16. Sixteen

What the fuck is happening right now?

I was just relishing in the feeling of destroying Mastery bitches and the delicious shivers that her powerful growl sent down my spine, and now, I'm leaning over her, holding her hand as she fades away. And she's fading fast. The bond in my chest feels like a boa constrictor has coiled around it, squeezing its life right out.

When Tillman hit the ground like a sack of potatoes on his big ass, I was shocked that he said Willow did it until I looked up, the blood in my veins turning to ice as I watched in horror. A look of sorrow and determination crossed her face as she flew through the air in front of Lyker, taking this fucking dagger through her stomach, sending her flying back into his outstretched arms.

"Move, move. Get out of my way," Oakly screams, pushing her way through the gathering crowd. "Willow, no, no. What happened?"

"The fucking dagger, obviously. Heal her now." Caspian snarls, turning his menacing stare from Oakly to Jamie.

His normally amber eyes are swirling black shadows as his gift comes through full force. Tendrils of shadows are racing across Willow's limp body, searching for any other injuries, searching for a way to get her out of this.

"You shoved me out of the way. Why did you shove me, little warrior?" Tillman asks as he cups her cheeks and moves the hair from her eyes.

Guilt clouds every surface of him, from the wildness in his glare to the way his posture looks beaten down. Fuck, I didn't even think about that. She shoved him out of the way and took the dagger that would've hit him.

Why the fuck did she jump in front of Lyker? She could die for this. I'll kill him if my little wanderer dies right now.

As Jamie continues to hover his hands over her body, he grunts as if he's in pain himself.

"I can't. I can't heal this. There's something taking over her blood, rapidly. She doesn't have much longer."

My dragon thrashes around in my chest, trying to escape the closing walls. My breathing becomes labored along with hers, and my heart breaks into a thousand pieces. If she dies, I'll die right along with her, and in this moment, that's exactly what I'd want. There's no way I'd want to live a life without her in it. The thought of us dying, leaving my brothers behind, has tears falling from my eyes.

"Little wanderer," I choke.

Grabbing a hold of her limp, cold hand, she doesn't even have the strength to squeeze my hand back, just a small twitch of her finger. There's no giggling or shaking her head at me. There are no hungry looks or comforting purrs. She's lying motionless, her eyes bouncing to each of us.

"She's saying tar. Tar what? What is it?" Tillman urges, staring into her eyes, begging her for an answer.

"The Tarring poison. The dagger is laced in Tarring poison. This is why she made us make the cures. Oh, Willow." Oakly gasps, causing all of us to whip our heads to her.

"The cures you all made her first day of shifter class? The same day she had that awful vision? It was because of this?" I don't know if I'm asking or stating. I'm just trying to put the pieces together in my mind.

"Yes, yes, that's it. She agrees. Pocket. Something's in her pocket. Check her pockets," Tillman orders, and the four of us begin patting her down.

"There's nothing there," Corentin shouts.

"No, her pocket dimension. She put the cures in her pocket dimension," Oakly croaks out as her tears flow down her face in a rapid stream.

"Guys…" I groan, trying to breathe through the pain that just hit me. "We don't have long."

Pain like nothing I've ever felt slices across my body, dragging a sob out of the depths of my soul. It feels like my blood is slowing as it makes its way through my veins. It's hard to hear, hard to think, or talk. There's nothing but pain. Her pain. I feel it all.

I can remember a drunken Gaster one night telling us how a bond he had at one time in his long ass life severed. He explained it as a piece of his soul being ripped apart, shredded to pieces.

I know that this is exactly that. The part of my soul that's woven together by threads of a connection tied to Willow, far deeper than I could ever explain, is beginning to tear off. And in the process, I'm feeling everything she's feeling.

"Draken," Caspian barks.

"Yeah… What?" I shake my head out, trying to clear the pain to focus on them.

"Did you hear anything Tillman just said to you?" he asks softer, finally noticing my obvious struggle.

"No. I'm sorry. What did you say?" I grit my teeth as another wave hits me.

"She said for you to open it. Open her dimension," Tillman orders.

"But I can't. I don't know…" I trail off as one of our many nightly conversations come to mind.

