Page 96 of Gift from the Nexus

The longer I stare at the wolf that’s darker than obsidian and the dragon with violet eyes, I start to unravel.

“Do you know what this place is, Lyker?” Aria asks softly as she, Lennox, Zane, and Kyan come to stand beside him.

Watching his face out of the corner of my eye, an all-familiar expression crosses over him. I’ve made that face many times. It’s one of frustration and confusion. It happened every time I walked into my woods to go visit my tree. Like there was something I should remember but just couldn’t.

“No clue,” he mutters, then turns to me. “Do you?”

“Yeah, I do,” I breathe, closing my eyes for just a second. “You don’t remember anything from before you were found outside the Terravile pack lands, so nothing before the age of eight, right?”

“Right,” he says timidly.

“When we first came today, I thought I’d be telling you we share the same father, but we…we share the same mother,” I say as the tears begin to fall. “And I have your memories.”

“How do you have my memories?” His voice holds a tinge of accusation that cuts me deep even though I know I shouldn’t let it. I know what this feels like.

Pulling my Memoria stone from my shirt, I command my magic to reveal it and I let it fall down my chest on clear display.

“Your memories are in here,” I say, tapping the stone. “I watched one of them when we were in the office. Not through your eyes, but through the eyes of my stranger, CC. They’re the one who put them in here for me to hold onto until you were ready for them.”

The shock in my Nexus, Gaster, Oakly, and her guys is stark. Everyone’s finding this out together and no doubt they’re whirling on the fact my elusive CC’s been in Lyker’s life as well as my own.

“Ready for them?” he asks incredulously.

“I know you were young, and I’m in no way trying to make this seem like someone is to blame for this, but you weren’t forced into this. They weren’t taken from you unwillingly. You were given a choice, and you were so, so brave. Our mom did all she could and was allowed to do to prepare you for this.”

I take shuddering breaths as he just stares at me. There’s a war being waged within him right now, and he doesn’t know if he wants to surrender to it or fight. It’s clear part of him wants to know, but the other part desperately wishes this had never happened.

“I’m ready.”

“Lyker, if you want—”

“I said I’m ready.” He growls, cutting me off, and I swallow roughly.

“Okay then.” Nodding, I slowly reach my finger up to his forehead and grip my Memoria stone in my other hand.

How to return the memories to him came to me as soon as CC told him the dragon would return them to him. So at least there’s no sort of mystery behind that, but that doesn’t stop the sweat in my palms, the racing stampede my pulse is causing in my ears, or the tremble on my bottom lip. If he’s angry about his memories being taken, he’s surely about to blame me for him losing his parents.

“Release them to him,” I command.

There’re no physical effects on me in this, but there is for him. As the stream of magic pours out of my stone and into him, he grunts, growls, and tries to fight off the trembles runningthrough his body. He tries his hardest to hold my gaze, but eventually, he caves, falling to his knees, and I follow him down.

When a mournful howl soars from his throat, the magical flow cuts off, and I fall back on my heels. My men instantly encase me as he rocks back and forth on all fours. I’m not sure if he’s fighting off a shift or fighting off the memories now flowing through his mind, but he’s a whirlwind of feelings, each one flaying me open. Deeper and deeper.

His brothers surround him, laying their hands on him in silent solidarity, and Aria follows suit, kneeling beside him, rubbing calming circles on his back. Their comfort slows his rocking until he finally stops, and he mimics my position. His head tilts to the heavens, and he emits a deep, releasing sigh, like that swoosh of air is enough to let go of the ringer he was just put through.

Then he looks at me.

And smiles a sad smile.

“You have her eyes, little dragon.”

Fifteen

Tillman

Currently, I’m contemplating if I want to string Lyker up by vines and rip him in half or officially welcome him into the family.

Will’s thoughts and emotions are running wild and it’s clear that she hasn’t overstepped any boundaries by reading his thoughts because if she did, she’d know he doesn’t hate her. He has questions, sure, questions I’m not sure she’s allowed to give the answers to, but he accepts this.

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