Page 19 of Gift from the Source
I’ve had to mentally coach and remind myself how to fucking breathe since we stepped foot in this realm. It’s been difficult keeping my calm, steady focus, and composure on this little rendezvous.
Willow’s handled herself impeccably in my opinion being back in the place that caused her so much fucking hurt, trauma, and pain. I, on the other hand, want to tear the walls down every time I hear her thoughts as she plays memories through her mind.
If I could rewind time, I’d choke Franklin before we killed him. And don’t get me started on Donald.
My brothers and I are going to enjoy the shit we put him through.
I inhale deeply once more as Will’s finger begins rounding the bloodied design we can see floating in the air, presumably against a ward. I release it slowly, pulling a Corentin and counting back in my mind.
My walls nearly crumbled when Ry’s, Lyker’s, Trex’s, and my ass almost got burned beyond repair. Will’s quick vision threw me through a loop.
As much as I hate it with every fiber of my being, I had no choice but to let her handle this on her own, without me leading her way protectively.
Once again, my little warrior’s vision came through and saved me from shit I couldn’t even see. So as much as I hate that she’s doing this step by step by herself, my belief in her far outweighs my fear.
I can say quite literally by this point, I’d die without her.
“Everyone, hold steady, it’s coming down,”I command.
The violent shaking is a dead giveaway even if we can’t tell what’s going on fully just yet.
The final illusion crashes down, and I expected to see the same brick prison walls, but instead, it reveals what looks like Dec and Xander’s living quarters.
If that’s what you want to call this closet of a space.
There’re two beds, two rugs, two dressers, and that’s about it when it comes to any sort of comfort. Nothing about it is homely, and the meager number of belongings tells me one of two things. Either they’re moved around a lot, so they’re not allowed to have a lot of stuff, or they refused to make any place they were in more comfortable.
A surge of panic slices across my chest at the same moment small vibrations move through my boots and my head whips up. Those trembles are different than the ones that rocked us all when the illusion came down, and whatever it is has Willow on the verge of freaking out.
She stands statue-still in front of the two men, both of whom have their hands up defensively, and my feet move faster than my mind.
I’m nearly to her when I slam to a stop, holding my fist up to make everyone behind me freeze.
“Don’t move or make any sudden moves. No fucking one.”
“If they hurt her, I’ll kill—”
“Enough, Caspian, they aren’t going to hurt her. They’re protecting her,”I bark.
That doesn’t calm any of my brothers down. They ignore what I just commanded and come to stand beside me, but what they see has them freezing as well.
“Back up, princess. Get over here now,”Corentin orders.
“No. Don’t, Willow. Stay right where you are,”I saygently.
Now that we can see the arch in the doorway, the room it leads to reveals high ceilings and a hallway that stretches farther back to another space.
Blocking our way through there, is Dec and Xander, who stand between Willow, us, and the twelve-foot giant that’s heaving heavily, staring at my little warrior.
I take in his features quickly, mapping out his not quite average size, his smooth face, and fucking gigantic muscles. Three things register to me immediately.
One, his hands aren’t balled into fists. They’re relaxed by his sides despite the rapid rise and fall of his chest.
Two, his eyes haven’t taken on an unearthly appearance. It’s said that when a giant falls to his or her protective instincts, their eyes go completely the color of their irises. So in this guy’s case, if he were triggered, his entire eyeballs would bleed orange.
Thirdly, he’s young. Very much so. I can tell by his smaller height. Fuck if that’s what you call a twelve-foot person.
“No one move or attack. This is a young giant, maybe even still juvenile. He’s not going to be able to control his instincts like a grown-up would.”