We were lying in her bed, waiting for Tillman to join us at some point. She was leaning against my chest, my fingers trailing through her soft hair as she read from her journal.

"Do you have any pocket dimensions?" she asks me randomly.

"No, little wanderer, never really needed one and I can barely speak Elema Lingua Vetus, despite Gaster's persistent bickering for me to learn it all. Why?" I ask.

"I was just wondering if you did and where you wove it. Mine is woven into the fabric of Elementra, out in the open, so I can access it anywhere," she says excitedly.

"Damn, kitten, you're a little badass," I growl, attacking her neck with kisses as she squeals, trying to get away from me. "So how do you access your other world, little wanderer?"

"It's just a pocket dimension." She laughs, lightly patting my chest. "Well, I ground my magic into the earth, then I draw a circle like this, and when my points meet at the top, I pull down the center like a zipper, opening it up." I watch her with a small smile on my lips as she shows me her way of getting her pocket dimension opened. Everything she does amazes me and brings me so much happiness.

"I just read in my journal, though, that I don't have to ground my magic into the earth before opening the dimension; that's just the easiest way. I apparently can ground it into whatever I need to balance myself," she exclaims, sitting up and gracing me with a huge smile.

"Sounds a little complicated to me, kitten."

"I think it's a lot like grounding into the earth, but depending on where you ground your magic, you need to make sure it doesn't flow completely out. It's good to know if there was ever a reason to not be able to ground myself to the earth."

"You smart, magnificent Primary. I wonder if you knew this would happen when we had that conversation…" I whisper, looking at her in awe. Her beautiful fair skin is beginning to turn grayish-blue and her veins are bulging black streaks. The sight of her both tears me up and fills me with determination.

"Listen to me, sweetness, I know you're struggling to move right now, but you're going to have to. Guys, touch her," I command the others, and I hold on tighter to the grip I have on her hand.

"Ground your magic into us, little wanderer. Focus on your magic flowing through every inch of your body and into the places you feel our hands. Push, Willow, you can do it. Guys, don't let it flow into you. Push it back to her and hold." It feels like an eternity before the soft stroke of her magic meets my hand and I let out a sob.

"Good girl. Good job, princess," Corentin chokes out as he leans down and kisses her on the forehead.

Lifting her hand, her arm gives no support whatsoever, so I use my other hand to hold it up. "Okay, little wanderer, push your magic out. I got you. I'm right here with you."

As I feel her magic push a little against where our hands are connected, I release a deep breath, trying to clear my vision from where it's beginning to become hazy, and begin drawing the circle she showed me that night in the open space.

When the points meet, with shaky hands, I drag the zipper down the middle, opening her dimension. A beautiful wall of liquid silver opens in front of us, and I stare at it in amazement. The color is a perfect match to both her eyes and the scales of her dragon.

"There's a wooden box inside, Draken. It'll have all the cures in it," Oakly informs me, her bloodshot eyes begging me to hurry.

There's an intense resistance when I try to reach my hand in before a shock races across my hand and up my arm. Gritting my teeth through the pain, I push our hands through, the essence of her magic caressing my skin in a loving touch, and I savor the feeling for a brief second, then push further until I feel the box.

Pushing my other hand through the silvery opening, it's fucking tricky getting a grip on the box, but I'm not letting her hand go. Elementra herself wouldn't be able to pull my hand from hers. Her skin on mine is the only tether I have to her right now. I don't know if she's trying or able to block me out or if her bond is just consumed and bogged down, but regardless, I can't feel anything coming from her.

I swear my heart stops beating as I hand the box over to Oakly and wait as she rummages through the vials until she comes to the right one. She slowly hands me a glowing black vial, and the weight of it feels like the entire realm is resting in my palm.

My little wanderer's eyes are completely black with tar running out the corners of them instead of clear tears, and my blurred vision reflects what she's going through. I'm not suffering the true effects of the poison like she is, but the piece that I'm experiencing through our bond is excruciating and debilitating. My hands feel like they weigh a ton as I struggle to get the cap off the vial, and I can barely see a few inches in front of me.

"Guys…" I rasp, my body beginning to fail me, as hers is failing her. Each breath is a laborious effort; the air itself has grown thick and resistant.

