11. Eleven

Eleven

Willow

Ugh, the beauty of this field is breathtaking.

With Draken’s warm chest against my back and the sun setting, the trees in the distance cast just the right amount of light to make the flowers look like they’re dancing in waves of colors. It’s a picture-perfect moment.

It’s magical. Peaceful.

I wish I could just sit here forever in his embrace, but for the life of me, there’s something I should be doing or there’s something I’m supposed to remember right now, but I can’t. My mind is nagging me to pay attention, but attention to what, I have no clue.

“Stop that. We have to focus.” I giggle, shoving Draken away.

Why did my laugh sound so funny?

“What do we have to focus on? We’re in a field of flowers, doing fuck all nothing.” He lays me back and continues to attack my neck in kisses.

“Draken,” I squeal. “We should be doing something, though.”

He doesn’t listen as his kisses start trailing their way down my chest and my body alights, pushing away the doubt in my mind. His hands glide softly up my thighs and I arch into him, begging him to go higher.

Wait, where’s his warmth? His hands are cold.

His touch is always warm, fiery, and it always calls mine to the surface to join.

“Draken, wait. Something’s not right.”

He looks down at me and cocks his head to the side as if that sounds absolutely foreign to him. I mimic his stare, and we hold that position for a long moment until he starts talking, but I don’t hear his words anymore. My eyes narrow as I force myself to concentrate and the dazed look in his eyes slowly pushes clarity to enter my senses.

This is a dream. I’m dreaming.

Damn. It seems so real.

“What are we doing here, Draken?” I ask quietly.

“We’re relaxing, of course, little wanderer. We can do other stuff if you want,” he says with a wiggle of his brows.

I snort a laugh because dream him seems so much like real him, and for the life of me, it takes all my mental strength to keep clarity of the situation. I’m aware now this isn’t real, but shit, it doesn’t feel that way, and part of me really wants to just give in and let the dream overtake me. One little slip into the fantasy and I’d drift right back into my blissful ignorance.

But I can’t. I don’t have lucid dreams for no reason.

“Focus on me for a moment, dragon,” I purr softly.

“All I ever focus on is you.” He smiles down at me, leaning in for another kiss that I allow.

Cupping both of his cheeks, I pull his face back to look at me. “Is there a reason we’re here, dragon? You can tell me,” I whisper softly against his lips.

Leaning in, his breath brushes across my ear, and I repress the shiver that wants to escape me.

Fuck, it’s so real.

“We’re not alone.”

I attempt to pull him closer, ask what that means, but he slips through my fingers, literally. My dream Draken fades to nothing and I sit up straight, searching my surroundings.

What the hell is happening right now?

Standing, I turn in circles slowly. There’s no sign of dream Draken anywhere. There’s nothing actually but flowers and a tree line. I’m not alone, though. Now that it’s been brought to my attention, I feel the eyes watching me.

“Show yourself. What do you want?” I yell out, continuing my turning.

The cracking of a branch has me whipping my body around to the noise and although heavy silence falls over the field, it’s deafening as I face off with a man I’ve never met a day in my life.

His jet-black hair frames his face in tight curls and it seems darker than night laid against his pale skin. His eyes, although bright with touches of both blue and green, barely hold any life. I see a flickering of it in there somewhere, but it’s far, far down in there. He stands statue-still, staring at me as I glare at him.

There’s something oddly familiar about him despite me knowing I have no clue who this is. His clothes give me no clue as he’s not dressed in an E.F. uniform, or robe, or anything that even resembles what we wear.

“Wait!” I shout as he turns around and takes off through the trees.

My feet move faster than my mind as I charge after him. Whatever his reasoning is for being here, I’m supposed to know. I need to talk to him. This is the strangest dream walking I’ve ever done, but every time it happens, we get one step closer to ending the Mastery. I can’t let him get away without knowing what he needs me for.

“Please stop. I won’t hurt you,” I call out as loud as I can as the distance between us continues to get farther apart.

Fuck, he’s fast for this to be a dream.

Suddenly, he slams to a stop and pivots on his heels until he’s glaring at me with so much malice, I halt my pounding feet about twenty feet away from him. I sense the hatred rolling off him in waves and my body tenses under the pressure of it.

I don’t know what I could’ve done to this man, but whatever he believes it is, it’s strong. He truly loathes me.

“Won’t hurt me.” He laughs humorlessly, taking a step closer to me. “You’ve already done plenty of that.”

“How? I don’t even know you,” I say softly, holding my hands out in front of me.

“No, not directly. But I know all about you, Willow. And I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to my brother.”

His brother?

“No, wait, please stop.”

I charge forward, but I’m too late.

