1. One

One

Corentin

"Come on, Cas, it's not funny anymore."

Huffing, I cross my arms and stare into the forest, searching for my brother. I'm not gonna fall for his childish trick this time. I know he's in there, waiting for me. Then he's gonna jump out and scare me just to make my gift flare to life.

"All right, Caspian, I'm going back to the palace. You said we could hang out till that girl got here," I call out, knowing taking a jab at her will draw him out.

He's sensitive to her, swears she's the one, but I don't believe it. Our parents wouldn't have arranged a Primary for us. Especially without speaking to me about it.

"CORENTIN."

The blood in my veins runs cold as my name tearing from my brother's throat travels through the forest, making not only me but everything around me freeze. There's no hint of teasing, no quiet chuckle that always follows his mischievous taunting. There's haunting silence.

Something's wrong.

I know it, my gift knows it, my element knows it. My bond knows it.

"CAS-CASPIAN… answer me."

My bellow echoes through the silence as I begin to glow brighter than the sun. The panic surging through me forces my air and gift to move my body faster than I've ever moved before, speeding through the rays of light cutting through the canopies above. The briars and fallen limbs slice my shins as I push my legs to pump harder, but I don't let it slow me down.

Follow the sound, find him.

I screech to a halt when three distinct black capes run ahead, dragging Caspian between them. He's thrashing around savagely, trying his hardest to break free, but they have his hands encased in stone and a Star gem dangles from his neck.

The ground beneath my feet seems to open and suck me in. My life, our life together, flashes before my eyes. He's my life, my best friend, and he's currently in the clutches of our enemies.

I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

My gaze traces the blood dripping down the side of his cheek, down his neck, soaking into his shirt. What have they done?

"CORE," he screams as soon as he sees me, and I snap my gaze back up to meet his panicked eyes. Eyes that match mine. The terror in his voice breaks me out of my stupor and I'm instantly on the move again.

When all three rebels turn to me, they pull Caspian up to his feet, yelling orders at one another. They're too far away from me to hear, but their pause gives me time. I can reach him. I can save him.

Fifty feet…forty feet…thirty…twenty…ten…

I command my element to propel me forward, arms stretched out, ready to grab him.

"CASPIAN."

My limbs close around nothing, and dirt fills my mouth as I face-plant the ground and continue spiraling across the forest floor. I roll and roll until finally my back slams into a tree, knocking the breath out of me.

Unfortunately, reality knocks into me.

My tongue swipes across my lip where the coppery taste of my blood mingles with the gritty texture of the dirt, and the combination creates an uncontrollable reaction in me. My arms, legs, my whole body shakes as my vision grows dark and the only thing keeping me grounded is my fingers digging viciously into the earth.

I'm too afraid to look up at the spot he just was.

I know what I'll see.

Nothing.

He's gone.

The sound of Caspian screaming my name buzzes louder in my ear than the infuriating, nonstop ringing coming through the communicator. I can't stop replaying the day. The memory's now a robotic version of the events that transpired because once I finally gained enough composure to look up from the ground, I lost my mind. I screamed, I raged, I blacked out.

I lost total control.

Now, history is repeating itself.

The panic my bond felt that day holds no candle to this. No matter the amount of planning, preparation, meditation, you name it, would have prepared me for this. This feeling that my heart is being ripped out of my chest. That at any minute, my bond is going to shred me to pieces.

It's suffocating.

Pacing around the spot where she just stood as if my focus and concentration on it will bring her back does nothing to calm the rising light that's trying to cut through its cages.

There's a subtle glow on my skin that grates my nerves. It's a beacon announcing to everyone in this dilapidated gym that I can't control my gift. I can't control myself. How the hell do I control myself when the person who means more to me than the entirety of this realm was just taken, kidnapped right in front of me?

And she gave herself up, willingly, in exchange for everybody else's safety.

Why, Willow?

"Answer the communicator, Gaster," I command for the thirteenth time. Why the fuck is he not answering?

It's a stupid question. I know why. He's staring at that Elementra forsaken south wing.

"I'll transport to the Palace and—"

"No, you won't. Absolutely not. None of us are going to be separated right now," I cut Tillman off before he finishes his sentence. I can't risk something happening to one of us.

I can't lose…

"Corentin my boy. I'm sorry, I was—"

"Get to the training gym now," I order. Frustrated and pissed he answered the communicator so excited to hear from me when my world is crashing down.

"What's wrong?"

"We've been attacked. Get. Here. Now," I grit out, hanging the call up before he wastes any more of my time asking questions.

Five…four…three…two…one…

On my exhale, I shut everything down.

I close off my mind, my heart, my bond, my gift. I lock it all back up in the cages I've carefully constructed just for them and slip on my blank mask. I have no time for the overwhelming emotions. I can't fall apart.

