Willow. Well, this is where you’ll learn to decipher moods. Based on knowing Oakly and what we’re currently doing, her coloring is a combination of her love for you and her optimistic feeling of knowing you’ll get this,” he tells me.

“Aww, you’re so freaking sweet,” I pick, cooing at Oakly.

“Yeah, yeah. I have all the faith in you. You should know this. So what are the other colors, Gaster?” she asks, stealing my next question right out of my mouth.

“We’ll start with the foundations and try to keep it simple. Red coloring can be associated with passion, energy, or intensity. Orange will usually symbolize creativity, enthusiasm, and optimism. Yellow can reflect intelligence, positivity, and joy. Green signifies balance, progression, and harmony. Blue represents calmness, communication, and clarity. Purple indicates spirituality, intuition, and insight. Pink implies love, compassion, and affection. White reveals purity, protection, and divine connection.

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