“Wait,” I scream, sitting straight up in bed.

My limbs flail about around me as if I’m still trying to run, waking all my men up in the process. Tillman and Draken are up and out of bed in a millisecond with their elements and gifts at the ready. Corentin’s body slams into mine until I’m pressed into the mattress and shadows that are thick enough to steal my sight drape over us.

“Where’s the threat?” Tillman shouts at the same time Corentin asks, “Willow, what’s going on?”

“Everything’s okay. Everyone can stand down. It was a dream.” I pant mentally.

The rush of the dream plus waking up and scaring the shit out of everyone has stolen all the air in my lungs. I can barely breathe under the weight of Corentin and the adrenaline, but my words seem to simmer everyone down. The dark cloud slowly recedes, returning my sight, and Corentin gracefully gets off me, pulling me into his lap.

“Some fucking dream, Primary,” Caspian says, heaving from the side of the bed.

“I know. I’m sorry for scaring everyone. It was so weird. Weirdest dream walking I’ve ever done.”

I don’t feel any need to keep anything about the dream from them since I didn’t learn anything of value and the more I talk, the more their confusion festers. Not that I expected them to figure anything out for me when I have no clue what was going on, but their uncertainty makes me feel worse.

“You haven’t done anything to anyone’s brother that we’re aware of. I mean, maybe you offed a Mastery member who was in a Nexus during one of our many battles, but even then, why would you be sent to them to help them?” Draken asks .

“The people I can think of weren’t real Nexuses, so I doubt they’d feel that strongly about harming her. It would just be their ridiculous loyalty to the Mastery, and they wouldn’t want her help,” Caspian bites out bitterly.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t recall harming anyone’s brother directly either, though. The last few fights, we’ve killed off most larger groups of Mastery members. It sounds pretty bad when I say it out loud, but we don’t take many prisoners…”

“Oh my God.”

“What?” Corentin, Caspian, and Draken ask at once.

“Oh, shit,” Tillman mumbles and my eyes meet his. He just heard my thoughts, so he knows.

“Trex,” I whisper.

“What about him?” Draken asks.

“That was his brother. That was Dec. The Dream Walker,” I say with wide eyes as I look at each of them. “Holy shit, that wasn’t my dream walking at all. That was my real dream, and he entered it.”

They each begin talking and asking questions at once. The noise grows louder around the room to the point I slam my eyes shut and raise my hand, asking them to stop. All the while, their pissed off emotions trample across my chest. Needless to say, my men aren’t too happy about another man entering my dreams, then threatening me on top of that.

“I’ll kill him,” Caspian says darkly.

“We’ll kill him,” Draken agrees, nodding along easily.

“No one is killing anyone. We need to talk to Trex. This makes so much more sense,” I say, throwing the covers off me and attempting to get out of bed.

“Hold on a second, princess. We’re not going anywhere right now. Everyone, calm down and get back in bed. We’ll decide what we’re doing in the morning,” Corentin says, although I know that’s bullshit. They’re each bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

No one’s going back to sleep.

Nor do we have to. As if this was planned perfectly, Tillman’s timekeeper begins blaring through the room and we each turn our heads to look at it .

“It’s morning time, your highness. Time to get ready,” I order as I hop out of the bed and sprint to the shower.

Their murmuring voices follow me under the spray of water, but no one tries to stop me or slow me down as I take the realm’s quickest shower. They obviously got the memo because by the time I’ve stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed, ready to go, my room is deserted.

Leaving my bedroom to go rush them along, it’s like clockwork as they each step back out of their rooms when I turn the corner on their hall, and I let a saucy little smirk cross my face.

“You all should’ve just joined me. Sure, you have bathrooms, but what’s the point of using them when mine is big enough for all of us?” My smirk blooms into a full smile as they each groan and wait for me to walk into their protective circle before carrying on down the hall.

“There’s a reason we don’t shower with you every morning, little warrior,” Tillman says, peering over his shoulder.

“Oh yeah? What’s the reason?”

“’Cause we’d run the water out, little wanderer,” Draken says with his own sexy little smile.

“The water doesn’t run out.”

“Don’t underestimate the time we could spend in there fucking you senseless, Primary. You wanted to get shit done this morning. You made that clear. That wouldn’t be happening if we joined you,” Caspian says behind me, sending a chill down my spine.

Elementra.

“You’re probably right. Next time,” I say, breathless.

They each chuckle at my flustered state and all it does is send more heat blazing through my core.

This damn bonding honeymoon period is making me a horny glutton for these men.

“We’re having breakfast first, then we’ll leave. Codi just messaged back and said Trex isn’t doing well this morning, so he’s slow moving. We’ll give him some time to get up and going,” Corentin says as he scowls down at his communicator.

