Page 221 of Gift from the Wing

As I approach it, laying my bloodied hand on the smooth brown bark, my heart hums with an easy thud. There’s a gentleness radiating off it that reminds me so much of Tillman, I can’t help but cock my head over toward him. If I could just assume solely based on what I’m feeling, it’s that his gentle, protective nature is more instinctual than we realize. I believe all the giants were like that. It’s only their size and strength that makes them so intimidating.

“Closed. Nine hundred and thirty-three years ago.”

I place myself beside Oakly this time, linking our fingers and pressing our shoulders together. Simultaneously, we’ll send an imprint to everyone, even our Nexuses that will be transporting with us. This way, it’s guaranteed if I slip up somehow, she’ll still be able to get the information to Lyker’s Nexus, Codi, and Trex.

“Deep breath. Pin the location, pass it to me, and then all of them. I’m right here with you,”she softly instructs in my head.

Closing my eyes, I call to the location on the map in my mind and stick a pin in it as she said, then I share it with her. Like a beep on a metal detector, the imprint flows from me, and we’re sucked into the fabric of the realm. Then we’re gracefully released right at our location.

This portal isn’t like the others.

The energy from it consumes me entirely. Everyone is busy getting their bearings, seeing where we are, while I’m on my knees, slicing my hand, ready to dive into the unmoving clearpool.

My hand gets sucked through the water and the sight sucks me in.

The vision unfolds like a storm ripping through the heavens.

Powerful figures clash with both weapons and gifts I’ve never seen, their movements swift, deadly, and realm quaking. In the midst of the chaos, the line is clearly divided.

This battle isn’t just one of physical, magical strength but of wills colliding. Echoes of their roars and swords clashing thunder across the sky, rattling the stars themselves. I can feel it—the raw, primal force that exists in the realms of gods.

This is a glimpse of destruction, a war that could reshape the very fabric of existence.

I gasp, my chest heaving as though I’ve just surfaced from deep waters, and I fall back on my ass, scooting away from the edge of the portal. My head throbs with the booms of fighting gods, beings, their energy still buzzing in my veins.

This portal cannot be opened, not now, and not for many years to come.

Hands grip me under my arms, and I’m pulled to my feet as the lingering effects of that vision cloud my brain. It takes me a second to get myself together before I can gaze around at everyone staring at me with fear etched across their faces.

“What was that, little wanderer?” Draken asks quietly.

“Did you all see and feel something?”

“Felt. A ripple of energy pulsed through all of us when you stuck your hand in. Not good energy either,” Caspian says, and by everyone, he means that. Not just my Nexus, our whole group experienced it.

I nod, catching my breath. “The realm is either about to have a war or is in the middle of one. The portal is closed for now, and it must stay that way. If their problems bleed everywhere else, it’s going to be bad. For all the realms.”

“How long has it been closed?” he asks.

“A thousand years,” I mumble.

“And some change or…?” Corentin tacks on.

“A thousand years exactly.”

My mind whirls around the possibilities. Gaster said they were already having issues when he left, so did Elementra know our problems would only become worse because of theirs? What if the Summum-Master stealing the gods’ power from there is that what triggers this event? If so, is that what he was referring to when he said he’d rule this realm and any other he chooses?

Oh fuck.

That thought is even more petrifying knowing that the Valorian Veil is viewed right beneath Elementra’s in terms of power and strength. Granted, that could be biased opinions of the scholars who wrote that, which means they could be even more powerful than us.

“Time to go. We got to check the portal to the Keep, then get to my blood supply,” I say frantically, lining myself back up with Oakly.

No one argues or needs any more discussion. That taste of energy was enough to give us all a feeling of what more we could face if we don’t guarantee his access to other realms is cut off.

This time, I don’t need a pep talk, reassurance, or guidance as I latch onto the location of the portal and send everyone their signal. The calm I felt has been replaced with a desperate desire to find my blood and destroy it. The last thing I want is to drag this out, end up in a war with a whole other realm. I want to worry about my own home, not decimate others in a senseless war.

The cave mouth comes into sight, and it’s just as hostile appearing in person as it was in my mind, but that doesn’t slow our steps.

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