"We got you, Draken," Caspian says as he wraps his hand around mine. Followed by Tillman and Corentin. They each have a grasp on me and as one, we feed Willow the cure.

No sound is filtering through my ears and my sight of them fades as I vaguely make out the last drop of the cure pour through her lips. When they pull their hands from mine, I slump into a sea of silence, endless darkness, on the ground beside her. I can't hold the weight of my body up, but I hold on to her hand with every ounce of strength I have left. This is truly what dying feels like.

I want to rage to the skies, roar as loud as I can at the unfairness of this. Why Elementra would send my little wanderer on a suicide mission to save a fucking wolf is beyond me. Why bless me with the greatest fucking person, people, in this whole realm just to rip us away.

My angry thoughts start slipping away, becoming garbled messes as my consciousness wanes like the dying embers of one of my fires. Memories become wisps, fading into the recesses of my mind as I start to lose my grip on reality and all I think about with my last logical moment is them.

Little wanderer, kitten, sweetness, dragon goddess, Willow. I love you more than anything in this realm and any other. You've given me a love I never knew possible. I'll meet you in the beyond and we'll soar through the skies forever as we wait for them to join us.

Guys, I know I've been the biggest pain in the ass and an annoying little brother, but you guys have given me a life I never could've dreamed of fourteen years ago and I'm more thankful for that than you'll ever know. We'll watch over you. If Elementra allows it, I'll send you guys some signs of us, maybe light some shit on fire for you. I love you, brothers.

In this realm of relentless darkness, time has no meaning. Whether it's been seconds or eternities that have passed, I have no way to tell. It's an unsettling feeling knowing that I'm still alive, trapped in this void, yet so close to death.

Or maybe this is death.

Maybe death is just a suffocating blackness that swallows every hint of existence. Just a formless void, a realm without light, shape, or boundaries. A darkness that keeps pressing in on every side, a noticeable weight that clings to my skin, gluing my dragon's wings to his body, and seeps into the marrow of my bones.

My eyes strain in vain against the impenetrable dark. I have no distinction between whether they're open or closed, as both pose the same damn solid curtain of nothingness. Where I can usually hear absolutely anything, footsteps, distant chatter, fuck, even rustling leaves in the forest behind our home, here there's nothing but an eerie silence.

Hell, I don't even know if I can hear myself think.

Which wouldn't matter much. My thoughts are slipping away, like fragments of a dream slipping through my desperate fingers. I try my best to hold onto every single thought that surrounds my little wanderer. If she's the only thought I can grasp and hold onto for however long I'll be stuck in this meaningless void, then that'll be fine with me.

Her light brown hair cascades down to her waist and curls around my fingers as she throws her head back, laughing at something I said. Fuck, that musical little giggle that makes my heart skip a beat and my mind whirl on anything else I can say to make her sing it again.

The electricity that zaps through my body when her fair skin touches my sun-kissed tan. I mentally try to map out the few scars on her body that tell the story of the horrors she's been through. To her, they're brutal reminders, but to me, they're a road map to my paradise.

And her smell…

Elementra, what wouldn't I do to smell her mouthwatering, sugary coffee scent one more time. If I could bottle it up, I'd never need to breathe in the air again. If I could just bury my face in her neck and take a deep breath…

Deep breath…

Gasping, I sit straight up as air rushes into my lungs, and it's like a damn Star gem's been activated as blinding light assaults my eyes. All my senses come flooding back into me with the force of a volcanic eruption and the sound of my name being shouted urgently has me shaking my head. I have a moment of disorientation as the dizziness fades, then reality snaps back into focus.

"Little wanderer," I croak, turning onto all fours to look down at her.

I see the black streaks coating her veins receding, her gray, lifeless skin brightening, and her lips pinkening by the second. Her silver eyes snap open, colliding with mine before she lets out a painful whimper.

"Move over, brother, we've got to get the dagger out," Tillman orders me, hugging me and pulling me back from her at the same time. "Little one, this will hurt for just a second."

"Jamie," Corentin yells.

"I'm so sorry, little Primary, hold tight. Are you ready?" Caspian asks Jamie, straining as he wraps his hand around the hilt of the dagger still bulging out of Willow's stomach. This is killing him to do this, but he's going to do it for us.

