Page 132 of Gift from the Wing

My eyes widen, and my hand quits reaching out for my own mug as I take in his words. Part of me completely agrees, whereas the other part feels like I’m getting kicked out of school.

I whip my head over to Tillman when he snorts and shakes his head at me, and I cock my eyebrow at him.

“You’re not getting kicked out, little warrior. The paperwork would be filed that you’ve completed all levels of training, but seriously, all you did before the mission was study with Gaster, work with Vince, and train with the E.F. You were basically already done with classes.”

“I mean, yeah, I get that. I guess I was just caught off guard. What would I do then and what about Draken?” I ask. If I’m not taking any classes, there’s surely no reason he needs to.

My dragon man throws his head back, laughing, causing both Corentin and Tillman to grumble under their breaths, but this is obviously something they all have already thought about.

“Draken’s going to be done as well, against my better judgment. He’s picked up a class that he’s going to help instruct,” Corentin says with a huff.

“You what?” I turn to face Draken fully, the surprise evident in my tone, face, everything, and he shoots me a wink.

“Corentin’s making it sound more important than it really is. I’m going to assist Vince with Layton’s one-on-one classes. He’s going to meet with the two of us every day, as long as our Nexus doesn’t have other shit going on, until he gains better control over his shifts. Then he can move into a normal shifter class. We’re going to take him to the academy the day after tomorrow to get a tour just like we did with you.”

My heart.

I see him trying to downplay this, but it’s incredibly sweet and not only that, this is a responsibility and role none of us ever would’ve thought Draken would willingly take on. Yeah, he helps Tillman with the E.F.members, but that’s training, fighting. This is molding a young mind and helping him develop into the best shifter he can be.

“I’m so proud of you.”

I blow him a kiss when his cheeks flush and I’ve got to admit, it does something to me being able to make one of my men blush.

“Okay, so what’s the plan for me?” I ask, turning my attention back to Corentin.

“I wanted your opinion on this, but I think it’s wise you still spend your mornings with Gaster and Oakly, but Keeper and Tanith will be included in that now. As long as they’re stuck here, they should learn everything they can, and I think they’ll be beneficial to you. The time with them can be dedicated for you to learn and do as much research as you can on everything. Your bloodline, the five families, the history of Elementra, dream walking. Anything you think you need to put your mind to. If you need to come here and use the amplifier room during the day or whatever you may need here, you’re not on a schedule that would interfere with that. Plus, Cas or Draken can come with you.

“Also, you still need to train. We need to continue training as a group. I think Oakly and her Nexus should join us. She needs to learn the capabilities of what a true completed Nexus can do. So our mornings are going to look a little different when classes start back up. Other than that, you’ll just be fluid, like Cas.”

Huh.

Bringing my coffee to my lips, I hum over the rim as I try to paint a picture in my mind of what my days will look like. Honestly, not much different than they did prior to this decision.

With the obvious exceptions and additions, nothing drastic will change. Plus, I think it’ll take some pressure off me. I like the thought of dedicated time to focus on the issues at hand rather than letting them continue to rotate through my mind on repeat. Granted, that probably won’t significantly change because I fixate, but it’ll help.

I’ll never complain about time spent with Gaster and Oakly, but it’s exciting to think about adding Tanith and Keeper to the equation. I haveso much to learn from Tanith, and Keeper has a realm of knowledge in his own right.

I like it.

“Sounds perfect to me, your highness,” I say, grinning and shooting him a wink, but I see one more issue on his tongue. One I don’t want to decide yet. “We’ll play it by ear on where we’ll stay. I’m not ready to decide.”

He smiles softly, understandingly. He feels it too. When I look at the other three, they do as well. Even though Cas hasn’t ventured into his room much other than to shower, he’s scoured my book collection, eavesdropped into the amplifier room, and ghosted through all the walls. I know he loves it here too. The decision feels impossible.

“Okay, princess. We’ll decide later,” he says, leaning over to lay a quick kiss on my hand.

Later.

Eighteen

Draken

“Wake up, dragon.”

My eyes fly open, yet I can’t move, and Caspian doesn’t even give me a minute to get my wings about me before moving me through the fucking shadows.

We materialize in the hallway our rooms are on, in front of a pissy-ass-looking Tillman, but before I can grumble or bitch about my rude awakening, he’s shoving my shirt, pants, and some shoes against my chest.

I’m already unstable from being surprised and his heavy-ass hand knocks me even more off balance till I’m falling into the wall.

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