19. Nineteen

Nineteen

Willow

“Look at you glowing this morning,” I tease as soon as my eyes land on Oakly when she walks into the south wing foyer.

She laughs, skipping toward me while her men surround her and mine behind me groan and whisper-shout my name. It’s the truth, though. She looks stunning this morning, and if you had been there to witness the state she was in merely two days ago, you’d never believe it.

“I got plenty of rest.” She winks, then wraps her arms around me.

My gaze softens on her men when they give her about a foot of distance and their shoulders relax. It’d seem I’m getting the more cheerful side.

Ry’s features contort into guilt when I meet his eyes and I roll mine, knowing by that look alone he most certainly didn’t tell her about his little early morning excursion yet.

“She was crying in the shower. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her yet.”

His thoughts ring loud for either Tillman or me, but I pick them up regardless and tighten my hold on Oakly. I know my best friend enough to know she’s trying to pretend none of this happened.

“Chef’s cooked us up a feast. You hungry? ”

“Starving. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I finally get to see your infamous south wing,” she says excitedly.

“Breakfast then a tour. Or you want it the other way?”

“Breakfast first. I need coffee.”

Same, girl.

With quick kisses to each of our men, they leave us with orders to reach out if we need them. I’m not one hundred percent certain what they have planned for the day, other than Corentin, Tillman, and Aurora’s meetings with the academies, but I can take a wild guess.

“The ward is going to sting a little this first time. The guys said it didn’t shock them, just pulled on their skin,” I warn as we approach the shimmering barrier.

“But not suck me down a killer rainbow, right?” she asks, causing me to snort.

“No, that was just a little side adventure for Gaster and me.”

With a confident nod, I link my arm in hers and walk us through, commanding the ward to let her enter. Surprisingly and thankfully, we make it through like it was nothing and she’s giddy about it on the other side.

“I knew I was loved the most. It didn’t even pull. I’m going to rub that all in their—oh, holy shit,” she breathes when she takes in the sight of my lounge in front of her.

The early morning rays make the walls of light purple shimmer and the glittering leaves on my willow tree shine bright in their green and silver glory. Her eyes eat up the rows upon rows of books and she can’t seem to decide where it is she wants to look at the longest.

“I think I changed my mind. I want a tour first,” she whispers as she takes a timid step forward. “Shit, Willow, the energy coming off this room is breathtaking.”

“It’s something, that’s for sure,” I say low, smiling at her awestruck look. “Well, go snoop, then we’ll move on to the next.”

Snoop she does.

There isn’t an inch of my lounge that she doesn’t investigate and the belly flop she does on my sectional has me dying in laughter. I thought I’d have to drag her out of here, but just one little poke about seeing the rest has her nearly sprinting down the hall.

We briefly poke our heads into the kitchen, and I tell Chef we’re taking a quick tour, then we’ll be ready to eat. He shoos us out of his domain with a chuckle at Oakly’s groaning over the smell and gives us honey buttered croissants to appease us for now.

She has the same reaction that we did to the breakfast room and quickly claims the seat that will be hers going forward. Unlike us, though, she insists on seeing every guest room on the next floor.

Reaching our floor, I grow nervous in my excitement to show her the amplifier room as well as my bedroom. I’ve already warned her that the bedroom is the same as the one in the mansion, but she’s ready to see the balcony. We pass the guys’ bedrooms wordlessly because she knows I won’t show her those. Even though she’s my sister in all ways besides blood—well, I guess that isn’t completely true now—she still knows I’m far too territorial to let her in their spaces.

“Is this it? The mysterious and dangerous amplifier room? Fuck yeah, it is, I can feel the power radiating even out here.”

“It is. I can’t go all the way in with you ’cause it’ll suck me into my mind, but I’ll stand at the door.”

She doesn’t wait another second before slinging the door open, then gasps at the room. It’s a shocker when you first see it, but the aura calms you almost immediately when you step in.

I lock my mind up tight as I lean against the frame and watch her run her hands over damn near every surface. I lose just a slip of my leash on my control, though, when her ass starts dancing in front of the reflective walls.

Suddenly, images of her begin playing across the mirrors like a slideshow.

