Page 155 of Gift from the Wing

“Our men better still look at us like that in two hundred years.”

“If they know what’s good for them, they will,”I snark with a tilt to my lip as I gaze at my Nexus.

“It’s settled then. Come on, Theo, I’ll walk the barrier with you. Everyone else get prepared,” Gaster orders, clapping his hands in mischievous excitement.

The three of us turn from our guys and I lace my fingers with Aurora’s so I can open my mind to both her and Oakly so she can hear our words. While simultaneously, I attempt to block Tillman out, although I know he won’t try to eavesdrop. I feel his eagerness to see what we’ll do.

“So what’s the plan?”Oakly asks.

“Willow, I believe you should be the middle point. With all four elements at your disposal, you’ll have the greatest advantage. My men are going to try to attack from behind me, so keep your eyes peeled there.”

“My guys are going to attempt to hit from all angles. That’s their attack formation,”I say.

“Ry likes to hit head-on, so mine will be coming from the front,”Oakly tacks on.

See, these men may have trained us, but we’ve been watching them as well.

“So, Oakly, right side, front and back. Aurora, left. I’ll take middle and behind,”I say, and they both give me nods as we take our positions.

The men all line up in the exact formations as we assumed they would, creating a circle all the way around us.

My men are spread out, Tillman ahead of me, Draken to my left, Corentin to my right, and I feel Caspian’s eyes on my back. Without being able to see him, I assume he’s positioned himself between his dads, like Tillman’s positioned himself between Oakly’s Nexus. They’re spread out enough around the circle we’re completely surrounded, and I have half a mind to just send out a big-ass blast of air, knocking them all out of the circle together.

“On my count, everyone,” Gaster yells, “One…”

Shit.

“Wai—”

My sight decides that this is the perfect time to send me a vision and blurry images begin to race across my mind. Every strike, every move, every counter, and every step that needs to be taken at this moment to ensure the three of us are the victors.

“Three.”

Gaster’s voice pulls me out of the vision, and I rapidly lay my hands on Aurora’s and Oakly’s shoulders as I send out a ring of waves to hold the guys back for a second.

“Aurora midmorning, wrap a vine around Jamie’s ankle and drag him out of the circle. Oakly midday, Roye’s going to try to get you in a dirt mound. I’ll deflect with my air. You get him in a globe of water and roll his ass out.”

My waves come crashing down around us, soaking the bottom of our pants, but with a quick whip of my wind, I dry up all the water, while simultaneously, I send that burst of air up to block Roye’s earth.

In perfect synchrony, Aurora and Oakly follow my directions, sending the first two men out of the ring.

Then there were ten.

The first strikes take the rest of the men by surprise and they each pause their attacks, breathing heavily as they reevaluate what they assumed was going to be an easy takedown.

Aurora’s magic washes over me and Oakly, and we both take deep breaths as the calm focus she bathes us in settles across our minds.

Standing in the middle of them, with their backs turned toward me, I lay my hands back on Aurora’s shoulder so her mind stays open to me and call my dragon’s sight forth. Letting the violet take over my senses, I breathe slowly.

The maneuvers the men are preparing to cast out filter across my mind seconds before they actually leave their fingertips. By the time they command whatever they plan to send our way, I’ve already relayed the information to the other two and they’re ready for it.

The sensation of Tillman beating on the barrier of my mind draws my attention to where he’s making his way closer to me and I grab Oakly’s hand in mine, lacing our fingers together.

Her gasp is loud, sudden, but she instinctively commands her element to obey, and I take control of the water flowing through her.

It looks like my Nexus isn’t the only bond I can connect with.

Like a geyser shooting from our connected hands, the brutal stream of water hits not only him but Ry straight on. Their stone-covered bootsdrag across the floor, tearing the hardwood up, and they cast an earth wall between them and the water.

---