Page 75 of Gift from the Nexus

As we watched her descend, Tillman instantly dropped to the ground, digging his fingers in the earth to feel the vibrations in the soil to make sure she landed safely. While Draken kept his tight leash on their bond to make sure she was okay to be alone.

I just rolled my eyes. Yes, I’m quite obsessed with needing to always know she’s fine, but unlike them, I know when someone is on the verge of losing their shit. And that she was. She needed her own moment to collect and sort her feelings without any interruption from us.

Corentin, though…My poor brother, who is still truly and fully consumed by their bonding frenzy because that’s the most in control he’s ever felt, lost his mind immediately.

He started his pacing the moment she told Draken she needed a moment alone to fly. I’m surprised his timekeeper still works seeing as he checked it at least a dozen times in the five minutes he allowed to pass before marching his way to the clearing to check on her. Then when we didn’t see her, his hell broke loose.

His gift flared out of him, combining with his air to spread the clouds in the sky above, and forced the rays of the sun to shine blindingly bright. There was nothing left in the air to obscure his sight of her. It was clear skies as far as my eye could see. His only intention was being able to see her flying up there and he made damn sure there was nothing blocking his view.

Once he realized she wasn’t flying, he zipped through the rays of the sun cutting through the forest at literally the speed of light. I’m pretty sure he covered the entirety of our enormous property in minutes.

When he returned to us empty-handed, he jumped right back into leader mode, ordering us around and hollering down the communicator at Gaster and Oakly to get here now. It was the most immense amount of power I’ve ever felt come out ofhim, and I don’t think he knew it was happening because his emotions were running so wild with finding her.

We haven’t told her about his little power boost yet, but the small smile on his face right now tells me all I need to know about how aware he is that he got an upgrade.

Sighing, I tear my eyes away from the infuriatingly gorgeous creature who’s currently mad as hell because she can’t control his gift and focus back on the text I was reading.

The mess that’s all of this, is like trying to rebind a book with a custom-made cover, but instead of the chapters being neat and orderly, they were dropped, scattered across the floor, then swept up by the wind. And for some fucking reason, it’s been made our responsibility to locate the pages and put the story back together again.

“Whatcha reading there?” Draken’s cheery voice cuts through the concentration I was trying to build back up as he plops down in the chair next to me and slings his arm over my shoulder.

“Must you invade my space?” I ask exasperatedly, closing my book.

Again.

“Yes, I must. Are you looking for answers on my little wanderer’s sweet, sweet blood?”

Draken may seem or at least come across as only playful, but don’t let the dragon fool you. He’s one of the smartest people I know. He just doesn’t show it off because in his mind, his uneducated childhood and adolescence reduces the value of his knowledge. As if his survival skills, hard labor, and abuse somehow don’t count as learning.

So he takes his role seriously as the happy one, the fun one, never crossing the line into the other responsibilities of the Nexus. He stays the cheery balance we all need so we don’t drown in our seriousness. I see that facade for what it is, though. No one can hide their dark side from me.

“Tell me what you think about her mother and what she did with her blood, dragon.”

“Huh, you know I’m not quite sure. Blood must’ve been a thing for ladies around that age back then,” he says nonchalantly, smirking at Willow.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, completely confused by his off the wall answer.

“Well, I can remember, barely remember anyway, this little melody my mom would sing to me in the bathing chambers at the brothel…” he says, his gaze becoming unfocused as a hum starts up in his throat and his finger begins to tap on my shoulder in sync with the sound.

“In the veins where crimson streams flow,

Ties of blessings begin to show.

The essence of the realm’s comes to start,

From the blood of one’s beating heart.”

His opening verse draws everyone’s attention and they all slowly make their way to the table, to us, and Draken’s none the wiser as he’s still staring out into the open, jumping into the chorus of his song.

“One’s blood, many souls twist tight,

Bonds run deep, but the tapestry fights.

Vows we keep must come to light,

One’s blood will weave things right.”

“Something like that anyway. Blood must have been popular some two hundred years ago with ladies of that generation. Sorry, no more help there, shadow man,” he says shaking his head out, patting me on the back, and smiling like he didn’t just belt out some cryptic-ass song his mother sang to him twenty-four years ago. “You done practicing, little wanderer? Are you our newest and strongest light bender?”

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