Well, that’s one way to dry up all dirty thoughts .

“We have to figure out a solution for him. He’s going to die,” I say quietly.

I really thought when we got to Keeper, we’d easily fix Trex’s and Layton’s problems. Start them fresh in their new lives.

I never even considered what Trex had said about the Summum-Master knowing if his rune came down, he’d kill his brothers. The sad reality is Trex isn’t willing to risk that, but in turn, it’s going to kill him slowly.

“After we eat, I’ll go ask my—Keeper to join us. Maybe he has an idea or some advice on what we can do in the meantime.” Draken offers, coughing to cover his slip-up.

I smile gratefully and don’t say a thing about what he almost called Keeper. They’ve been spending more time together and time with Tanith. It’s beginning to sway him even if he isn’t ready to admit that. I try not to push, but I can see the bond building right in front of my eyes.

I scarf my breakfast down like a woman starved despite Corentin ordering me to slow down and declaring we aren’t leaving right yet. He said that Lyker and Aria are meeting us at the healing wing as well, so now I’m really ready to go. Trex can take all the time he needs this morning and I won’t rush him as I play catch-up with my brother and one of my best friends.

“Come on, little wanderer. The more you bounce your leg, the more anxious my dragon gets. Let’s go find Keeper and let him know the plan. The guys will be ready to go by then.” Draken grips my hand and pulls me out of my chair.

“Thank goodness. All that bouncing was giving me motion sickness,” Caspian sasses behind a smart-ass smirk.

He’s full of shit. He knows good and well, between his water element and shadows, both of which are fluid and forever moving, he doesn’t get motion sickness.

Giving Tillman and Corentin a kiss before I walk out, I blow Caspian one with a little of my air behind it and laugh my way out of the breakfast room as he loses his spot in his book. His dark chuckle follows me out into the hall and my chest grows giddy with anticipation for his payback .

“You’re hiding your nervousness and stress behind horniness.” Draken tucks me under his arm and I startle.

Damn it, how has he been doing that lately?

He’s like Caspian, calling me out on my shit.

“I am not.” I am.

He snorts, shaking his head and looking at me like I’m the realm’s worst liar. “Don’t take me for a fool. You can’t hide from me. I know our bonding has sparked this increased sex drive, but you’re instigating it now.”

“I’m not trying to.” I sigh, glancing up at him with a tight smile. “I just feel all over the place. My heightened horniness is easier to focus on than anything else. Even if we don’t act on it, it’s the more pleasant of emotions I’ve been feeling lately,” I tell him honestly.

“Well, be honest with me, little wanderer. I’ll help you with whatever I can. What’s got your mind the most out of sorts? Other than the obvious never-ending shit list.”

“That’s the answer, dragon. Our never-ending shit list that continues to grow. I don’t know what the biggest problem to face first is, so I think about all of it, all the time. Plus, it doesn’t help that whatever happened to me in the amplifier room has me on edge about everything. I’m waiting for the palace to be burnt down or something.”

“Firstly, we both know we don’t need to worry about anything being burnt down. Between the two of us, we could put out any fire. Second, decide what you think the biggest issue is and let’s put our focus there. If there’s anything we learned so far, little wanderer, it’s one issue leads to another, then another and then we fix it all at once,” he says confidently.

I want to argue that it’s not that simple. Things don’t just fall into place for us, but I bite my tongue when I think about that.

That’s exactly what happens.

Not as simply or as smoothly. We always have to face some shit. Get put into dangerous situations. But one way or another, the answers to multiple problems surface at once.

“You’re right,” I say, squeezing his arm and smiling up at him before releasing a deep breath. The biggest issue. The problem that’s been plaguing me for days. “My blood. The Summum-Master having a stash of it and the fact my blood opens the portal to the nonmagical realm. We need to do two things there. One, find out more about the capabilities my blood possesses and two, we need to locate where he has the stash. He can’t continue to use it. There’s no telling the issues he’s causing elsewhere.”

If this were the nonmagical realm, I’d be worried about him pinning murders and other heinous crimes on me with the way he carries a vial of my blood around his neck. It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about what past generations had to go through for him to collect a stockpile. Now he’s using it however he sees fit like it’s his right to.

“Okay then. We start there, little wanderer. The other stuff will fall into place and be taken care of as it needs to be taken care of.”

A weight seems to lift off my shoulders with his nonchalance. Just that easy, he’s put my racing mind at ease. Of course I won’t just stop thinking about all the other issues we’re facing. Like now, we’re still going to check on Trex and tell him what’s happened, but I don’t feel like I’m suffocating anymore.

