Page 147 of Gift from the Nexus

He stares at it in fascination and there’s nothing but pure, raw devotion in his eyes when he meets mine.

“White means purity, protection, and divine connection,” I whisper.

A smile, just as bright as our bond, spreads across his face, and he slowly leans down to lay his lips softly to mine.

“I’d love the rest of it now, Primary.”

When he shifts his hips back and slams into me once more, everything explodes.

The remainder of my bond crashes into him, snatching him right over the edge with me, and together, we fall headfirst into our release and our forever.

Wave after wave of pleasure comes over us. Unrestrained, unstoppable.

There’s no blocking it or us. There’s no pause, no water breaks, no sleep as that round rolls into another and then another. There’s no part of each other that we don’t brand into our minds, hearts, and souls.

We don’t stop until we simply can’t function anymore.

Then we both enter the darkness.

Protected by each other.

By our bonds.

And by our shadows.

From the dead of sleep, I sit up rapidly, gasping for air.

Or at least I attempt to gasp.

The ambush is sudden and I’m not prepared for it in the least. My lungs expand but become so heavy beneath my rib cage, it feels like they’re going to crack every bone in their way. Every breath I attempt to take makes them heavier, fuller. My head’s already starting to grow light and my vision is blurring from the lack of oxygen.

What is happening?

“C…” I try to croak out his name. Nothing but a raspy, gurgling noise leaves me, but thank fuck it’s enough because Caspian instantly wakes up, on high alert.

“Primary, what’s wrong?” he asks frantically.

Over and over, I pat my chest where my lungs lie, my throat, anywhere I can, to try to relay what’s happening to me, but it’s not working. His hands follow mine, lying against my skin, searching, but he has no clue what’s happening either.

“Talk to me, Primary,” he commands, but I shake my head and tap my throat again.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

His voice echoing in my mind calms my erratic and panicked heartbeat for the moment and if I were in any state to breathe a sigh of relief, I would. This is a monumental thing and I should be sleeping peacefully for a few more hours before waking up and celebrating. Celebrating the fact that my Nexus is complete, I have a new, amazing gift, and a rare, only seen once in a lifetime mind connection that’s fully formed, but instead, I’m on the cusp of dying. Literally.

“Can’t breathe…Lungs heavy…hurt…”

Immediately, he lays both of his hands against my skin where my lungs sit beneath the surface and I feel him attempting to do something about it, but it’s not working. When his eyes widen in pure fear and his own panic, I know something is thoroughly wrong.

“Get to the back lawn right fucking now,” he bellows through the link that connects us all.

“You’re drowning, Primary. There’s water trapped in your body and it’s not obeying me. You have to force it out, Willow,” he says rapidly before wrapping us in shadows and whisking us away.

Even as we go incorporeal, the pain follows me there. It follows me through the shadows, through the mansion, and out to the back lawn.

The others are already standing there, pacing manically, and when they look at me, their worry intensifies tenfold.

“Corentin, try to see if you can give her some air,” Caspian commands as he sets me down gently.

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