Page 156 of Gift from the Nexus

I already know they can all talk and would understand us if we spoke, but they don’t engage us, and we don’t engage them. They clearly know we’re here for something and they’re obviously willing to wait it out to see what that is.

“Any sign of him, little warrior?”

“No, he isn’t amongst any of them. I have a feeling he’s at his house or at least around his perimeter.”

You’d think with the number of vampires here and how much the Mastery trail through here, there’d be paths or walkways of some sort, but there aren’t. The foliage is a mixture of dead leaves, dirt, and broken tree branches that scatter across everywhere. Even as I look down, Tillman, who’s the biggest out of the entire bunch, isn’t leaving footsteps behind. I can’t help but wonder if it’s just the effect this cursed place has or something else that keeps every move you make untraceable.

Suddenly, a shift in the atmosphere has all the vampires standing a little straighter and goose bumps break out across my whole body as my face begins to tingle like someone is staring daggers at me.

Scanning the many faces of the vampires, they don’t give anything away, but I know, I can feel it. He’s here. And he’s watching me.

“Everyone, stay alert. Something’s happening,” Tillman says as he obviously feels the shift as well.

“Draken…” I say softly.

“What’s wrong, little wanderer?”

“Nothing, everything’s okay. I can’t say why, so I just need you to trust me. Don’t shift, not even a partial, okay? It’s not safe to do that here.”

“What’s going on, Primary?” Caspian asks, not giving Draken the opportunity to even acknowledge me, but he sends me a bout of understanding down the bond. That’s enough for me.

“I need you to slowly send your shadows out and block the vampires on my signal. Corentin, the same with your air. Put our people in a bubble. Tillman, bend the trees to block us off.”

“Is he here, princess?” Corentin asks.

“He is, but he isn’t going to approach unless he’s provoked,” I say gently.

“What the fuck does that mean, Primary?”

“Everything’s going to be okay. I promise. And…I’m sorry,” I murmur, this time not only to them but Oakly as well.

When her eyes whip to mine, I know she’s about to interfere, so I push her into Aria using my air and latch the two of them together by vines. They’re both going to be ready to kill me, but they have to be out of the crossfire, just in case. That’s enough to draw everyone else’s attention, so I use my element to move them all away from me. Not very far, but enough there’s now a nice-sized circle leaving me exposed, and no one’s behind me blocking my back.

My men all turn around, trying to get closer to me, but it’s too late.

The forest takes a deep breath and it’s like I’ve awoken all the sleeping beasts. My blood drips through my fingertips and from the end of my claw that I used to slice my palm open. The realization of what I’ve done is instantaneous because I let the truth flow freely through my mind that I never took the elixir, instead just a healing vial, and I know when Tillman relays the message.

Little warrior. Princess. Primary. Little wanderer. Willy. Fortune teller.

I hear my name, my nicknames, filtering through from my men, my family, but I can’t give them any satisfaction right now. They’ll just have to put their faith in me.

“Trust me. Now!”

Outstretching my arms, I brace for impact. My eyes may not be able to track him, but I can sense him, and he’s passed the line of vampires, closing in on me faster than the blink of an eye.

The air in my lungs whooshes out of me as my feet leave the ground and in seconds my back is being slammed into a tree with the force of a fucking wrecking ball. I cough and sputter, but I never allow my eyes to leave the blood red set that’s staring holes through me.

“Did he really believe that sending you here would change anything for me?”

Keeper’s deep voice is still tinged in the sultry accent he naturally carries. It must be the dialect they have in Essemist Keep because although differently toned, Bryce sounded similar.

“The Summum-Master didn’t send me. I came on my own,” I say calmly.

“Don’t. Everything’s okay. He’s not going to hurt me. Let us talk,” I order gently, casting my eyes behind Keeper to my men and friends who are walking up slowly.

“Don’t treat me as a fool, girl. Your blood may smell different than the last time a large supply was brought in, but there’s no mistaking it. Your family has disrespected me long enough.” He sneers, wrapping his hand around my throat.

Multiple growls sound from behind him, but he couldn’t care less. I send as much calm and reassurance down the bond as I can because the last thing I need them to do is attack without knowing everything.

---