Page 162 of Gift from the Wing

“Well, that’s either a good thing or a fucking awful thing,” Trex says as he gazes into the sky before resuming his stare out over the vast expanse of forest in front of us.

“Probably a little of both. You’re looking less dead,” I say as we start heading to where Corentin, Draken, Ry, and Nikoli are all waiting around the patio table.

“Feel it. My lips are back to being sealed, unfortunately, but I no longer feel the Summum-Master’s fingernails in my brain. I’ll call it a plus for now.”

Grunting in agreement, my steps pick up their pace when finally, the others arrive, and my eyes lock on to where Caspian’s practically holding Willow up.

The rest of the realm ceases to exist as the three of us crowd around her. Her face is pale as paper, she’s wobbly on her feet, and the grim look on Caspian’s face has the hair on the back of my neck rising.

“I’m fine. I’m really not as bad as Cas is making me look. I just need another healing vial and some food. The double vision really kicked my ass, then Oakly transported me to CC’s room unexpectedly. Give me just a few minutes and I’ll be okay.”

“As bad as I’m making you look? Primary, she brought you into that room laid out on the ground, throwing up, and it took you ten minutes to stand. Don’t act like it’s me doing anything.” Caspian frowns down at the guilty look across her face. That look alone tells us that she does feel as bad as she, in fact, looks.

Instinctively, we all reach out a hand and lay it somewhere on her, and she sighs deeply, slouching into Cas’s chest. We give her a moment to soak it all in, then Corentin pulls out a healing vial from his pocket for her.

Won’t catch him without one ever again.

She gratefully chugs it down and smiles up at him like he just gave her a priceless jewel and me, Draken, and Caspian share a smirk.

“Thank you. Let’s—what’s wrong?” she asks, panicked, looking beside me.

Turning my head, Trex is gazing at her with a mixture of curiosity and a stern scowl that if he doesn’t wipe off in a second, Draken’s going to do it for him judging by the rumbling in his chest.

“What were you doing to cause this reaction?” he asks.

“Having a vision. Well, two back-to-back.”

“And your visions do this? Make you this ill?

“No, not typically. Not when they come on their own. I was in my Amplifier room this time, though. I was going to explain that to you in a minute. Why are you looking at me like that? You’re freaking me out.”

“May I?” he asks instead, holding his hand out, pointing to her head.

Despite my hesitation, as well as my brothers’, Willow nods confidently like she doesn’t have a care in the world, and Trex, with all his death wishes, rolls his eyes at us.

She sucks in a sharp breath, followed by a deep exhale the moment his finger touches her forehead. The color of her skin brightens, her eyes lose their tired droop, and the straightening in her back is nearly instantaneous. I don’t know where to look, at her or him, but I want an answer.

“What the hell is going on?” I ask.

“Your hypothalamus was lit up like a Star gem. It was working overtime. Just to clarify, you don’t typically have physical reactions when you have a vision?” he asks, completely focused on Willow.

“No, never, except for in there. The last time, I felt like I was burning from the inside out. It felt incredibly real, and I barely made it to the door to break the connection to the room.”

“Assuming based on the name of this room, it’s supposed to intensify your visions, correct? Or at least force them forward?”

“Yes to both.”

“Let’s take a seat and get Willow something to drink. You can explain what’s going on to all of us, Trex, without all these damn questions,” Corentin says, finally growing frustrated.

Lacing his hand with Willow’s, he walks her a few feet over to the others and sits her right in his lap. Not a second later, Mrs. Grace is bursting out the back doors with a pitcher of coffee, water, a kettle of tea, and Chef is following right behind with two trays of food.

I try to be helpful and fix Will a cup of coffee for after her water, but Corentin literally knocks my hand away with a fierce glare that screams don’t you fucking dare.

Chuckling, holding my hands up in surrender, I lean back in my chair and look at Trex to carry on with his explanation. He’s much calmer now that he’s done whatever he did to her, but if there’s something going on in her mind, I need to know about it.

“Last question and I swear I can give you an answer after this,” Trex says as we all look at him. “How do you and your magic feel before you go into that room?”

Will startles and looks at him as though he’s lost his mind. I’d chuckle at the twitch in her nose and the glare in her eyes if I didn’t want that answer as well. If this were a one-off occurrence, then this would be different. But this is the second time now that she’s come out of that room in both mental and physical distress. If he has an answer to fix that, we need it.

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