“I love how you do that,” I say with a playful smile.

“Do what?” he asks.

“You always know when something’s wrong and you do exactly what I need you to, to make it better, even without me saying anything. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

“That is the tie between beloveds, dear Adored. You probably do it to him as well and don’t even realize it. Plus add in all your other connections the two of you share, I’m surprised either of you can get anything past the other,” Keeper says, scaring the shit out of me as we round the corner in the gardens that connect the south wing and central.

“Where in the realm did you come from?” I ask, placing my hand over my racing heart.

Damn vampire stealth and hearing. I’m lucky to be alive.

“That is dramatic, Adored.”

Tanith snorts in my mind.

“Is it, though?” I ask sarcastically .

“I was coming to see if the two of you wanted to join Tanith and me for her morning flight actually. She must’ve called to the two of you,” Keeper says as he wraps me in a hug.

“We were coming to look for you. She didn’t call for us. We’re going to the healing wing and wanted to know if you’d join us. We could possibly use your help,” Draken tells him, clapping him on the shoulder as he releases me.

“Of course. Help with what?”

As Draken starts explaining to Keeper my dream and Trex’s condition this morning, I walk over to where Tanith is basking in the sun like a spoiled dragon princess.

“Good morning,” I say, laying my forehead to her snout.

“Morning, Adored. You look tired.”

“Thanks, Tanith. You’re supposed to say I’m glowing, radiant, beautiful, you know?”

“Of course you’re all those things, but you always are. Today, you look tired, so I informed you of such.”

I smile, shaking my head at her. The more time I’m around her, it’s obvious why she and Gaster get along so well. Take out their plethora of knowledge, I’m sure they’d still enjoy each other’s sassy-ass company.

“Appreciate it. Your impressions are getting stronger. I’m almost confident you really can read minds but aren’t telling us.”

“Unlike you, that isn’t an ability I’ll ever have, but you’re correct about the impressions. They are growing increasingly easier and more detailed. As yours should be. I believe my growth is because of the two of you, having my bonded back, and spending so much time in this land. The magic is so strong, I can see it.”

I nod along with her. I’ve seen the magic before as well and it is pure, powerful, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest that she can see it. The impression thing, she hit the nail on the head.

After Draken filled me in on everything they discussed the day he learned he could feed us his magic, my dragon has been a lot more vocal, if you will. It feels even easier than before to determine her wants and needs. She seems to completely settle now, knowing I understand her better .

“The guys are ready. Do you want us to transport with them or fly?” Draken asks, slinging his arm over my shoulder before greeting Tanith.

“Let’s fly. It isn’t a long trip, and it’ll give the guys time to get everyone together.”

“Sounds good,” he says with a huge smile and I know that’s what he wanted but was giving me the choice. So I chose what would make him happy.

It’s maybe seconds after that, the guys join us, giving me kisses bye before they transport out and we hit the skies.

Draken’s playful maneuvering and twining of our tails always get me going. The guys all want to pick about how I’m wild up here in my flights, but it’s most certainly Draken’s fault. He instigates the playfulness.

As we level out after a few moments of crazy twists and turns, my heart warms as I catch a glimpse of Keeper looking at us with the softest smile. It’s impossible for me to see him in the light I do the other vampires. All the horrors I know to be true, and the ones exaggerated by others, he just doesn’t fit that description. But there’s a nagging question that’s been in the back of my mind.

“May I ask you a question, Tanith?”

“Oh my, this is going to be good,” she says back, cutting me a look with her eyes.

“Very funny. The term beloved. Is it one used freely, like a sweet nickname in Essemist Keep?”

“You mean as your men all address you as things that are not your name?” she asks.

“Yeah. Like princess, little warrior, little wanderer. Caspian calls me Primary, which is technically what I am and his sweet name for me. I guess I’m a princess too, but they call that the Awaiting Matriarch here.”

“I see. No, beloved is not tossed around like that. It is more as your Shadow Walker uses his words. Beloved is a sacred title. One only given to ones truly beloved.”

I was afraid of that.

“How many beloveds can a person have? You know like I have four true Nexus members. ”

“One.”

“At a time or?” I ask slowly.

“No, young one, in a lifetime. It’s an undeniable connection that’s not even broken with death. Why the sudden interest?”

“Just…curiosity.”

“Oh, don’t begin to lie to me now, Willow. We share freely,” she says seriously.

“I know, but I don’t think it’s my place to share,” I say sadly despite trying to hide the heartbreak in my tone.

It doesn’t get past her.

“Ah, I see. You don’t feel like it’s not your place to tell your beloved the truth.”

“So you know?”

