Page 12 of Gift from the Source
“Corentin is right. You’re not to come back to this realm, or any mission, or fight or anything ever again. You’re to stay in the comfort ofthe palace, mansion, or academy forever and ever.” I heave as I place my hands on my hips and stare Gaster down.
“I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you very much, missy.”
“Who’s being overprotective and possessive now?” Caspian says sarcastically as he emerges from the shadows with Draken and Keeper in tow.
They honestly took far longer than I figured they would’ve.
“Did you witness any of that? He could’ve been burned.” I fuss, being far too dramatic, but I swear my heart feels like it’s trying to crawl up and out of my throat.
“You’re one hundred percent correct, Adored,” Keeper says, bowing his head, but I see the shit-eating grin on his face.
He’s just trying to stir the pot.
“You see how it feels, huh, Willy? It’s never easy watching you run into danger.”
“Traitor, whose side are you on? You should be fussing at him as well.”I snark at Oakly as she chuckles.
“I’ll stay out of trouble, child. Don’t fuss over me anymore. We had that completely handled, right, boys?” Gaster asks, and I narrow my eyes, daring my men to disagree with me on this.
“Stay behind us at all times, Gaster,” Tillman orders, drawing a victorious smile to my face. “See Lyker on your way back down?”
“Yeah, they’re on the way down now,” Draken answers as he comes to stand by my side.
Not two seconds later, Lyker, Aria, Lennox, Kyan, Zane, Codi, and Trex all enter the room and my gaze trails over each of them, making sure they’re okay.
I’m not sure if it’s just being in this house, not knowing what we’re getting ready to face, or what, but my protective instincts are in overdrive. My dragon is restless in my chest, needing to sense and make sure each of her family,her flight, is okay. It’s bleeding throughout me and I can’t tame it.
Draken’s eyes trace along my body, but they linger for a while on my chest before they lift and meet mine. It’s as though he knows what’s running through my mind.
“It’s not a bad thing or anything you should try to shove down, little wanderer. It’s her natural response. It’s likely the tight quarters that’s making her even more jumpy. There’s nowhere here for her to spread her wings if need be, so she’s hypervigilant. Embrace it.”
Apparently, he does.
The moment I take a deep breath and tell my dragon everything’s okay, we’ll protect them, she calms right down, standing guard, ready for anything.
“How did you know?”
“My dragon sent me an impression of your dragon pacing back and forth. I’ve felt that instinct every day for fourteen years. I knew what you needed,”he says cockily, shooting me a wink.
My dragon and I roll our eyes while giving him a grateful smile before I focus on Tillman. “So that leaves four.”
“Ry.”
“They’re in the exact direction Willow said we’d be heading. Looks like the door has guards now.”
“Four against nineteen. Easy-peasy,” Oakly cheers, earning herself a glare from her most burly of men.
She isn’t wrong.
Hopefully.
Other than Ry’s intense stare, no one disagrees or discourages her words and we set back off throughout the house. With each step, the tension in my body grows. The closer we get to what we’ve been preparing, training weeks for, the more anxious I grow.
Not fearfully anxious, but excitedly.
My body is jittery with the multitude of emotions coursing through me. The instincts of my dragon that are still surging, the love pounding in my heart from my men, Gaster, Oakly, even my brother. The thrill of finally getting rid of the blood that ran through generations of females in my family.
It’s a lifeforce that was stolen from all of us, and now I get to set it free.
