Page 61 of Gift from the Wing

None of us say or ask anything else as we focus back on the show being put on before us. The guys’ confusion and awe grow as the numbers begin to dwindle down. The smaller the attacking group gets, the faster they move in, and the faster Aurora and her men retaliate. Before the last of the Mastery members fall to nothing but particles and get sucked into the box, they’re all basically a blur of motion I struggle to keep up with.

Silence reigns as the box pulls in the last of the fallen, and with a loud almost zipping sound, it vibrates violently, then settles back to its glowing, still state.

My mouth gapes open, with my jaw nearly on the ground as I stare at Aurora and her men, who are smiling at one another, breathing heavily, and high-fiving like they didn’t just put on the most badass battle I’ve ever seen.

Sure, we’ve gone against numbers like this and come out on top, but that was just extraordinary. They barely moved from their first positions in that circle, and they took down fifty Mastery members as if it was a walk in the park. Within minutes. Yeah, they were fake, but still, that was impressive.

“What in the realm was that?” Caspian barks as the silence stretches on too long.

“That, son, was the unity of a true and completed Nexus,” Roye says.

“How were you all using elements you don’t possess?” Corentin asks immediately.

Aurora puts her hands up, halting all questions and answers as she catches her breath with a dazzling, energetic smile on her face. She’s practically glowing right now in the aftermath of that display.

“There is a lot to explain, so just allow me to do that first, then ask your questions afterward. Okay?” she asks and when we all nod, she lowers her hands.

“That is an illusion box. Tilly and Ian were the main creators, but her whole Nexus took part in it as well,” she says softly, smiling at Tillman.

Ian…

Looking over at Tillman, he’s tense, still, but he’s trying to shake it off. Ian was one of his dads. He had the gift of Illusion, apparently a strong one. He’s only told me their names and talked about them twice with me. The first time was the night I woke him from his nightmare, and the second, the conversation struck up after we found out Trex’s brother was an illusionist.

It was just a small moment, a quick conversation where he talked about them freely then changed the subject. I’m starting to see now that my big, gentle giant has been doing a wonderful job of hiding his hurt from me.

It’s just in this moment that I’m realizing all the times he’s distracted me and changed the subject anytime his parents have been brought up. I’ve fallen for it and moved on without complaint each time because every now and then he’ll make comments about how they’d have loved me, and that’s given me a sense of knowing more about them than I truly do.

Oh my gosh, he did it with that cute nickname too.

It sends a pang through me that I try to shove down because he obviously hasn’t wanted to talk about this or just hasn’t felt comfortable enough to bring it up. When or if he wants to talk about it, he will, but until now, I always thought he’s been completely open with me about how losing all his parents affected him. That’s not the case, I see.

I swallow down any hurt or negative feelings I may have because it’s not my place to push him or any of them to talk to me about things like this if they don’t want to. So it’s unfair of me to be upset that he hasn’t brought it up. I obviously don’t do the best job, though, because he squeezes my hand.

“Tilly used her knowledge of fighting and instructed Ian on what an ideal fighting scenario would look like had any of us got stuck in a situation like this where we’d be outnumbered and surrounded. Since the illusions aren’t real, we still needed a way to measure the damage we’d take if one were to strike us, so Hudsen embedded the rebels with his electricity. They give small zaps every time they hit you.

“Those first few training sessions were rough and needless to say, we got shocked enough times to decide we had to start working better together. Drudy, as you know, wasn’t one to be forthcoming with everything it meant to be a true Primary, so Tilly and I were on our own in learning. Until my sneaky brother gifted us a book,” Aurora says, nodding at Neil, who carries the glowing box back into the secret room and emerges with hopefully the book she’s referring to.

My eyes zero in on the bound leather and my heart knows it’s full of CC’s handwriting without me even needing to see it. His signature is all over it and the tie between him and me pulses in my chest.

“He’d been compiling research on true Primaries and their true abilities once their Nexus was complete. I have a feeling he got a lot of this information from his visions, and…” She trails off, looking at me sadly before clearing her throat. “From your mom, Willow.”

My heart flutters at the mention of her. I may be biased, obviously, but I’m positive my mom was the best true Primary to walk this realm. I haven’t been given the luxury of seeing everything she was capable of, nor do I know much of her Nexus outside of what Lyker’s told me. But there’s no doubt they were incredible.

“I believe the guardian bloodline, which is what Keeper has referred to you as, Willow, were, are, a more evolved line. You can manipulate multiple elements, gifts, and so did your mom. Tilly and I were only able to learn how to push our elements through our Nexus members, even if they don’t possess our element. Even that helped tremendously, but I have a feeling for all of you, it’ll be so much more because you have all four elements at your disposal. Plus, you possess each of their gifts. I think you’ll be able to strengthen that as well.”

I gaze at my men, who are staring at their mom like she’s grown a second head, but something about her words settles itself inside my chest. Our bonding already strengthened their power, they’ve got new abilities as well, but if I were to combine my power with theirs…Shit.

“May I?” I ask, pointing to the book in Aurora’s hand.

“Of course.” She hands it to me gently.

As I run my fingers down the cover, a tingle passes through them and I smile, sensing his familiar magic. Opening it up to the first page, tears immediately well in my eyes at his handwriting. The ink is still plenty legible even after all this time. Aurora has taken great care of this book.

The Primary is the sole Source of the Nexus. They’re the center being who can fully activate a Nexus as one and balance the power of air, earth, water, and fire.

I smile down at the words I’ve read before. They’re in my journal, and it’s the first thing I read on Primaries after the truth was revealed to me about being the guys’ true Primary. What surprises me, though, are the paragraphs after the introduction. It’s an insert I’ve never read before.

Touch is a vital component of a Nexus and a natural want for a Primary. Their need to have physical contact with the members of their Nexus is ingrained in their DNA because they naturally seek to strengthen them. It is the gateway for the growth and development of the forming or formed bond and without it, the power will not flow properly from one member to the next. A Nexus cannot be strong if they are not close.

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