Page 91 of Gift from the Wing

Their whispers make me ask myself questions I haven’t considered in a long time, and I just fucking wish my mind would block it all out. Ignore it. I want to just continue to accept what I can’t change, believe that they would’ve been proud of me and my Nexus without any of the other feelings surfacing with those thoughts.

“Got your eye on any of the recruits to take back with you?” Uncle Roye asks, snapping me out of my mind.

“Not sure yet. Are they all as needy as that other little shit you recommended?” I ask, cocking my brow.

Based on his recommendation, I placed a fairly new but hungry E.F. member at the south wing gates to see how he does. He went to a third-year academy in Aeradora, graduated early, then transferred here to the palace, but he’s Nexus-less still.

He wants to transfer to the academy, hoping to find his brothers, and I’ve already approved for him to accompany us to see for himself, but damn, he’s got to learn some independence before I agree to let him transferthere full time. He calls me damn near every few hours. For absolutely nothing. I don’t need to give him permission to piss.

Uncle Roye swears the kid’s worth the headache, but I’ve yet to see it.

He’s not really a kid. Damn, he’s freshly twenty-nine, older than Draken, but fuck if he doesn’t act as immature as a teenager.

“Rich is only needy because he wants your attention. His water element damn near competes with Cas’s. Well, would have prior to him bonding, but still. He just needs some guidance and his brothers.” Uncle Roye defends, although he’s smirking. He knows the kid is needy.

“We’ll see. As for the others, regardless of whether I truly think they’re capable or not, they’ll have to get their shit together at the academy. The missions aren’t for the weak. Especially if we’re getting ready to face shit from other realms.”

“Uh. Thought about how you’re going to approach that? You know I’ll help however I can, but even we haven’t had to face relics not of Elementra,” he says, finally gaining a sense of seriousness.

“Gaster and Cas are working overtime to comb through information on any relics they can come across. That’s step one. We have to get a sense of the threat and how to destroy them. Not knowing what all Willow’s blood is capable of is a huge unknown, but we do know that we have to get rid of that supply. Cutting off the Summum-Master’s ability to continue moving through realms is the main priority.”

“So you all believe the mind reader?” he asks.

There’s no accusation in his tone, but I’m not surprised with us being betrayed at every turn that he’s hesitant to believe someone who’s still technically under the Mastery’s control.

“Yeah, we do. There’s no reason not to. His intentions may still lean on the selfish side, but all of ours would be if our brothers’ lives were at stake. More than that, though, he, just like Keeper, wants the revenge owed to him. He wouldn’t lie to Willow. He needs her to find his brothers. That’s his sole motivation.”

“Then we’ll start implementing harder trainings just in case you need the recruits. I’ll get Theo out here and start working with the groups on deflections. I’m sure his forcefields will be different than whatever the relicsdo, but they’ll have a sense of defending themselves against a power that can shove your ass across hundreds of yards.”

“Yeah, there’s no fucking telling. I can tell you, though, I won’t be taking any of the completed Nexuses to the academy or Mastery missions,” I say as I watch one of the few Primaries out here in the training field flip a man twice her size over her back.

I hide my smirk behind my hand so none of them see me laughing at him, but I make sure to watch this moment keenly so I can show Willow later. She’ll eat this shit up.

“Why not? The one you’re staring at right now is one of the fiercest members we’ve got. She kicks ass and takes names.”

“I don’t doubt that one bit, but you now know what the Mastery is doing. Primaries, females in general, are targeted so they can decide who they want paired and which men get power boosts. They don’t give a fuck they’re fully bonded. They can mark them and force them into a life of misery. We can’t risk having completed Nexuses ripped apart. It’s senseless and would kill her. What would her skills mean then?” I ask.

It’s sickening and it makes my stomach revolt. The thought that Willow came so close to experiencing that herself makes me see red.

No. Fuck no. We won’t be risking anyone like that.

If I could, I’d wrap Will up in soft moss and lock her away. Obviously, I know that’s a reality that’ll never happen, but I can dream.

“We’re gonna end them, Tillme. I swear.”

“I know, Uncle Roye. I know.” I sigh, clapping him back on the shoulder as we focus back on the sparing and drills being run.

He’s done phenomenal with every member here truly. I just don’t say it out loud for the recruits to hear. They’ll get that, minimally, from me if they return to the academy with us.

That’s everyone’s goal, well, for any who want to see the fight up close. Most members who are stationed here at the palace are responsible for territory patrols and smaller scale missions. Those who come to the academy know what’s in store for them.

While walking through the large compound observing the E.F. members, I keep both my eyes and my ears open, but my mind wanders to everything else.

I’ve been running through the possibilities of what Trex said to Willow nonstop. I fucking hate the idea of her attempting to coax Dec into her dreams, but at the same time, it seems that’s going to be the fastest way to find them. Once we find them, I have a feeling we’ll find out a shit ton more. Simply because we can remove all their runes.

The three of them have been Mastery pawns for over ten years now. The information they may hold could be invaluable. The fact that Trex was able to give us what he could on her blood while still having the rune in place just tells me they know shit we need to know. Even if it’s something as simple as the Summum-Master’s fucking eating habits, it’ll be more on him than we currently have.

Not only that but also their gifts will be useful to us in this battle. Fucking top notch mind manipulating gifts. I won’t force them to fight, but Codi certainly will, so there’s that.

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