“Of course. My lord has not spoken about it, nor has he grieved properly, but I know. Just as I felt Draken come into this realm, I felt her leave it.”

“I think if Keeper told him, it would bridge the small gap remaining between them. Draken wants answers about his mom, but he’s afraid to ask.”

“And my lord is afraid to speak.”

“So what? They’re just going to ignore it indefinitely?” I ask incredulously.

“Probably. These are immortal men we’re discussing, dear. They believe they have all the time in the realms to do as they please. Sometimes they need a push or a swift claw to the ass. Whichever you prefer.”

“What I prefer? So you think I should tell him?”

“I do.”

“Well, then why don’t you tell Keeper to talk about it then?”

“Oh, absolutely not. It’ll cause a fight and I’m liable to eat him. You can’t eat your beloved.”

“You can’t eat your bonded,” I argue.

“I most certainly can. I’ve tried a couple of times over the last few hundred years. He’s rather fast.”

Oh, what the hell?

“Listen, Adored, there are many responsibilities to being a beloved. Being bonded in any romantic capacity. One of those is being the bearer of news. Whether bad or good, you are always honest no matter what. No matter how difficult. And in turn, you must also be the one to comfort and care for their feelings. I believe it will do more harm than good for Draken to hear this directly from my lord.

“He will blame him rather than understand the predicament he was in. Coming from you, he will receive both honesty and comfort. My lord will take my advice on pretty much anything, but broaching the subject of his passed beloved will not go over well for the two of us. He is still firmly in his angry stages of grieving. Despite not showing any of you that side. He had no outlet other than the forest that held him prisoner and essentially took the love of his life and child from him.”

My heart splinters as I recall the look on his face as he told her she had to leave. He was determined he’d have her, hold her once again, and I can’t imagine what he felt to know she was gone. That still leaves me with so many questions, though. I need those answers if I’m going to tell Draken this.

“The vampires told the Summum-Master—”

“Coming in for a landing, ladies. Don’t squash the tiny humans,” Draken says cheerily and I wrap a tight leash around my bond, squeezing in any hurt I may feel.

“By tiny humans, you mean our Nexus?” I ask, trying to push out a teasing tone.

“Exactly. They’re so small from up here.” He laughs and I let the sound fill my heart.

“We will continue our discussion, young one. Or you may leave it up to the boys to figure out the rest of the answers,” she says, vaguely telling me she’ll tell me all I want to know, but it’s probably best to let them sort it out.

Shaking out my massive head when my claws touch dirt, I let my magic wash over me and take with it the worry of our conversation. As the bright light obscures my form, I tell myself repeatedly, one problem at a time. I’ll tell him when the time’s right.

For now, let’s focus on the Dream Walker who has some serious misguided hatred for me.

“Did you have a good flight?” Tillman asks as he wraps me in his arms.

“I did. It was the perfect amount of time to let my dragon spread her wings and not throw a hissy fit.”

“Too bad little flights don’t soothe my dragon. She’s still just as sassy,” Keeper says and Tanith bumps him with her snout, causing all of us to laugh. My dragon chuffs in my chest as if she’s offended, but it’s the truth. She doesn’t overrule or push as hard as Draken’s or Tanith, for the matter, but she sure as shit will annoy the hell out of me until I give in.

“Is he ready for us or does he need another minute?” I ask and my question silences everyone, causing the hairs on my arms to stand.

“Prepare yourself, Will. He doesn’t look good. He’s worse than he was the other day. It’s getting hard for him to keep food down and he’s incredibly weak,” Tillman says softly.

Turning to Keeper with pleading eyes, I ask, “Is there anything you can do for him?”

“He was adamant last time he wanted me nowhere near him. Understandably. But if he’ll allow it, there’s a way for me to help. The Soul Seer and I may be able to help him enough that he’ll be almost…normal. It’s completely up to him, though.”

“Again, the name’s Aria. I think he’ll give in this time. It’s not looking good, Willow,” Aria says sadly as she joins the group, and I immediately pull her in for a hug.

“Fortune teller,” Lyker says as I approach him next.

“Alphahole. Thank you both for coming,” I say, muffled as he squashes my face into his chest.

“Of course. Aria was insistent that she needed to come save the mind reader. Plus, I brought you something,” he says teasingly.

“You brought me something?” I ask excitedly as the guys begin herding us in the doors of the healing wing.

“Don’t sound too happy about it. I don’t even know what it is, but it looks important. I found it while I was rummaging through the house, trying to clean some stuff up.” He chuckles, but my hands freeze as I reach for the book he so nonchalantly tries to pass me.

