Page 21 of Gift from the Source
“Remarkable, truly. Do you need assistance removing your own or shall you do it?” Keeper asks Trex. He’s not the least bit upset or worried that Trex is able to do this. He’s impressed.
“I can do it. Will you make sure theirs is completely gone, though? Please?” Trex asks, surprising the fuck out of me.
I think that’s the first time he’s been nice to anyone other than Willow or Codi.
“Of course. If they’ll allow it,” Keeper says, arching a brow at the very nervous-looking men.
“Are you okay?” Willow asks as the two men nod and Keeper walks toward them. At first, I thought she was asking me, until I look down and she’s staring behind me.
Glancing over my shoulder, Codi is standing there, awkward as fuck with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth. He looks like a lost puppy, not at all the E.F. member I’ve trained him to be.
“Didn’t want to interrupt their moment, that’s all.”
“It’s your moment too. Go introduce yourself. We got your back,” I tell him.
He blows out a harsh breath and his fists flex inside of his pockets. The nerves are obvious, but as soon as their bond snaps in place, it’ll go away. Jamie was this same way when he first met Ry, Nikoli, and San, but it vanished instantly when their bonds completed.
Nodding, he steps through us as Keeper steps away from Dec and Xander.
“Hey,” he says fucking weirdly with a small wave as though they can’t see him.
Draken snorts beside me, but the noise abruptly ends when the room surges with power. It’s fleeting but powerful enough none of us could move even if we wanted to.
Seconds pass as the three of them stare at each other.
Then they collide.
Dec and Xander hug, pat down, and smile at Codi like they’ve been waiting a lifetime for him—which I guess, to be fair, they have. Although I’ve seen Nexus members meet for the first time, this experience will never get old. It’s hard to explain the rightness that comes over you when you meet your Nexus brothers, but it’s a feeling of completeness that’s unmatched.
Well, that is until you complete your bond with a Primary. Then you finally see the realm in colors you never could’ve imagined.
“I hate to rush this endearing reunion, but we need to finish what we came for and get out of this place. Proper introductions will have to wait. You two recognize Willow. She’s in charge. The mini giant behind her is Tillman. He’s E.F. Leader. Whatever the two of them say goes,” Corentin orders and everyone’s shoulders straighten.
“Right, her blood,” Dec says, looking at my little warrior. “Prepare yourself. I’m not sure what you’ve imagined this moment or view to look like, but I just want you to know ahead of time, it may be a lot for you.”
Will’s eyes widen slightly, and running through her mind is the fact she hasn’t really thought about it at all. She hasn’t been picturing what it mayactually look like, only that there was a stockpile somewhere and it needs to be destroyed.
Clearing her throat, she bobs her head toward the hallway Carrington is standing in front of. “I’m assuming it’s through there?”
“Yeah.” He nods, then turns to the real giant in the room. “Okay, Car, remember what we talked about. Now that the owner of the blood’s here, you don’t have to protect it anymore. Then we’re getting out of here, okay?”
“I remember. It’s hers so she can do with it how she pleases. Then we leave,” Carrington says, nodding repeatedly like they’ve gone over this plan with him a thousand times.
“That’s right. We’ll get you home after this,” Willow says brightly, already planning in her mind that she’ll figure out how to open a portal to Colosyree for him.
“Where we go, he goes,” Xander says sternly, and my head whips toward his tone.
I find his eyes already on me, and I crash into his mind with ease. He doesn’t even resist, either knowing he couldn’t stop me, or he wants me to hear what he’s thinking.
Fuck.
“He was kidnapped. He’s eighteen now and this happened when he was thirteen. There’s no one for him to go back home to. They’ve been taking care of him for five years now,”I tell my Nexus.
“Oh no,”Will mumbles sadly.
“Great, so we’re taking an overgrown toddler back with us. How the hell do you suppose we hide a giant in Elementra?”Cas asks.
His attitude is nothing but a deflection he doesn’t need to bother using anymore. The undertones we all hear speak his truth about how Carrington’s situation affects him.
