Page 97 of Gift from the Nexus

“Everything’s going to be okay, little warrior,” I say softly, pulling her closer to my chest.

“We don’t know that,” she murmurs.

“Yes, I do.”

“How do you… Oh, Tillman, this is not the appropriate time for you to be eavesdropping on other people’s thoughts. That could make him madder.” She fusses at me as if I give a single shit if I piss off Lyker or anyone else. When it comes to her, no one’s thoughts are safe from me.

“Why don’t you offer to talk to him alone? We’ll all give you some space and I’ll stay out of his mind for the time being.” I compromise.

She blows out a small breath that fans across my forearm, and she tightens her hold on my hand for a brief second before nodding.

“Would you like a minute to talk? Just us,” she says quietly to Lyker.

“Yeah,” he agrees, strained.

The panicked beat of her pulse starts up again, and until he calms himself down, she’s going to be on edge, waiting for the ball to drop.

“Caspian, take Draken and go secure the house,” I order as we all stand up from the grass.

“We aren’t going to be able to get in there. I’ve already tried to send my shadows in, and they’re blocked out. The two of them will have to open it first,” Caspian grits out. That just ate him up to have to admit because there’s only one place in this entire realm I’ve seen stump him and his shadows from entering if he really wants to.

“There’re no bodies inside. It’s clear,” Ry says after he examines the cottage.

“Caspian is right. The ward around the door is a signature entrance. I already see both of your magical signaturesintermingled in the fabric. You two will need to pass through first before any of us may enter,” Gaster says, staring in fascination.

“Well, come on, fortune teller, let’s go get the shit beat out of us again,” Lyker says teasingly, already heading off in the direction of the house, and I give Will a small push to follow rather than just stare at his back.

The rest of us hang back a couple feet and watch the two of them approach the door apprehensively. I silently chuckle because Willow’s thoughts on how awkward Codi and Trex were when they met ring through my memory, but she’s currently doing the same thing.

“Oh wait, it’s probably going to—”

“Shit.” Lyker curses, clutching his hand to his chest.

“Shock you,” Willow finishes as a surprised laugh bursts out of her before she cuts it off and clears her throat.

“If you knew that, why didn’t you tell me?” he asks her.

“Well, I would have, but you let your curiosity get the better of you,” she teases, shooting a sly smirk over her shoulder to Gaster and Oakly, who are laughing. I snort and shake my head because Oakly just replayed the same exact thing happening to Willow.

“Go on in, little warrior, we’ll be out here if you need us.”

With no more hesitation, she grips the knob, only hissing slightly as the door opens for her and they share a glance, then walk in.

“So what do we do?” Draken says, fidgeting, shifting back and forth on his feet.

The emotional wringer Will’s been through today has got his dragon on edge. He’s doing a good job of keeping him locked up tight, although I did think he was going to burn this forest down when she went sailing through the fucking air when that ward came down.

“Let’s walk around, check out the other side of the house. They’ll be fine. They need a minute alone,” I announce to everyone.

Kyan, Lennox, and Zane glance back and forth between the cottage and Aria a couple times before following suit. They’re worried about leaving him and everything that’s happened today, which is understandable with what they have going on. I won’t call any of them out for not telling us about the trouble they’ve been having in the pack because knowing my little warrior, she’ll be ready to flip shit if she finds out people are having issues with Aria.

Plus, we can’t step on Lyker’s toes when we come here. He’s no longer an E.F. member but an Alpha of a pack. It needs to be seen as he’s the one in charge of their territory.

So I’ll bite my tongue until Lyker decides to tell us on his own or if something happens where I feel it’s completely necessary for us to step in.

The area surrounding the cottage isn’t vast, just a small little section that looks like a sea of green, with bright pops of colors sticking out from the flowers. Whoever had the earth element in Willow’s mom’s Nexus—hell, maybe it was her—took special care of everything here.

It’s easy for me to tell. Not only the small, quaint details of the cottage show a respectful craftsmanship, but the garden, flower beds, gnarled trees surrounding the perimeter have all been treated with care and love. Enough so that it’s thrived on its own without any upkeep in over twenty-six years.

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