I can’t even bring myself to grab it. My mom’s magical signature pulses off of it and a lump forms in my throat as I look at the bright silver engraving on the black front cover.

“You’re kinda freaking me out here, sis. Is it cursed? Should I not have touched it?” Lyker asks in a panic and my hand shoots out to clutch the book when he goes to drop it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not cursed. It…it was Mom’s,” I stutter.

Opening the first page, I startle at the first cream-colored page, and the next, then the next. I flip through the pages as my heart thunders wilder with every turn. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t for the pages to be blank.

Confusion contorts my face until I run my finger down the seam in the middle of the book and the enchantment attached to the binding gives me a small shock.

“She’s concealed the words inside,” I mumble.

“Figured as much, but I couldn’t get anything to reveal. I tried the reveal spell, untangling the enchantment, and my blood, but nothing worked.” I glance up at him and realize everyone, including myself, has stopped walking and is staring at us.

Giving them a tight smile, I close the book back and trace the Nexus mark that’s engraved on the cover counterclockwise just as she did to open the portal. A shaky breath falls from my lips as her magic calls to mine in my chest and the mark begins to glow. It’s over just as fast as it started, and I don’t have to open the book again to know the pages are still blank.

Clearing my throat, I give my brother a grateful smile as I open my pocket dimension. “Thank you for bringing this to me. I’ll let you know as soon as I get it unconcealed.”

“No worries, fortune teller. I have no doubt you’ll figure it out,” he says confidently, smiling and clapping me on the shoulder as we continue to walk down the hall once more.

“One thing after another, little wanderer.”

My eyes cut to Draken, and I return the little smirk crossing his lips.

“One thing after another. ”

Finally reaching the room that Trex and Codi are waiting for us in, my feet try to trip me up on my first glance at him, but I force the smile to stay on my face. He looks like he’s lost another ten pounds since I’ve seen him. His eyes are even more sunken in, now accompanied by large dark bags underneath them. His skin that was once just very pale is starting to turn gray.

“Don’t start planning my remembrance of life yet. I’m still here,” He snarks playfully, and it makes me want to sob. He looks seconds from dying.

“Stupid question, I know, but how are you feeling?” I ask as I lower myself in the seat in front of him.

Corentin’s quick with serving me a cup of coffee and then surprises me by putting one in front of Trex. He squeezes his shoulder and gives him a firm nod, which Trex returns. Something about the exchange makes the water well faster in my eyes and I rapidly blink it away before they all notice.

I feel like I’m looking at a ghost already.

What the fuck are we going to do?

“As well as I can feel right now, I suppose. You didn’t come to talk about me, though. What’s going on, Willow?” he asks knowingly, getting straight to the point.

“I had a dream last night.”

“Okay. About me? Was it a vision?” He cocks his brow.

“Yes, about you, but not exactly. Dec visited me,” I tell him and watch the hope, surprise, and confusion cross his sickly face in a matter of seconds.

“Is he okay? What did he say? Do you know where he is?”

“He wouldn’t really talk to me and what he did say wasn’t pleasant. He hates me, Trex. I’m not sure what the Summum-Master has told him, but he believes I’ve done something to you, and he swore to kill me for it.”

His mouth gapes open and he slumps back in his chair defeatedly. I feel like the realm’s biggest asshole for bothering him with this while he’s struggling, but if I’m going to get answers from anyone, it’ll be him.

“There’s no telling. During our annual meets, we aren’t allowed to speak about what we’ve been doing. We’re monitored the whole time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Summum-Master has made it seem like you kidnapped me against my will or something along those lines. So Dec and X probably do look at you like you’ve signed my death warrant.” He gives me a teasing smirk that I know means you kinda did do that, and I can’t help but snort.

“Where were your annual meets?” Caspian asks from the corner of the room.

“I have no clue. We were blindfolded and bounced through transports until we finally ended up together. It was never the same spots.”

Disappointing but not surprising. Those locations would be a good starting point for us, even if they weren’t promising.

“With his lingering threat, do you think he’ll visit me again? Is there something I can tell him to convince him that you’re okay and we’re looking for them? I need something to make him believe me, then maybe he can tell me where they are.”

He stares off into space, drifting into his memory as he thinks about his brothers. The room is silent as we patiently wait for him and I really want to pry into his mind to see what’s going on. Obviously, I won’t. I don’t think his brain can take much more .

A slow smile continues to grow across his face until finally a bolstering laugh bellows out of him, startling me out of my staring.

“Tell him he knows good and damn well that last blackened berry pie was mine.”