The day we met and had our awakening. Us rolling around on the carpet at her lake house, drunk and laughing. Her covered from head to toe in blood as she appeared at the ward when I was being rescued. Her body falling through the air toward the magma as I dove after her.

Finally, it shows the two of us, dressed in matching floor-length gowns, with our heads thrown back in laughter. The difference in our dresses is mine is a shimmering violet that matches my eyes and her hair with silver lace, while hers is black, with the same violet lace.

I just discussed these dresses with Aurora. This is what I pictured us wearing at the Spring Ball. Although the guys are treating this upcoming event as a mission, I still wanted it to be special.

For all of us.

Pulling myself from the doorway and stepping back into the hall, I squeeze my eyes closed to get my mind back under control. I should’ve known better than to get so close to that room with her in there. Now she’s seen both good and bad times, plus another that’s to come.

“You okay, Willy?” she asks quietly, coming out of the room and shutting the door.

“I’m fine. I didn’t solidify my block well enough. That room…it’s powerful. I’m sorry you had to see some of that.”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s okay. But those gowns…we’ve never worn those before,” she says with a mischievous pitch to her tone, and I shake my head, leading her down the hall to my room.

“They were just some silly gown ideas I ran by Aurora for the Spring Ball. I thought it would be fun for us to match.”

“I think they’re perfect,” she says softly, and I squeeze her hand. She’s trying to push the same enthusiastic tone she had earlier, but it’s diminished substantially.

The light enters back into her eyes slightly as we reach my bedroom, and she chuckles at the familiarity. Of course she has to confirm that the bathroom is the exact same and the closet is just as full.

“Do you want to eat on the balcony or in the breakfast room?”

“Your fancy new balcony, of course,” she says, pushing the French doors open wide.

She takes a huge inhale with her arms spread wide, soaking up the sun, and I plop myself down on the couch to message Chef and my guys the change of breakfast locations.

“Ugh, this is so nice. I’d drink my coffee outside every morning if I had a balcony like this.”

“Well, you do have an earth elemental Nexus member who’s more than capable of building you one. Not to mention, his best friend, and your best friend are both more than capable as well.”

“Are you crazy? I can’t just start changing aspects of the palace.”

Of her own wing?

She most certainly can. I’ve already asked Corentin and Aurora .

“I think everyone would be okay with it. It’s not like it’s a bad change. Everyone would enjoy it. Maybe we’ll talk the guys into building us a connecting balcony so we can meet out there together and have coffee.”

“Yes, I love that. Fuck yeah, you ask them.”

Will do.

Pushing myself up, I head back through my room to open the door for Chef and Mrs. Grace, then thank them profusely as they take our huge assortment out to the table on the balcony. My smile slips just a second when I catch Oakly staring off into space, lost in her thoughts that quickly, but when Mrs. Grace places a cup of coffee in front of her, she’s back to grinning and giving her thanks.

I’m stuck in the middle of the battle waging inside of me currently. I want to get her to talk about it, not let her bury it down like my guys have done for me, but at the same time, I don’t want to push her. She’s trying hard to put on a brave face and I’m so proud of her, but I don’t want her to suffer in silence when I’m all ears.

“Dig in,” I say cheerily.

I stay all smiles and giggles, listening to her talk about everything under the sun, except what she’s feeling. Her mouth is moving a mile a minute, trying to outrace the thoughts, but I don’t interrupt.

“Have you gone for your morning flight yet?” I ask Tanith.

“No. The infuriating vampire is working out with the boys. As though their little stretches are more important than me spreading my wings.”

I hold in my snort, but mentally, I’m dying. She’s so damn sassy when she doesn’t get her way.

“Care to take Oakly and me up?” I ask, then backtrack because that may have been rude. “Sorry to just flat out ask, Tanith. I didn’t even consider if you fly people other than Keeper without inviting them yourself. ”

“No offense, young one. Other people, most certainly not. But you are family, as is she. I will come pick you both up.”

“Hey,” I say, reaching across the table to lay my hand on Oakly’s to stop her babbling. “Want to go on an adventure?”

Her eyes draw down and a devilish little smirk crosses her face. “What are you thinking?”

“Follow me,” I order instead of answering.

