Page 51 of Gift from the Source
“Do you need me to stay, Adored? Tanith is having a fit. She doesn’t even want to fly here but is demanding someone come transport her,” Keeper says as he pulls me in for a hug.
“Ugh, she’s going to hate that.” I grimace.
“Well, she will learn her lesson now, won’t she?” he says, smirking deviously.
“That she will. We can fill you in when the two of you get back.”
“San can transport you,” Ry tells Keeper before turning to Tillman and me. “The rest of us will be outside. Carrington couldn’t fit through the door, so the others are out there with him.”
I mouth, “Thank you,” to him as he makes everyone leave. The only people remaining now are my men, Gaster, Oakly, and Lyker, and the emotions instantly start to swell in my eyes.
“Here, child, drink this first,” Gaster orders, setting a mug in front of me, and I smell the calming tonic in it.
“Thank you.”
“What happened, Willy?” Oakly asks, much softer this time.
“My last memory unlocked. CC’s…the bits that he left out from the first time around. It’s his last moments,” I choke and the room descends into a deadly silence. I cough to clear my clogged throat, then continue, “I’d say just let me tell you all what happened, but it’s not just the way he died that’s important. It’s multiple pieces finally coming together and I think you should see it.”
Part of me feels guilty that Aurora isn’t here as well, but I quickly shut that down when my stomach starts to turn. She wouldn’t want to see this. She’d rather hold onto the last night they spent together. Her just finally knowing how will be enough for her.
If not, I’ll show her alone or with her men surrounding her.
“Go on, Primary. Don’t drag this out any longer,” Cas orders darkly and I reach out and squeeze his hand.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes,” everyone echoes.
Okay then…
Like I’ve done countless times now, my gift wraps around their minds and spills the secrets I always get to know first. It’s taken me up to this moment, this secret, to finally understand why.
Each time I’m shown something, I must make the decision, who, when, how, and why anyone else needs to know. Because the knowledge will give them each a choice to make and that will change their paths.Everyone is their own person, yet their reactions can cause a chain reaction that no one sees coming.
I wish I could say watching the second time around is easier because I know what’s to come. But that’s the furthest thing from the truth.
I don’t sob or scream like I did in the nonmagical realm, but my tears coat my face and slide down my neck like a waterfall. I know every eye at the table is wet. Even if I could open my lids right now to verify that assumption, I wouldn’t dare. It would kill me.
The emotions soaring off them and pounding into my chest are bad enough. It’s like a war drum, readying everyone for battle. And that’s exactly what this will start. We already know that time is coming, but now, the reason, the motivation is even more solidified.
As soon as I cut the threads connecting us, a kitchen chair hits the ground with an ear-splitting bang. The painstaking, deep, ragged breaths Gaster is attempting to take suck all the air out of the room. He rushes over to the counter and bellows in the empty sink, creating a melody that is haunting and unforgiving.
My men…they aren’t showing their emotions as outwardly as Gaster is, but their sorrow and anger bleed into me. They can’t cut off the flow, nor would I expect them to. Instead, I tie myself to each of them. A gentle hug to Tillman’s mind. A halo of light around Corentin’s laced fingers. A leash of shadows connecting me to Cas. A never-ending caress to my mating mark for Draken.
I sit with them in their mourning and let them feel whatever they need to feel.
Our moment feels like it lasts a lifetime until finally Gaster’s sobs taper off and my men all release deep breaths. With a squeeze to my shoulder from Cas and my thigh from Draken, I take that as my sign now is the time I can comfort him.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Gaster,” I whisper into his chest when he pulls me in close.
“Don’t apologize, child. I needed that answer. I needed it more than I could ever describe. I’ve lost sleep at night thinking he was by himself,dying alone somewhere. He wasn’t alone.” His voice breaks as his arms tighten around me.
“I wasn’t. I had a piece of both of you in those last moments, and that made it all better. I promise,”CC says and a shuddering breath falls from Gaster.
“Why, my boy? Why did this have to happen?”
“Please tell us,”I beg.