“Come again?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“It’s been a running joke since we were thirteen. Xander’s mom always cooked us mini pies on our birthdays. A mountain of them. I mean, the things were no bigger than a child’s palm, so we would devour them. For my birthday, I asked for blackened berry pies, and I saved the last one for a midnight snack. His ass ate it but has sworn for years he didn’t. I know he did. I reminded him of that every single year until, well…you know.”

Despite the sad ending that I know came, I smile at such a fond memory. This is exactly something I’d need to know to prove to Dec that Trex told me. It’s sweet, personal, and a joke the two, technically, three of them have shared. I’m glad they have moments like this to hold onto.

“Any other advice you can give me? I’ll try to work with my gift on finding him, but is there a way I can try to, I don’t know, summon him to my dreams?”

“Yes and no, I believe. Dec used to always say he knew when we were trying to contact him, but I don’t know if that’s true because I never recalled purposely doing that as a kid. Since we’ve been separated, I haven’t dared try, nor do I think the rune would allow us to. There’s possibly a way for you to think of him intently while you’re dreaming, but I’d imagine it would take you being willing to let your mental guard down. It had to be down pretty good anyway for him to get through your defenses this time.”

My face flushes and I ignore its growing heat. Yeah, I can confidently say they were down because dream Draken had me thoroughly distracted.

“I’ll give that a try. Now I need a favor from you.”

“And that is?” he asks suspiciously.

“Let Keeper and Aria help you. If they have a way to help you with the rune without removing it, allow them to. You can’t die, Trex. Not when we’re so close to…ending this.”

My voice breaks and I don’t bother attempting to hide it. We’re close, even if it doesn’t feel that way. Everyone I’ve come across so far in this crazy, hard journey has a purpose, a role to play, even if I don’t know what it is yet. I can’t allow him to die before he serves his.

“I’m not willing to do anything that puts them at risk,” he says firmly.

“This will put your brothers at no risk. The rune will remain but be weaker.” Keeper’s accent flutters through the room and Trex instantly tenses.

“I didn’t agree to seeing him,” Trex says, narrowing his eyes on me.

“I know and I’m sorry. I didn’t push it last time we were here, and I wouldn’t push it this time, but this is serious, Trex. You’re almost unrecognizable. I don’t mean to be rude or blunt, but you don’t have much time. I know it, you know it. If you hope for any chance of seeing your brothers again, we have to do something.” I see the argument forming on his tongue and my anger rises quickly. I don’t mean for it to, but he can’t be so damn hypocritical of Keeper. “He was put in an unwinnable circumstance just as you and you both have done what you had to survive. Let go of your disdain for him. At least long enough to let him help you,” I bark harshly before blowing out a deep breath and softening my final word, “Please.”

His eyes bounce between Keeper and me repeatedly, then they turn to Codi, who’s been quietly supportive throughout this whole conversation. His face now, though, is one full of pissed off determination and as bad as it sounds, hope rises within me.

“Willow’s right. I’m sure both of you have regret for what you’ve been forced to do, but you have no reason to punish him or be a dick when you were in the same situation. If you need someone to blame, fine, blame someone, but the right someone. The vampire isn’t the one. If you decide to not let him help when he can without jeopardizing our brothers, then you’re just being a selfish prick. Don’t do that to me, to us.”

My eyes nearly bug out of my head at Codi’s tone. I’ve never heard him angry and he sure as shit isn’t softening his words for his brother right now. Trex doesn’t seem to take any offense whatsoever. He just sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Fine. What do you have to do?”

Well, shit, should’ve just had Codi talk to him to begin with.

“I will need to mark your rune. It will weaken its power over your mind but only from your perspective. The Summum-Master won’t be able to tell the difference. Then the Soul—I mean Aria—can place her rune back on your mind and it will further separate the connection,” Keeper tells him, also not sounding the least bit offended over being the main topic of conversation.

“That sounds simple enough,” Codi says, nodding like he’s the one who gets the final say.

“Too simple. What’s the catch?” Trex asks.

“No catch. You just probably won’t like the method of marking the rune,” Keeper says, shrugging.

“Elaborate.” Trex hisses.

“I am the middle between the rune and the Summum-Master. I must mark your rune with my blood. As in, I’ll be smearing my vile, vampire, bright blue, royal blood all throughout your mark,” Keeper says with a mocking, unhinged smile as Trex cringes .

Indecision wars within his eyes, and just before Codi gets ready to go in on his ass again, Trex holds his hand up to him and mutters, “Fine.”

“Excellent.” Keeper claps.

In a blink of an eye, with no warning to any of us, he’s around the table, holding Trex’s head between his hands. Draken quickly steps around as well, I’m assuming to lend some magic if needed.

“No squirming, boy. This will only tingle. Maybe burn a little.” Keeper laughs as Trex’s eyes grow wide and I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh.

