Page 185 of Gift from the Wing

Dec shakes his head sadly, clenching his fists to his sides. “I can’t say. Whatever rift you all have caused in the realm has made him paranoid. He tugs on my rune daily. X as well.”

“We’ve taken down several structures by this point. Took back the Terravile pack, broke Keeper, the vampire, out of the forest, killed some of his top Masters, and the latest ordeal, we captured, then my Nexus member killed the scientist, Darstein,” I say factually.

“You what?” he asks lowly as though he doesn’t believe it.

“Now we’re—”

“Wait a second,” I say, cutting Trex off. “We can’t tell him what we’re doing. What if he tells the Summum-Master or someone gets it out of his head?”

Trex looks heartbroken at the prospect of me accusing his brother of being loyal to the Summum-Master, but that’s not what I’m implying. Hedoesn’t have much of a choice in his loyalty or have any control over who has access to his mind at any time. We’ve been planning for way too long to lose the ability to track down my blood right here a week from it.

“I know I’ve made a really piss-poor first impression, and I’m deeply sorry for that. I have every intention of making that up to you now, as well as informing Xander of everything as well. The next time you see me, meet him, I swear to you, it won’t be like this. Ever again. The truth came from my brother’s mouth, and I have complete faith in him. There’s no loyalty between X, me, and the Summum-Master and no one checks on us, really. It’s the same people. They never change, never leave. I put that on my life and my brothers,” he says seriously, never breaking his eye contact from mine.

Subtly blowing out my breath, I look him over from head to toe. That same feeling in my gut that I had about Trex in that shitty situation I was in fills me when I look at Dec.

He’s just a victim of his circumstance as well.

“I’m sorry for making that sound like I thought you were on the Mastery’s side. I meant that I’ve met a couple people now who have been forced into this, and they don’t have a choice on what they can or can’t keep secret, but…” I pause, searching inside myself once more before making my decision. “We’re going to track and destroy my blood supply. Whatever the Summum-Master intends to do with it will bring destruction to Elementra.”

A range of emotions, from disbelief to relief, crosses his face. He glances at each of us slowly, and I have no clue what’s running through his mind, but a slow smile begins to spread across his lips.

“If you—”

Small trembles below our feet interrupt his words, and he tilts his head up to the sky as the three of us look around in confusion.

Suddenly, the foundation of this dream reality that I’ve woven shakes more violently, sending me falling into Codi’s side. The water from the pool a few hundred or so feet away shoots into the air like a fountain, the mansion begins to crumble, and all the trees in the forest start uprooting.

A crack in the earth splits right between us, sending Dec jumping backward, and Trex crashes into me and Codi.

“What the hell is happening?” I shout.

Dec glances around us with calm written across his features as though he’s experienced this a million times.

“You’re waking up,” he hollers.

“What? How? We’ve barely been here thirty minutes.”

He shakes his head at me. “Time moves very differently in the realm of dreams.”

Shit.

“We’ll do this again. We’ll come back and figure out a plan without messing with your rune.” Trex swears.

Again, a smile creeps across Dec’s face. He’s just as calm and steady as though he’s in his element. “No need, brother. If you find her blood, you’ll find us.”

We stare in stunned silence as the earth continues to shift and separate us further from Dec. A cloud of black fog edges up behind him and a chill at my back has me peering over my shoulder, witnessing the same darkness closing in around us.

My panicked gaze whips back to where he stands on the brink of the now massive sinkhole. He offers me a small nod, and with a smile to Trex and Codi, he waves bye as the darkness swallows him whole.

The three of us share a look, letting the realization of his last words settle in, and I hold their gazes as the black fog sucks them in.

Leaving me alone.

What the fuck do I do?

The darkness grows closer, circling me, but it never fully engulfs me. Reaching out to run my fingers through it, it fades and splits open to present a path for me to walk. Right back to my pallet.

Okay then. The way out is the same way I got in.

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