Page 113 of Gift from the Nexus

She searches my eyes and my bond for any hint of doubt, but she won’t find any. I meant it that I trust her and her decision completely and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that thenew plan in place is executed perfectly so she can trust herself as well.

“Okay then,” she agrees with a breathtaking smile, then turns in my lap to look over the piles of papers. “Tillman said I’m done with training for the day, but we have more stuff to work on before we can go home, so what can I help with? What’s item number one for right now?”

“Well, as usual, Gaster will be in charge of the academy while we’re gone, but for the most part, except for emergencies, we’ve always tried to avoid missions that required all four of us present. The entirety of our Nexus and Ry’s going leaves both combat class and E.F. training needing coverage. Not only that, it leaves the academy severely under protected,” I tell her.

Tillman and I have been searching relentlessly to find a suitable, permanent combat instructor but have come up empty-handed finding one that has the same moral compass and values we do when it comes to preparing the upcoming students and E.F. recruits, as well as putting the academy’s protection at the forefront.

When the decision was made to hire Claven as a combat instructor, that was solely a political and social compromise on my part. I wanted no part of him in this academy, but his loss was causing quite the rift in the upper families. After the two of us argued endlessly over it, Tillman really stuck to his guns that hiring him would cease the divided bitterness. So pushing our personal feelings aside, I hired him. Obvious mistake.

“Hear me out on this, but I think Lucas would make the perfect permanent combat instructor,” Willow says.

Tillman’s gaze collides with mine as we both swing our heads to one another. I honestly hadn’t even considered Lucas because he’s one of our enforcers and hasn’t expressed any interest in the position. We also haven’t brought it up to him.

“Why do you think he’d be perfect, little warrior?”

“Well, because he has a soft spot for the students. He has a protective nature that would ensure they’re not being ruthlessly pitted against one another, but that protectiveness would also drive him to teach them everything they need to know. I could see how hard it was hitting him when we couldn’t find those Crestwood students. He’s an enforcer, so he and his Nexus are obviously highly skilled, but the front lines aren’t where his heart is. Don’t get me wrong. The little I’ve seen of him or even talked to him doesn’t give me a right to give any personal testimony like you all can, but I saw his intentions clearly when I was rescued.”

“Huh,” I hum.

Fuck, would him taking the position make so many of our worries over the academy go away? He holds the same values as we do and Willow’s analysis of him and the students is one hundred percent accurate.

“Do you want me to arrange a formal interview or just call him in?” Tillman asks, already aware I’ve made my decision.

“How do you feel about this? This leaves you losing two enforcers in a short amount of time,” I say.

“Well, technically, I won’t be losing Lucas. His position will just be shifting to a more permanent arrangement here, but he’ll still hold his title and like Lyker, he’ll always be loyal to the force. But I agree with Will. His heart isn’t on the front lines, which isn’t a bad thing.”

“Call him in then so we can talk with him. If he says yes, that takes a huge issue off our plate.”

As he steps into the hallway to make the call, I pull Willow in for a hungry kiss. She has no clue how much I’ve been stressing about finding someone I could trust to fill that role and look after everything while we were gone.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” I tell her.

“I didn’t do much but throw out a name and my opinion,” she says, undermining her help.

“It was far more than that. It was a huge to-do that’s been driving me mad. You helped me tremendously, princess.”

“Well, when you put it like that.” She smiles, pulling my lips back to hers.

“Do you want to stay in for our talk with him, or go to Gaster’s with Caspian and Draken? I believe Oakly is joining San there as well,” I ask her as we finally pull apart.

“If you don’t need me to help with anything, I’ll go with them and start on some research.”

“Go with them, princess. After we talk to him, we’ll come and get you, then head home.”

I swear watching her walk away from me never gets easier. Regardless of the fact she’s walking into my brother’s shadows or Draken’s arms, I still want to pull her back into my lap and suck up everything she’s willing to give me. I don’t believe I’ll ever get enough of her.

For the few minutes I have before Lucas arrives, I throw myself into a few minor things I need to get together for my new assistant Geo. I won’t lie and say the struggle not to do everything myself isn’t strong, because it really is, but the kid’s smart, efficient, and most important, doesn’t hit on me.

He’s a fourth year, who had applied for Archivist aid at the beginning of this term. He wasn’t sour in the least when Oakly beat him out, although I knew he was disappointed. He doesn’t come from an upper family, so the need to prove himself is persistent. I figured he’d take having a first year getting the position over him hard, but instead, he just tried harder and applied for every other open role in the academy. Which told me he didn’t care what position he got. He just wanted a chance to prove himself. I knew the moment I moved Crissy from my assistant’s position, I wanted him.

Hiring him also made me reflect on the day I interviewed Oakly. I remember clearly mentally rolling my eyes when she bebopped in here with a bright smile and purple hair that was even brighter. At first, I was thinking there’s no way this girl is seriously applying for this position, then she opened her mouth and I knew I was picking her. She sounded like the younger girl version of Gaster. I could sense her desire for the position. It wasn’t something she was seeking out to make her family proud. She wanted it for herself because that’s what she’s passionate about.

Honestly, I was ready for flirting, giggling, and unnecessary comments I was used to receiving, especially from upper families like the one she’s from but nope. Instead, she basically looked at me like I wasn’t shit. The same way she looks at the rest of the social hierarchy. She treated me like I was just some normal guy she couldn’t give a fuck less about. She wanted that position and didn’t care about anything else.

There’ve been times since then I’ve wondered if that was a test from Elementra. Her way of judging how I was going to react or treat my Primary’s other bond before she even got here. I’d like to think I passed. I know for a fact I’m not Oakly’s least favorite. I’d say me and Tillman rotate second and third, depending on how much he pisses them off in training on any given day.

“You feel good about this?” Tillman asks, standing up from the couch after reading the message that just came in on his communicator.

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