Walking to the railing around the balcony, I lift us up on a ball of my air and she squeals when our feet land on the edge. I can sense how close Tanith is to approaching, so I lace my fingers through Oakly’s.

“Willow, what the—”

“Hold on.”

Tugging her with me, I jump over the side.

Commanding out a burst of my air, I slow our descent as Tanith swoops down and we land easily on her back. With a roar to rival mine or Draken’s, she takes off through the sky, while Oakly shrieks.

“Are you fucking crazy? A warning, Willow.”

“Oh, where would the fun be in that?”

“I was prepared for you, young Seeker. No need to fret.”

Oakly flinches on my side and her grip on my hand becomes punishing. Her gaze bounces between Tanith and me, but I don’t bother hiding my smirk from her.

Tanith has accepted her into the fold.

“She just spoke to me.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Oh my fucks, she loves me.”

“Family of my Adored is family to me. You’re very loved, Oakly. By many.”

My poor best friend shivers, and her face completely shuts down. The denial to Tanith’s very true statement is sitting right there on her tongue. It’s consuming every thought that tries to surface.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I pull her closer to me. She’s stiff and tense, reluctant to accept my affection, but I don’t relent on my grip, and she gives in.

Then she shatters.

Hard, heartbreaking sobs tear through her as she pours her all out in the endless stretch of blue and white. The ground would surely shake if we weren’t hundreds of feet in the air and I’m surprised the sky doesn’t thunder in response to her pain.

I stay strong for her. Biting my tongue to the point it hurts so I can hold my tears at bay, but it’s gut-wrenching to feel her fall apart in my arms. It makes me both murderous and heartbroken.

Tanith and I don’t butt in or try to soothe away her sorrow. I knew this would happen once we got up here and I’m positive Tanith did as well. That’s why she said what she said. Between her sweet, heartfelt comment and the peaceful bliss that soaring brings, it’s nearly impossible not to let your feelings go. The concoction is like the realm’s most gentle hug.

“How do you feel?” I ask quietly when she finally sits up off my shoulder and wipes her face.

A long sigh falls from her lips as she stares blankly through the clouds. “That day at Rebel Castle, when Gaster and I were teaching you our gifts, I was too ashamed to agree with him, at least out loud, that I question everything Elementra does when it comes to you. I’ve always known and believed you’re just supposed to trust in her, but since you got here, nothing makes sense, yet it makes perfect sense in the end. It’s so confusing, but I’m so grateful for it because things that need to change are changing. But times like your kidnapping, and now this with me, I just can’t wrap my head around it. Why do things like this happen, Willow? Why does she allow it?”

Her head turns to me and the slow stream of tears flowing from her eyes, paired with the desperate desire for an answer nearly slings me off Tanith’s back. Fuck, it’s a question I’ve asked so many times. CC’s asked. My guys. Everyone I know I’m sure has asked.

It wasn’t until that moment in Pyra that I finally figured it out.

And it isn’t until this moment, staring into my sister’s shattering eyes, that I know my assumption to be true.

“I spent the whole time you were in the healing wing and all day yesterday thinking about that,” I whisper, blowing out a harsh breath as I cocoon us in a bubble of air, while keeping my mind open to Tanith. “There was a moment when we were rescuing you that Elementra came to me, quickly, just long enough to tell me to make my decision. I didn’t even have to think about my decision. It was as easy as breathing to know what I was going to do.”

“What do you mean?”

Holding her gaze, I fight with myself about what to do or say next. What will seeing what happened do to her? Will it help or hurt? Should she even know? Her men nor I have told her anything that’s happened from the time the drug really took over her mind to the time she woke up. It’s been obvious that she hasn’t been ready.

“I need to know, Oak, honestly, how much do you want to know?”

Her face morphs into a multitude of emotions over the span of maybe three seconds. From grief, to anger, to vengefulness, to relief. It’s all there.

“All of it.”

I give her a tight smile, not questioning her decision, and I lace our fingers together, then pull her and Tanith into my memories.

Starting where I first saw Jamie and Nikoli outside the wing, I quickly move us through the motions of what all transpired to me getting through to her, to us arriving at Pyra.

I skip the part of us watching what was happening to Ry and San, because she doesn’t need to see that, but I do show us pulling them into the shadows and making our way to her.