They need me.

She needs me.

Tillman lost control for a split second, then reined it in, but it was enough as the entire foundation in the gym trembled, causing the already ruined equipment and simulation course to come crashing down. The only reason I know he's barely holding it together is his eyes. To everyone else, they're sharp, steady, focused. But I know better. They're unhinged, wild.

Draken can't pull his beast back fully. He's no longer scorching the floor with every step he takes, but his eyes are glowing, smoke is blowing through his nostrils and fingertips, and he can't form a lucid sentence.

Caspian damn near swallowed the entire gym in his darkness. The E.F. members and our friends who are here with us were on the verge of suffocating. His shadows were smothering the air out and he didn't even realize it. Looking at him now, his lip is busted, same as my knuckles. The darkness is lurking, preparing to pounce on anyone who gets in his way.

"Corentin, I'm here. Where—" Gaster stops mid-sentence, mid-step, staring around at the destruction.

"We have to get to your office. Oakly's in your pocket dimension, and we need her out. Now," I state, stomping my way through the massive hole in the gym wall where the doors once were.

"Elementra," he mumbles when he comes to stand beside me, getting his first look at the training fields.

Craters and holes deeper than Tillman's height decorate the fields, and the ground is littered with bodies, some smoldering, some torn apart. Just from what I saw in the heat of the battle, no students were killed, but we lost some of our men, and the Mastery sure as fuck lost some of theirs.

"Team one, go check for any survivors. Any Mastery members alive, detain them, get the students gathered here. Team two, half of you go get the healers and bring them here. The other half, go find the Caster. We need to figure out how the fuck the ward was brought down so fast. Go. Now," Tillman orders.

Nodding in acknowledgement, they head off to do as they were told, and I turn to lead our group toward the academy. Before we take three steps, another transport opens and we all jump into position, ready to destroy whoever it is.

"Boys. Is everyone okay?" one of my dads, Dyce, asks as soon as he steps out. Shifted claws and chest heaving.

"Where's Willow?" Gaster asks frantically, seemingly just now realizing she's not here. He completely ignores my dad, which tells me he knew he was tagging along.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to reestablish the walls that took every ounce of my control to build up seconds ago. There's too much going on. There's a damn mess everywhere my eyes scan, and I couldn't give a fuck about any of it other than leaving and finding Willow.

"No, everyone isn't okay, Dad. If you don't feel comfortable keeping a secret from Mom, you need to go back to the palace now, and I'll let you know when we have everything handled," I spit out, my anger and impatience taking control.

He takes a moment, letting his eyes linger on me, Caspian, Draken, and Tillman. When he notices none of us are physically hurt, he casts his gaze to Gaster, then back to me.

"Good secret or bad secret?" he asks.

"Depends on how you look at the current situation."

"Will your mother be happy when she meets said secret?" he asks knowingly.

"Yes." I grunt.

I want to scream at him to make his bloody choice.

I don't have time for this, it's been…

Fuck…twelve minutes and thirty-eight seconds .

"I'm staying then. I'll keep your secret, son. It looks like you need the help anyway, and my beast is ready to hunt."

I give him a clipped nod, then turn my attention to Gaster. The words want to get stuck in my throat, but I refuse to allow them to. This is my fault and I'll own it. Just the thought of admitting I failed her, though, has my body needing to shut down, yet my gift wants to be set free on every fucker who dared come after her, touch her.

They dared to take what's mine.

"We need to get Oakly out of your pocket dimension so we can track her. They were here for her, and she exchanged herself willingly to save the students and E.F. members."

I don't wait for him to respond, nor do I look at him, at any of them. The disappointment that will be reflected at me will be my undoing, so I turn away from him and run in the direction of his office rather than transport. We need to make sure no other Mastery members are lurking around the academy, although part of me is hoping there's at least one.

To my disappointment, there isn't. From what I can see as me, my brothers, my dad, Gaster, and Oakly's entire Nexus sprint to the archives, the damage was secluded to the training fields and gym. Which is even more telling. Their main target was Willow, not the whole academy.

How the fuck did they know that's where she'd be?

As we stampede into Gaster's office, he makes his way directly to his bookshelves, and I stand statue still, staring as he opens his pocket dimension. I'll do anything in my power to convince him to give me access to that damn room.

He doesn't get a step in before Oakly's throwing herself at him, sobbing as his arms wrap around her.

"Ry. Where's Ry? Is he—"

"Oakly," Ry breathes, snatching her from Gaster's arms and holding her close. "Fuck, I thought they took you. I didn't see Willow get to you. The last thing I saw was that fucker sling you over his shoulder."