Should’ve known that Keeper’s calm indifference was just his way of mentally torturing Trex while he helped him. Draken most certainly inherited that sly psycho shit from him.

The rest of us fall silent as Keeper’s eyes begin to bleed red and glow brighter as he speaks in his native language. The sound is smooth like velvet and tranquil. As Trex’s body fully relaxes, basically slumps in his seat, Keeper presses his index finger to his fang, slicing it open.

I stare in unwavering fascination as he traces Trex’s M on his forehead backward, just as he did to Layton but with the dagger. The red outline of the scar turns blue as Keeper’s blood sits on the surface, boiling. Slight hisses fall from Trex’s lips, but other than that, he doesn’t budge or flinch. I don’t know if it’s the words Keeper spoke softly or his stubborn pride that keeps him from showing any signs of discomfort, but he stays statue-still.

Like water running down a drain, Keeper’s blood sinks beneath the M and glows brightly before fading to nothing.

“Aria now, if you will please,” Keeper says quietly.

She presses her fingers to Trex’s temples and her eyes shift into their white cloudy voids. Unlike Keeper, she doesn’t have to speak and her gift caresses my skin as it flows from her to him.

There’s a palpable release of tension in the room when they both step away from him. His chest expands, and the sharp inhale echoes around the room. Codi’s quick to pass him a healing vial, and without ever opening his eyes, Trex tilts it back in one shot.

I swear I want to yell at him, tell him to open his eyes, say something, but instead, I knot my sweaty, twitching fingers together. I wait patiently with quickened breaths as his gray skin begins to pinken and the sunken dunes beneath his eyes fill out. My gaze traces the aura starting to create a silhouette around him and I slowly smile as the yellow surrounds him like the sun.

“Trex, you all right?” Codi asks.

Finally, his lids flash open, revealing brown eyes that are brighter, livelier than they’ve ever been. At least compared to how I’ve ever seen them.

“Never been better, brother,” Trex says, then turns his gaze back to me.

My heart pounds in my chest as his eyes flare, his mind taking back at least a little bit of control over itself. I know what he’s about to do, and as I open my mouth to tell him no, don’t risk it, but he shakes his head at me.

“The nonmagical realm’s portal is the weakest of the six due to its lack of magic. It’s grown weaker with the vampires taking over the forest and Elementra’s power bleeding in there minimally. That’s why the Summum-Master’s able to pass through it with only a drop of your blood. From the nonmagical realm, he can pass through the other portals with your blood. It takes time, though. And yes, there are portals in all the other realms that reach each other. Your family only blocked out Elementra. A fatal flaw in their plan was not closing all access points until he was dealt with.

“Your blood, your family’s blood can open portals anywhere. You aren’t restricted to physical barriers like we are. The Summum-Master can do so as well but with a great loss of the stockpile he has of your blood, so he only does that sparingly. Only once in his lifetime if I can recall.

“You need to destroy that stockpile. It’s going to be hard. Not because it’s heavily guarded by members of the Mastery but because he has it protected by many powerful relics, runes, artifacts, things our eyes have never seen, from all the realms. Those will be your obstacles.”

“I…we don’t know where to even look,” I whisper, completely enthralled by his almost otherworldly voice as he just spewed all that information out rapidly.

His own gift is flaring to life, blocking out any resistance or pain he may be feelings telling me this. He doesn’t have long to take advantage of this momentary block, it’s evident in the trembling of his limbs .

“You’re not going to be able to look. You must track. Don’t take that lightly, naively believing it’ll be easy because you’re bonded to the realm’s strongest tracker. When I say it’s guarded by things we aren’t even aware of, I mean it.”

“How do you know this?”

“I’ve listened, spied, been completely compliant for years around him and Franklin. People tend to become loose-lipped when they think of you as nothing more than a slave. Donald likes to brag about all the secrets he’s privy to as well. They never thought in a million years I’d say anything that would jeopardize the well-being of my brothers and I’m notorious for acting like I don’t give a shit.”

By the time he finishes his sentence, his voice is back to normal and the bright, melted chocolate shine in his eyes fades back to normal. He sways just a smidge and gratefully accepts the second healing vial Codi hands him.

“Thank you, Trex,” I mumble.

“Don’t thank me, Willow. It’s the least I can do.”

Turning my head to the side, my men stand strong as if none of this is a surprise to them, but I feel the shock, excitement, and unwavering devotion to me filter into my heart from each of them. My gaze lingers on my dragon as he gives me a small smile and runs his thumb across his lips.

“One issue leads to another, then another and then we fix it all at once, little wanderer.”

Seems that way, dragon. It seems that way.