Jamie nods, getting in position on the ground beside Willow. "Yes. Pull straight up on three. One, two, three…"

Willow's cry of agony meeting my ears is both relief and torture, the sweetest yet most horrific sound. Silence follows as her cries are cut off as Jamie floods her system with his healing magic, taking away the pain and fixing any damage done. The silence is haunting and has my dragon pacing in my chest. We need to hear her voice.

As soon as Jamie pulls his magic back, she rolls to all fours and throws up black tar, her body dispelling the remainder of the poison. The four of us instantly spring into action. I pull her long, curly hair away from her face as Tillman holds her up gently around her waist, lending her his strength so she doesn't use what's left of hers. Corentin rubs reassuring circles on her back, letting her know we're all here for her, and Caspian lays his hand on the back of her neck, gently pushing his water through her to clean her mouth and soothe the acidic burn of the vile tar.

"Fuck, I had no clue it'd be that awful." Willow pants as she leans up on her heels, letting her back fall to Tillman's chest.

None of us try to manhandle her out of his arms like we normally would once reuniting with her. Instead, we all run our hands over her in sync, cupping her cheeks, laying kisses where we can, and just soaking in the feeling of her here. She's alive. That's all that matters.

"What were you thinking, Will?" Tillman struggles to ask with the emotion clogging his throat.

She turns her body slightly so she can face him better, a pleading look in her eyes.

"I had to. There was no other way. If the dagger hit you or Lyker…"

"Why take the hit, Willow? Why didn't you send the dagger off course?" Caspian's icy tone causes a growl to fall from my lips. I see the fear and hurt swirling in his eyes, but I don't give a fuck. He's not going to speak to her like that.

"Hey, hey, none of that, dragon," she teases lightly, laying her soft, now warm hand against my cheek. Her small smile has tears welling in my eyes as I fall into her silver void. "I'm sorry for pulling you into the darkness with me."

"You knew I was there too?"

"I felt you the whole time. Your fire kept me warm, and I knew as soon as the hold was released on you, I'd be coming out of it soon as well," she says lovingly as she leans forward and lays her lips to mine. I want to shove my tongue in her mouth and devour every piece of her, but she pulls back before I can.

Looking over at Caspian with more understanding of his rude fucking tone than I have, she runs her fingers through the shadows circling his body, causing him to shiver.

"The dagger was spelled and its course set. I didn't kill him fast enough to break the enchantment. It was going to hit someone regardless, but if it had hit one of the two of them…" she trails off, shaking the tears from her eyes, "the results would've been too much to bear."

The weight of her words causes his restraint to snap, and he wraps her in his shadows and pulls her to him.

"You saved his life today, didn't you, little Primary?"

"I'd save any of your lives a thousand times over if I had to," she says as her tears begin to fall, but Caspian lays a kiss to each streak, soaking them through his skin with his element.

"Princess," Corentin whispers as he presses his front to her back, creating a Vito brother sandwich with her in the middle of them.

Leaning her head back, she closes her eyes and silently asks for a kiss, which he gives to her willingly. I can't lie and say I'm sitting here patiently waiting for my turn again because I'm not. I need the brothers to hurry the hell up and pass me my sweetness.

"Our fierce dragon is about to burst at the seams with impatience." She giggles, picking at the feelings she's sensing from our bond as she breaks Corentin's kiss, causing them to laugh. She groans as their bodies vibrate her between them, and I smirk.

That's what she gets for teasing me.

"What's wrong, little wanderer?" I pick as Corentin hands her off to my waiting arms.

"Not funny…" She smiles before a serious look crosses her face. "Are you okay? I didn't know you'd experience anything alongside me."

"I'm better now. But even if you had known that, I wouldn't have wanted you to change it. I'd have rather experienced the pain with you than you do it alone. One way or another, little wanderer, I was following you to the beyond," I tell her honestly before kissing her the way I want.

I feast on her mouth like it's my last meal and drink down her sweet little purrs pouring from her throat. Her coffee scent fills my lungs and I inhale deeply as I pull away from her. I want to be selfish, keep her wrapped tightly in my arms, or put her on my back and fly through the sky, far away from this fucking place, but I can't. One of my brothers needs her far more than I do right now.

