Page 93 of Gift from the Wing

“And we are going to find him, son, I swear. But first you must calm down. Center yourself. Focus on the earth beneath your feet. Pull on its strength. Clear your mind. Deep breath for me now.”

Deep breath. Deep breath. Center yourself.

“There you go. You got it. Now focus on the minds around you. Hear what you can. Make sure none of the guards were aware of this.”

“I can do that.”

“I know you can, Tillme. We’re going to find him.”

Deep breath.

Snapping my eyes back open, I let the calm and center strength I’ve always had to find in moments like this wash over me. I clear away the fucking panic coursing through my veins and focus on the order of operations that now have to take place.

“Where’s Willow?”I ask my brothers through our connection, attempting to keep my voice level.

“Sitting with Tanith reading. What’s up, T-Man?”Draken asks in his natural chipper tone and my heart clenches painfully.

“Leave her right there for now. Don’t say anything. The rest of you get to the gates at the south wing now.”

“What’s happened, Tillman?”Corentin asks, instantly picking up a problem.

He doesn’t give me enough time to respond before he and Caspian pop up just a few feet from me. Their stoic and angry glares crumble for a split second as they see the healer working hard on Jamie. Their calculating eyes watch as Nikoli hits the ground on his knees again and rocks back and forth.

When they both look at me at the same time, all I can do is nod.

They already know something’s happened to the others.

“You’re lucky she’s all transfixed in her book right now or I wouldn’t—” Draken starts as soon as he steps up behind Corentin and Caspian until he sees what’s happening. “What the fuck is going on?”

I relay the small amount of information Nikoli has given me to them and they each morph into different men. Their anger, worry, and need for revenge are instantaneous and then the profound realization of why I didn’t want Willow here just yet sets in.

“She’s going to burn this fucking realm down,” Caspian says without a hint of his normal giddiness at the prospect of trouble. Even he in this moment understands how bad this could go.

Our Primary’s sister, her Perfecta Anima, has been kidnapped.

“Exactly. As soon as Jamie’s healed up and stable, we’ll get as much information as possible from them both. I’ll look into their minds to see what transpired leading up to the kidnapping. You,” I bark, pointing at a random E.F. member, “go to the palace compound.Tell Commander Roye to begin rounding up teams for an emergency mission on my orders. Tell him my second has been taken hostage.”

“We can’t keep this from her long, Tillman. I understand and agree until we know more, we don’t tell her, but we have to tell her as soon as possible,” Corentin says.

“Tell me what?”

That sassy, “ha-ha I got you” tone has the four of us freezing in our spots. Our bodies instinctively try to press closer together and block the sight of Jamie and Nikoli from her.

One look and she’ll know.

To my complete and utter fear, one look and she’s going to make this entire palace crumble.

Caspian commands his shadows out to block the scene in front of us and we slowly turn to face her. It’s obvious that we’re attempting to hide something from her, and it becomes even more pronounced as we all slam our blocks into place. She instantly feels it, even if we aren’t capable of truly blocking her out because of our bond, but she doesn’t push us.

The feisty smirk slides off her face, leaving behind a mixture of confusion and hurt skirting across her features. It slices my fucking heart open and I want more than anything to make it better because what we’re about to tell her is going to cause her even more pain.

When she stumbles back a step, naturally, we all reach out toward her.

“Why…What’s going on?” she asks in a voice so small my throat closes.

“Listen to me, Primary,” Caspian says so softly, her eyes well with tears when she whips her head to him. “I need you to stay calm. Push your emotions to the side and bring just logical thoughts forward. Can you do that for me?”

“Cas…what is going on?”

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