From there, I let it all play out as is. I don’t hide a single second from her.

The influx of emotions passing between the two of us is astronomical. The wide range of my feelings at every turn was overwhelming enough at the time, but adding hers into the mix now is almost unbearable.

A smile does break out across my face when I feel her pride for me in the moment I killed Gima. An event I’m sure my men have been waiting and expecting to come up as if I’m ashamed of what I did, but I’m not. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I accept what I did wholeheartedly. She was an evil monster dressed in spoiled rich bitch dresses .

It’s a whirlwind from then on, navigating the absolute chaos that ensued while we tried to figure out a cure for her. I make sure to focus on her men’s effort, their love, devotion, and unwavering determination to be with her one way or another. When she finally snaps open her eyes, I switch course. Her confusion is stark, and she tries to withdraw herself from my mind, but I hold on to her and show her a brief snippet of CC’s and my conversation in the amplifier room.

I replay the moment I accuse him and Elementra of abandoning me and how he explains they aren’t abandoning me, but they can’t make the decisions for me any longer. Then, even though she knows this information, I show when I was being tortured and he explained for her to step in, it would bring about the destruction of the realm. Then I switch it again, to show her Jamie, explaining to me why it was critical that I was drained of my magic. How he could give me his, but I have nothing to give back to Elementra.

It’s a confusing mixture of information, I know, but as soon as I can explain what I believe to be the truth, she’ll understand.

She blinks rapidly when I cut the string in our minds and a puzzled look crosses her features. I wait her out, though, seeing if there’s anything she wants to say before I explain.

“My…my parents did that to me. They were willing to let me die,” she chokes out. She knew all along, but she needed to admit it out loud.

“I’m not trying to defend them, because fuck them for real, but they didn’t believe you would die. They did have every intention of allowing the Summum-Master to take your magic, gift, and element and give it to either Gima or Silvia.”

She flinches, looking at me with disbelieving eyes. “What? How do you know that?”

“Because your parents are locked in the dungeons. They were captured this morning,” I say honestly.

“How…who…that was quick.”

I quickly tell her how Tillman immediately sent a team to stake out her house as soon as we left Pyra, and they’ve been waiting there for their return .

Then I throw the guys under the bus.

“Sneaky bastard. I didn’t even know he got out of bed.”

“I didn’t notice the guys either. Granted, usually, I can, but typically only if they’re feeling some sort of negative emotion. I was cuddled up with a clueless as me Corentin, and Tillman came right back to bed, so I was none the wiser. Needless to say, Caspian and Draken were giddy at the prospect of going to retrieve them. Ry caught them. Then joined.”

Her snort, followed by a blushing smile, is short-lived as she whispers, “I don’t know what to do about them. Part of me wants them dead because what they did to me was so cruel, even by their standards. I understand I wasn’t the perfect daughter in their eyes, but nothing is wrong with me. I just don’t want to live by the higher society standard.”

“You’re completely right. Nothing is wrong with you. And you are perfect. Perfect to me, your men, our family, our real, chosen family. Nothing that happened is in any way, shape, or form your fault. Your parents made their own decisions.”

She wipes away her tears with the back of her hands before lacing her fingers together and looking down at them. “The other part wants them to live. Live out their punishment locked away forever. Death seems like an easy out for them, and they’ll never learn the error of their ways. They’ll just die believing they were right to do these things.”

“I know the choice well. It’ll be a tough decision,” I mumble softly.

“Decisions. They seem to be the primary theme of everything going on,” she says knowingly.

“They are. Elementra knows, millennia in advance, what’s to come, and she begins making her preparations. She lays the best possible paths forward without stepping across the line of balance. It’s taken me, fuck, I don’t know, Oak, countless puzzle piece by this point to put it all together, but there’s one thing she can’t always control. And those are people’s decisions.

“If she were to make every decision for everyone, it’d cross the thin line of balance. So everyone has choices to make on their own. From there, those choices present the consequences. The consequences determine whether she continues to serve you. ”

“Continues to serve you?”