"She killed him, then she…Oh, that little shit, she did something. She calmed me down, convinced me to leave the command room. Willow, I swear to—" She stops her tirade as she takes in the room, her gaze searching, hunting, but never finding who she's looking for. Panic continues to set in across her features, growing more pronounced with each man her gaze lands on. Finally, she settles on me and shatters.

"Willow…Where's…Corentin, where's Willow?" Her question's barely a whisper, but I hear her.

She knows. She can feel it, but she doesn't want to acknowledge it.

"We need you to track her," I say as calmly as I can.

Her entire body collapses against Ry as she breaks in his arms and the rest of her guys surround her, holding her up between them. The sight nearly fucking destroys me. If the roles were reversed, we'd be doing the same thing.

"Pull it together. My Primary has now been gone for fifteen minutes. There's no fucking telling where she is," Caspian says coldly, earning himself deadly stares from Oakly's Nexus.

"Don't you fucking talk to her—"

"No, stop, it's okay. For once, the asshole's right," Oakly says, running her hands down San's chest. "Give me a little space. All I'm picking up is you guys."

They all scoot back a few feet but keep her within arm's reach while we sit silently, watching as she closes her eyes and tilts her head back, sensing and searching. Tears continue to flow down her face, and she shakes her head out in frustration.

"I can't. I can't sense her at all."

"I'll transport to the mansion and get some of her things," Gaster volunteers, strained. I dare a glance at him and immediately wish I didn't. He looks like he's aged a hundred years, like every bit of life Willow's breathed into him since she got here has been sucked back out.

"Wait. Willow told me to tell you not to waste it, and you'd know what that would mean," Ry says as he latches back onto Oakly.

"Waste it…Waste what?" she asks confusedly.

The silence stretches as we stare at her, waiting for her to figure it the fuck out. Well, except for Draken, who growls menacingly. That's about as much of a word he's gotten out.

"The vials, Oakly. Don't waste the vials," Jamie mumbles, looking around the room, stunned, like he just had an epiphany.

"The vials… Oh my Elementra the vials," Oakly hollers, hopping up and hauling ass back into Gaster's secret room.

"You drew our Primary's blood and didn't tell us?" Tillman growls, stepping closer to Jamie, making it obvious he read his thoughts.

"Calm down. She asked me to and told me if I did, we couldn't even tell our Nexus. I knew she had to have a reason to need to keep this a secret from everyone." Jamie justifies, but it doesn't help.

"When?" I ask.

"Before Terravile."

Fuck, she's been carrying this around for so long, then almost died. Now she's in their hands, there's no telling—

"Don't fucking think another word," Tillman says sternly, cutting off the mental spiral I was starting to go down.

My emotions, my element, my gift, my bond, they're all pushing against their restraints, begging to be set loose, destroy everything in our path. It's hard enough keeping them locked down, but I build up the wall on my mind, shoving Tillman out so he doesn't hear how close to the edge I truly am.

"I got them," Oakly shouts, running back into the office.

I immediately hold my hand out for her to pass them over, and she hesitates only for a second. No doubt, the scowl on my face warns her not to push me.

Handing me three, she uncaps the fourth and pours it into her palm, quietly murmuring "come on" over and over like the mantra will speed things up.

"No, no, no. Willow, where are you?" She cries as the blood dissolves rapidly.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"She's just…nowhere. She's blocked from me. I can't find her. I need another one."

"No. She said not to waste it. She knew what she was doing. We trust that. Corentin, bring the blood. Everyone, back to the training field. We need to secure the academy, round up the E.F. members, call in reinforcements, and get ready to start hitting possible locations," Tillman declares, turning to leave.

He doesn't make it out the door before slamming to a complete stop and simultaneously Draken falls to his knees. The sound that leaves him causes every hair follicle on my body to stand on end. It's an agonizing, painful roar that starts and stops just as fast.

"NO. No, little wanderer, let me back in. Let me feel you," he bellows, banging his fist against his chest. His claws shred through the fabric of his shirt and skin with ease. My dad instantly springs into action, latching onto his arm before he accidentally cuts his own heart out.

"Tillman, what's happening?" I ask, coming to stand beside where he's rubbing circles on his chest.

"I felt her pain for a second. Now I'm blocked out again. She's hurt," he mutters stoically, staring ahead in deep concentration.

The sound in the room seems to intensify with his words, making the noise ring deafeningly in my ears. Oakly's cries, her Nexus's soft, reassuring whispers. Gaster's pacing footsteps. My dad's purrs.

Caspian's shadows crawling across the walls as his darkness bleeds out everywhere. And Draken…he's begging her to let him in, let him feel everything she's feeling. Every one of his growls rumbles in my own chest.

I hear it all. There's no silencing it.

This is all my fault. I failed her. I failed them.

Closing my eyes, I breathe through the onslaught and fortify my walls.

Five…four…three…two…one…

I'm so sorry.

Hold on, princess, we're coming.