Page 139 of Gift from the Wing

His thoughts ring loud for either Tillman or me, but I pick them up regardless and tighten my hold on Oakly. I know my best friend enough to know she’s trying to pretend none of this happened.

“Chef’s cooked us up a feast. You hungry?”

“Starving. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I finally get to see your infamous south wing,” she says excitedly.

“Breakfast then a tour. Or you want it the other way?”

“Breakfast first. I need coffee.”

Same, girl.

With quick kisses to each of our men, they leave us with orders to reach out if we need them. I’m not one hundred percent certain what they have planned for the day, other than Corentin, Tillman, and Aurora’s meetings with the academies, but I can take a wild guess.

“The ward is going to sting a little this first time. The guys said it didn’t shock them, just pulled on their skin,” I warn as we approach the shimmering barrier.

“But not suck me down a killer rainbow, right?” she asks, causing me to snort.

“No, that was just a little side adventure for Gaster and me.”

With a confident nod, I link my arm in hers and walk us through, commanding the ward to let her enter. Surprisingly and thankfully, we make it through like it was nothing and she’s giddy about it on the other side.

“I knew I was loved the most. It didn’t even pull. I’m going to rub that all in their—oh, holy shit,” she breathes when she takes in the sight of my lounge in front of her.

The early morning rays make the walls of light purple shimmer and the glittering leaves on my willow tree shine bright in their green and silver glory. Her eyes eat up the rows upon rows of books and she can’t seem to decide where it is she wants to look at the longest.

“I think I changed my mind. I want a tour first,” she whispers as she takes a timid step forward. “Shit, Willow, the energy coming off this room is breathtaking.”

“It’s something, that’s for sure,” I say low, smiling at her awestruck look. “Well, go snoop, then we’ll move on to the next.”

Snoop she does.

There isn’t an inch of my lounge that she doesn’t investigate and the belly flop she does on my sectional has me dying in laughter. I thought I’dhave to drag her out of here, but just one little poke about seeing the rest has her nearly sprinting down the hall.

We briefly poke our heads into the kitchen, and I tell Chef we’re taking a quick tour, then we’ll be ready to eat. He shoos us out of his domain with a chuckle at Oakly’s groaning over the smell and gives us honey buttered croissants to appease us for now.

She has the same reaction that we did to the breakfast room and quickly claims the seat that will be hers going forward. Unlike us, though, she insists on seeing every guest room on the next floor.

Reaching our floor, I grow nervous in my excitement to show her the amplifier room as well as my bedroom. I’ve already warned her that the bedroom is the same as the one in the mansion, but she’s ready to see the balcony. We pass the guys’ bedrooms wordlessly because she knows I won’t show her those. Even though she’s my sister in all ways besides blood—well, I guess that isn’t completely true now—she still knows I’m far too territorial to let her in their spaces.

“Is this it? The mysterious and dangerous amplifier room? Fuck yeah, it is, I can feel the power radiating even out here.”

“It is. I can’t go all the way in with you ’cause it’ll suck me into my mind, but I’ll stand at the door.”

She doesn’t wait another second before slinging the door open, then gasps at the room. It’s a shocker when you first see it, but the aura calms you almost immediately when you step in.

I lock my mind up tight as I lean against the frame and watch her run her hands over damn near every surface. I lose just a slip of my leash on my control, though, when her ass starts dancing in front of the reflective walls.

Suddenly, images of her begin playing across the mirrors like a slideshow.

The day we met and had our awakening. Us rolling around on the carpet at her lake house, drunk and laughing. Her covered from head to toe in blood as she appeared at the ward when I was being rescued. Her body falling through the air toward the magma as I dove after her.

Finally, it shows the two of us, dressed in matching floor-length gowns, with our heads thrown back in laughter. The difference in our dresses ismine is a shimmering violet that matches my eyes and her hair with silver lace, while hers is black, with the same violet lace.

I just discussed these dresses with Aurora. This is what I pictured us wearing at the Spring Ball. Although the guys are treating this upcoming event as a mission, I still wanted it to be special.

For all of us.

Pulling myself from the doorway and stepping back into the hall, I squeeze my eyes closed to get my mind back under control. I should’ve known better than to get so close to that room with her in there. Now she’s seen both good and bad times, plus another that’s to come.

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