Page 274 of Gift from the Source
A slow smile creeps across the old man’s face as he pauses with his teacup close to his mouth. The two of us sit silently as his eyes bounce between us.
“You know, I never knew the true significance of my line until you found out what and who you are, child. It spurred me on to do my own searching.”
“He’s about to tell us. We’re finally going to know his age, Primary.”
“I know. Oh my Elementra. I’m so excited I’m shaking.”
I send my shadows to wrap around her wrists and hers do the same to me. We wait patiently as the time seems to tick on forever.
“My mother requested her line be spared, so I was born a son, not a daughter. Good luck finding that trail, you two. I’ve left nothing behind. Those secrets are safe with me.”
Willow places a hand to my chest as I try to stomp toward the smiling old shit. He has the nerve to laugh and wink at me as my feet stop moving.
“Challenge accepted, old man.”
“Have funs, kids.”
He waves us off, chuckling as he finally brings the mug to his lip and picks his book back up. I have half a mind to dump the contents out all over what he’s reading.
Too bad I have more respect for the text in his hand.
“You’ll figure it out, Cas. All you needed was a name.”
My face is hot and turned up in a sneer until her words wrap around my heart.
There have been many, many times in our life together so far, our journey somewhere started with needing a name.
It may have taken a little time, a lot of patience, and many truths to be revealed, but she and I together always find what we’re looking for.
“We’ve got a lifetime to figure it out, little Primary.”
Thirty-seven
Willow
Fifty years after that
Her 226thbirthday
Two hundred years.
That’s how long I’ve walked this realm so far.
Alongside my men, my family, and the many friends I’ve been blessed enough to know along the way.
Life really settled down for us about thirty years ago. Despite the many ‘mini’ month-long vacations we’ve been on, that was the first extended time we really took away.
Even after Corentin, Tillman, and Draken retired from the academy, they started helping more with the palace E.F. and whatever needed to be done with the palace.
It’s hard to say I retired from anything as I’ve always bounced between Vito Academy, sometimes Terravile Pack Academy, a lot of time spent in the amplifier room, helping Oakly with whatever discovery she was working on, and of course, when duty of the realmcalled.
Cas, when he wasn’t rewriting history, the two of us really just floated around wherever we were needed. It kept us far busier than you’d think.
Aurora actually declared we had to take some time away.
She sat us all down and told us to get out of the palace.
We were flabbergasted.