"The big guy needs you, sweetness. He's drowning in guilt," I whisper to her quietly, and she nods once in acknowledgment.

I place her on her knees in front of Tillman, who's statue still on the ground, a war raging in his eyes that only she's going to be able to win.

"Tillman, I'm here," she says, wrapping her arms around his neck. For a second, he does nothing. Doesn't blink, doesn't breathe, doesn't even touch her before he finally breaks.

"Will, you could've died. You could've died because of me," he chokes out, tightly coiling his tree trunk arms around her.

"No, not because of you. For you. You had no clue what could've happened, nor did you do anything wrong," she tells him softly.

"But you knew. You've been carrying the weight of this around for weeks now, knowing this moment would come, and you've had to suffer in silence."

She shakes her head against his forehead, denying his statement.

"No, this was a turn of events I didn't see coming. I didn't see your death until we were here, and the fight had already started. There was about a minute between when the vision hit me to when I shoved you with my air."

"Death? The cure wouldn't have fixed me?"

"No, Tillman. We wouldn't have gotten to you in enough time. I'm not reliving it. I'm not replaying that again in my mind. Please just know, if it hadn't played out this way, you or Lyker would've died, and the course of this war would've veered substantially in favor of the Mastery. There's nothing for you to feel guilty over. This is the way it would've gone no matter what." Willow lets out a small sob, covering her mouth with her hand.

Tillman stares into her eyes intensely. Reading the strong truth shining through, she meant her words and she meant them wholeheartedly. She would've done this to save any of us and to protect this realm, a damn realm she barely knows but is putting her life on the line for.

He cups his massive hands around the back of her neck, tilting her head up to him and kissing her so passionately, I feel his love for her bleeding through her bond and into me.

As they break apart, chests falling up and down, breathing in each other's air, a throat clears, and we all turn to see Lyker and his Nexus on a knee a few feet away from her.

"You saved my brother's life and mine today," Lyker says, staring intently at Willow, but she doesn't respond, just stares back wide-eyed, so he continues. "We'll forever be in your debt. No matter what, we'll be of support to you when you need us."

"I'm Willow, true Primary to the Vito Nexus. Lyker, Kian, Zane, and Lennox, it's nice to finally meet you all. Thank you for your vow of support, but it's no worries. Our paths are very much intertwined, and I'll be calling that debt in far sooner than you can imagine," she says, a little dazed, as she untangles herself from Tillman and faces them all head-on.

Lyker's calculating eyes take in every feature of her face as the rest of his Nexus stares at her with wide, shocked eyes. He better be thankful I can tell their analysis of her isn't with any ill intent or desire 'cause if it was, I'd fucking eat them right where they kneel.

"You're the seer who advised I come here. You knew I'd win the Alpha trials," he states.

"Yes, I advised you to come here, but no, I had no clue if you'd win or not. It was always an option, but there were far too many possibilities that could've unfolded from then until now," she replies vaguely.

Nervousness flutters in my chest, and I know it's from her and not my own.

"Then what was the point of sending me here?" he asks confusedly.

"There's a lot you need to be filled in on, including the man you faced off in the Alpha challenge and the shifters on the ground around us, but that'll have to wait. There's someone who needs your Nexus's help, and you need her. She's waiting on us."

"What?" the four of us ask her at once. That's not where I saw this going. I could've sworn she was going to tell him he's got to clean house in this fucking pack, but I guess that's got to wait.

Lyker and his entire Nexus stiffen as they look at her with disbelief.

"She?"

"Yes, she. And we need to get to her before any more of the Mastery here in the pack knows you and none of your Nexus were killed in the fight. They'll be distracted while they're at the feast," Willow says, standing from the ground, brushing her knees off as if that's going to erase what the fuck she just went through.

"No, absolutely not. You're done saving the day today, princess," Corentin orders, standing in front of her.

"Nice try, your highness, but I'm the only one who knows where she is and how to get through the caves to her. Plus, she isn't going to speak to them without me. We'll be going to save her, right now," she declares confidently, patting Corentin's chest like she's soothing an angry toddler, and I can't help the laugh that slips through.

"You heard my little wanderer. Let's go."