Page 73 of Gift from the Source
He isn’t staring at Dec but at his feet. He’s hurt, furious, but he’s trying his hardest to keep his cool about him. The tremble that passes through his skin and into me when I stand and move beside him shakes me to my core.
“That isn’t all, sir,” Codi whispers.
“Spit it out. Now,” Tillman commands, sending another vibration through the table.
“Claven is Mastery. Has been since before your E.F. leader trials. He was the one who trained Dec and Xander when they were separated from Trex. Everything he learned from the academy he taught them. Then he was tasked to win and recruit the students.
“When he lost and Corentin offered him the combat instructor position, the Summum-Master told him he had to take it. Since students and staff, with the exceptions, can’t leave the academy except for breaks and closures, Claven was stuck there. Dec would dream walk with him to train, then would pass it on.” Codi delivers the news as he would if this were a mission report.
No emotion, no hesitation. But the betrayal, fear of Tillman’s reaction, and want to protect his brother are all evident in the aura surrounding him.
Tillman doesn’t say a word as he turns on his heel and marches a few feet in the lawn before taking off down the running trail. My gaze stays locked on him and my gift caresses his mind. He doesn’t shove me out, but I know he doesn’t want the invasion right now. The anger and regret pouring from him make my heart hurt.
Corentin pushes from his chair and steps around me to follow, but I latch onto his arm and shake my head. Neither of us is who will defuse him at the moment.
“Ry, he’s going to the tree house,” I say softly, asking with my eyes for him to go after him.
His anger is written across every feature, but he nods stiffly, gives Oakly a kiss on her forehead, then goes after my gentle giant.
“If Claven was Mastery the whole time, why didn’t the Summum-Master attack the academy earlier?” Nikoli asks.
“I wasn’t able to get through to your caster. It was nearly impossible to get into anyone’s minds if they were inside the wards of your academy. Claven was different because he’d been open and willing to me being in his dreams. Plus, our marks connected all of us in some weird fucked-up way,” Dec says after he clears his throat.
“Then Tillman beat Claven’s ass on Willow’s first day. Corentin fired him and told him to pack his shit. There was really no way then for any of them to reach the inside of the academy until that stalker bitch who was already on the inside got her hands on the caster,” Draken summarizes, connecting the rest of the dots.
I close my eyes for a second and breathe before sitting back down in my seat. This whole time, Tillman’s been suspecting someone was giving the Mastery our trainings and we’ve believed it was the two families betraying us.
There was more than that.
Clearing his throat, Corentin sits back down and laces his fingers with mine. “Anything else of that level of importance, Dec? We don’t need every little detail on everyone you’ve shared dreams with.”
“No,” he says mournfully.
“Do you want us to wait on you before we move to Xander?”Corentin asks Tillman.
“No. I’ll watch through Willow’s mind later,”he says gruffly.
I wish more than anything I could take away the unwarranted guilt all of them are feeling.
Dec over what he’s done.
Corentin for giving Claven the job.
And Tillman for believing it’s all his fault because he convinced Corentin to do so.
None of them are to blame. They had no way of knowing.
“Xander,” I say with a pinched smile and nod.
“I was responsible for cloaking some of the compounds around Elementra before we were moved permanently. I’ve also been brought back into the realm a couple of times without Dec to do that. It’s pretty straightforward. These are just Mastery stations that are covered with my gift to look like normal buildings, farms, houses. You’d walk right by them and never know.”
“Where?” Cas immediately asks.
“Mostly Terian. The Summum-Master is partial to that territory. More open land, places to hide, and multiple species of shifters. They’re usually brutal fighters,” X says.
“We’ll be needing those locations,” Corentin says.
“Of course. As for my biggest and main responsibility, as you all know. I’m the one who’s cast an illusion over the Summum-Master’s face. His identity being a secret has always been in his top priorities. Someone had gotten too close to knowing it or outing him and he panicked. He’s made me strengthen and reapply the illusion countless times now.”
