Page 129 of Gift from the Nexus

“Ah, Master Cato, thank you so much for joining me. I truly appreciate the help.” A man I’ve never met before says, sticking his hand out to shake Gaster’s.

“Nonsense, no thanks needed. Mr. Blythe, these are my granddaughters I told you about, Willow and Oakly. Girls, this is the academy’s Caster,” Gaster says, waving his hand to the two of us.

Oakly’s astonishment, love, and burst of joy hit me square in my heart, followed by a damn death grip she puts on my hand. I believe this is the first time he’s ever referred to Oakly as that and she’s about to fall over.

“You good?” I ask, chuckling.

“Fuck no, I’m about to cry. Did you hear what he called me?”

“Obviously. I’m standing right here,” I tease.

I’m picking on her, yes, but I know exactly what she’s feeling. Gaster’s love is special and him publicly acknowledging her as his family, although everyone knows he doesn’t have a Nexus, is a huge deal. It lets the realm know he purposely chose her.

“Yes, of course, it’s very nice to meet you, ladies,” Mr. Blythe says, sticking his hand out for Oakly to shake, and I laugh as she barely gets a squeak out ’cause she’s still teary-eyed staring at Gaster.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” I say, sticking my own hand out to get the attention off Oakly.

“Mrs. Vito, I’d like to express my deepest apologies.”

Well, shit.

Embarrassingly, my mouth opens and closes multiple times while my brain short-circuits.Mrs. Vito.The name repeats over and over in my mind to the point I can’t get it to stop. Part of me tells myself to tell him, please, it’s just Willow, then the other part is screaming fuck that own it. Luckily, Mr. Blythe carries on and I don’t have to say anything yet.

“With the help of Headmaster Vito and Master Cato, I’ve taken numerous precautions to protect myself, and I swear to you, I’ll never allow myself to be put in a position again where the academies nor anyone else’s safety is put in jeopardy.”

What is he…

Oh right! This is who that Germ bitch poisoned and persuaded.

“Mr. Blythe, nothing that happened that day is your fault. Gima made her own foul decisions, and if it wasn’t you, it would’ve been someone else. But I greatly appreciate your apology,” I say honestly. He’s not to blame for anything.

“Thank you for your understanding,” he says before giving my hand a little squeeze, then letting go. “Now are we ready to strengthen the wards?”

Oakly and I immediately whip our heads to Gaster, who pointedly ignores us, but that mischievous twinkle in his eye spells it all out for me.

“He’s crazy as hell, you know that,” Oakly says, over her awestruck.

“Yeah, obviously. Have you ever strengthened a ward before? I’ve only ever torn them down.”

“Same. Any ward I’ve ever needed or been through was put in place by someone else.”

“Gaster…”

“Yes, child.”

“Does he know neither me, nor Oakly have ever strengthened wards before?”

“Well, I told him this was going to be an opportunity to hone your skills. He’s not working with the students currently because of obvious reasons but was willing to work with the two of you with my supervision. Plus, you and Oakly are the strongest students in the academy. Both of your powers will greatly help.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I turn back to Mr. Blythe with all smiles and faux confidence. I guess this is a lesson on the fly, so let’s hope and pray we catch on fast.

“Yes, we’re ready. Granted, the two of us are quite rusty since we haven’t been practicing much with everything going on,” I say.

“Of course, of course. Master Cato informed me of both of your rigorous schedules, so we’ll do a quick recap, then get to work.”

By quick recap, he meant that.

He goes over a very fast breakdown explaining setting intentions, making sure our hand motions aren’t choppy, and speaking the spell clearly when pushing our power out.

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