Page 17 of Gift from the Nexus

“It’s okay. I know you’ve bonded. I don’t need details, filia mea.”

Thank fuck for that.

“His abilities grew to being able to command others. We’re not sure about the reach yet because he only tried it on us so far. He’s incredibly strong. One of the strongest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, loving,” I whisper mournfully. Fuck, I miss him so much. I miss them all.

“Very impressive. He sounds like a remarkable young man, Willow.”

“He is. He really is.”

“This may be difficult to do, I know, but I want you to only think about Tillman. Put the others out of your mind, just for now. Any thought you can conjure up about him, I want you to.”

The impulse to ask why is strong, but I don’t. Instead, I end the war raging in my mind. It’s a pointless argument to continue having with myself. I have no other choice now but to endure. My little trip to Tortureville is because there are things I have tolearn, and the only way to do that for now is listen. I’ll ask my questions later.

It’s not Tillman who comes to me first. The faces of Corentin, Caspian, and Draken fill my mind’s eye, and for a small moment, I bask in the thought of them. Sending each of them a silent I love you, I force them to the back of my mind and bring Tillman to the forefront.

His bond, his gift, his protective personality, his hard-ass training routines, the deep timbre of his rare, whimsical laugh, the sculpted perfection of his body. Anything I can summon up, I do. I lock my eyes on those emerald jewels of his, just like the first time I ever saw him. Mahogany and sandalwood engulf my senses, and I picture the feeling of his vines crawling across my skin as I run my hands through those long chestnut curls. I allow him to consume my entire being.

“Very good, Willow. Now hold onto him.”

A small whimper leaves me when the needle in my arm is suddenly pulled out and a dribble of blood slides from the site. I keep my eyes closed and body still other than that slip of sound, hoping they’ll all believe that was an involuntary reaction coming from me.

“Time to wake up,” Trex whispers gently against my cheek, and a light stream of water caresses my lips.

Without opening my eyes, I rub them together, letting the cool liquid hydrate their dry and cracked surface. I’m not willing to open my mouth just in case that’s not water he’s rubbing across them. The last thing I want is to have another immobilizing vial poured down my throat.

“Come on, wake up for me, we’re leaving in a few minutes.” Again, his tone is soft, and I don’t believe it. I won’t be led into some misguided sense of trust, when I know none of the men here are trustworthy.

A shadow blocks out the bright glare that’s making it impossible to open my eyes fully, but when I finally can, I come face to face with Trex.

“We’re getting ready to leave, so I need to get you up. Do you think you can stand on your own?”

I shake my head because I have no clue if I can get myself up. I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here, and I’m sliced, burned, and marked to hell and back.

With a nod, he begins to unlock the straps down by my ankles, and as soon as they’re free, I circle them a few times, allowing them to get some circulation going. When he reaches the straps on my arms and the cuffs on my wrists, he pauses.

“If I take these off you, and you try even the slightest thing, Bryce will nip that in a split second.”

Nodding my agreement, I don’t need him to spell it out for me. I got the warning loud and clear, and by the hum I hear from somewhere in the room, Bryce is completely on board with doing that.

The second the cuffs are removed, a weight lifts off my chest, but a slight panic replaces that instantly when my gifts, elements, magic, and dragon all react sluggishly. They don’t feel drained. I know if I forced them out, they’d come, but they feel worn down, exhausted, just like I do.

Trex’s arms slide behind my head and legs as he lifts me up and places me sitting up on the edge of the table. I assume he did this to give me a second to get feeling back everywhere, but the sudden movement and position change has my head swimming and I sway harshly as nausea takes hold.

“Drink,” he orders, holding a glass in front of my face.

It doesn’t seem to be anything other than water by its translucent appearance, but I can’t be too sure. Bringing the cup to my nose, I give it a good sniff to see if there’s a minor fragrance to it like most tonics carry.

“That’s such an animal thing to do. It’s water. Water from my element, to be exact,” Trex says with a scrunch in his nose as he holds his hand out and lets a stream of water flow from his fingers to top the cup off.

I’m still not completely convinced, but I relent and bring the drink to my mouth. The first drop is so cold and refreshing, soothing the ache in my throat, I begin chugging it. I have at least half the glass down before it’s taken from me.

“That’s enough. You’re going to be sick. Come on, off the table you go,” he instructs, holding his arm out for me to grasp onto.

The urge to shove his hand away is strong. I don’t want to touch him, nor do I want him touching me, but more so, I don’t want to fall face first off this table and onto the concrete floor again.

As soon as my feet touch down, I lock my hand around his tighter because I’m going down and fast. The pins and needles that shoot straight through my toes to my knees have my legs wobbling like jello, and they give out beneath me as I cry out.

“Whoa, whoa. I got you,” Trex says as he wraps his arms around my waist and hoists me up.

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