Page 151 of Gift from the Nexus

His laugh echoes through my mind as I push out of her bed with a hard-on and leave them be. He deserves a little alone time with her despite how much I crave her. The three of us have had our moments with her, so he can relish it too. For now.

Making my way to the back lawn where I know the other two already are, I run through all the things I’ve got to discuss and go over in the morning with the E.F. members and any others that are joining us. I’m not ashamed to admit it to myself, never out loud, but I’m more nervous for this mission tomorrow than any other mission we’ve ever been on.

There’s so much at stake here. What if Keeper refuses to negotiate with us? What if the Summum-Master doesn’t follow up on his threat and search the schools? What if he’s at the forest? And if he’s not there, how fast can word get to him about where we are?

Not that I’m fearful of facing him. I’m ready to. We all are. But the number of his true army is still a mystery for us, add in the fact as of now, Keeper is under his control, so he also has an army of unhinged vampires at his command. I can’t risk something happening to Will again. There’s no doubt in my mind, if she were to get taken again, we may never find her.

And over my dead fucking body will that happen.

“Where are they?” Draken asks as soon as I’m out the threshold of the house.

“In the shower.”

His eyes immediately darken, and he tries to storm past me, but I place my hand on his chest to stop him. Fucking believe me, I wanted to join as well, but not this time.

“Give them this for now.”

“I don’t have to join. I just want to watch. How many times has he spied on me?” he asks. Both me and Corentin chuckle because that’s a very valid question. Cas has probably spied on all of us many more times than we’re aware of.

“Hello, boys,” Gaster says cheerily, walking onto the patio with a plate full of pastries. “Where’s the other one and myGuardria?”

“In the shower together. Can I have some of those, Gas-man?” Draken both says and asks nonchalantly, not even aware of the uncomfortable face Gaster is making at him.

“That was too much information, Draken. And since when are you indulging in my sweets again?”

“Since my little wanderer fed one to me yesterday and I remembered how much I love them,” Draken says, proving his point as he pops five in his mouth.

“That’s exactly how you choked the first time,” Gaster says, shaking his head and moving to place the platter down. “I assume we should be expecting some changes to burst free any moment now, huh?”

“Already happened,” I say.

Telling Gaster the story of what happened this morning, his eyes grow wider and wider as I carry on. Willow’s abilities are nothing short of miraculous and now confirming she has all four elements, all four of our gifts, plus his, Oakly’s, and the sight, she’s a pure powerhouse. But I know, call it a gut feeling, there’s still something we’re missing that has to come about.

“My, my. What is the plan for if Caspian’s gift emerges while you all are on the mission?” he asks, not giving me a chance to get to that part.

“It’s already emerged.”

“What?” Him, Draken, and Corentin ask at once.

“What’s everyone saying what for?” the Primary in topic asks as she and Caspian materialize out of the wall.

“Your gift for Caspian already emerged?” Corentin asks, stepping toward them, tilting her chin up and moving her head around as if he’s looking for something.

“Yeah, last night. You’re not going to find what you’re looking for, your highness.” Will grins, swatting his hand away playfully before wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Let me see you, child,” Gaster says.

She easily steps out of Corentin’s embrace, all smiles as she stands in front of Gaster. He circles her repeatedly, running his hands through the air around her, I guess sensing her new gift.

“Well, I’ll be. Your strength has grown tremendously, yet you feel completely stable. Is that how you feel?”

“Stable is a very good word for it. I feel balanced and calm. I hope this means no more crazy-ass crying spells or going full psycho mode when one of you is gone.”

“Aww, but I like it when you go psycho,” Draken complains with a mouth full of fucking pastries.

“I’m still plenty possessive, dragon, but not throwing myself at one of you in a fit of crying would be nice.” She laughs, using her thumb to wipe away all the crumbs around his lips. To which he sucks her finger into his mouth.

After we all fuss over her a little bit more, me, her, and Gaster use our earth elements to extend out the table and add extra chairs. We might as well just keep it like this when everyone leaves because I have a feeling, Will’s gonna make family dinners a normal thing once we have time for it.

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