“Yeah. Elementra serves us as much as we serve her. It’s the foundation of the bonds, the magic, the power, her love, of everything. It’s the give and take relationship that she’s perfected. The people, namely for us in this generation, it’s the Mastery who has taken but is no longer giving back, so therefore, she no longer serves them. Their power is now corrupt, and she can’t, mostly won’t, recycle their tainted power back to us. With that, though, she’s lost the ability to push any decision onto them. They’ve forfeited their privilege of having a relationship with her.

“Their decisions have consequences that sometimes will affect us unjustly, but in those moments, we have decisions as well. She will always guarantee I have what I need to come out on top of the consequences caused by others because of the decisions I make. We can question her all we want. Fuck, she knows I question her daily, but I continue to serve her. I make the choices that are for the betterment of the realm. And in return, she serves me. She’s already blessed me beyond my wildest imagination.”

I release a deep breath and rub my thumb across Oakly’s hand. She’s most certainly one of those blessings I’m referring to.

This realization started festering in my mind the moment Elementra told me Gima had made her decision. Regardless of if she lived or died that day, I knew in my heart she was no longer a part of our magic system.

“Holy shit,” Oakly mumbles.

“I know.”

“No, I mean, yes, everything you just told me is very eye-opening and I’m going to digest it, but just taking it in, if all that is true, the Summum-Master would’ve been one of those, hell, maybe even the first to lose his relationship and he’s figured that out.”

My head twitches at the startling realization of what she’s saying. Faster than my mind can comprehend, everything starts playing out for what it is.

“Shit. That’s why he started stealing gifts. Why he had to travel to other realms to gather other magical shit. Oh my fuck, why the asshole relies on my blood so much. He’s trying to recreate his own magic system because Elementra’s withdrawn hers and he’s still as powerful and strong as he is because he continues to take from people who are blessed by her. Shit.”

My shoulders slouch as the flurry of words falls from my mouth just as fast as they race across my brain. Oakly’s still staring at me wide-eyed but with a huge smile across her face that slows my erratic heart.

“You’re so damn smart, Mrs. Master Archivist. I don’t know what the hell I’d do without you.”

“Same goes for you, Willy. Thank you,” she says with tears welling in her eyes and I know that thank you is loaded with more than just the compliment I gave her.

The light shining in her eyes is so bright I see the reflection of myself when I fall into them. I see the broken pieces of my best friend mending themselves back together, and I know, after this flight, she’s going to be herself again. But better, stronger, and freer.

“Very good, filia mea. I’m so proud of you.”

“As am I, Adored. You are wise beyond your own belief.”

“That she is, Golden one.”

My laugh at the two of them is a watery one and I lean my head against Oakly’s, where she parks it on my shoulder. I savor this moment as the love from her bond and CC’s pulses through me and my tie—that I still don’t understand—from Tanith has my dragon purring softly.

“Well, Seeker, are you ready to meet the Matriarch? She just arrived back at the palace,” Tanith says slyly.

“Oh shit. I forgot about that,” Oakly says, popping up fast as lightning. “No, I’m not ready. I look a whole-ass hot mess. My eyes are swollen, hair’s a disaster.”

“Nonsense. Those are ridiculous concerns. My lord says she’s waiting for us to return, so we shall,” Tanith says with a small laugh, then turns us around on the drop of a dime.

And Oakly’s jaw drops just as fast.

“Looks like it’s time for you to meet my mother-in-law.”

“Fuck me. I should’ve stayed outside with the guys. I’m gonna puke.”

“You’re being crazy. Plus, they just came to give us quick kisses and check on us. If you had stayed with them, you would’ve had to go work out.”

“Damn it, you’re right, but still, this is petrifying. She’s breathtaking. Literally, I can’t breathe.”

I smile warmly as Aurora crosses her foyer to us and yeah, I admit, she’s stunning. She looks like an angel gliding through the rays of light, but regardless, Oakly’s nervousness is for nothing. Aurora is by far the easiest person in the realm to get along with.

Well, as long as you’re not threatening her family.

“I’m so happy to see you, girls. Uh, Oakly, it’s amazing to finally meet you,” Aurora says, wrapping Oakly in a hug that takes her by surprise. “Thank you so much for coming and having a girls’ day with me.”

Just like the day Gaster called her his granddaughter, she looks seconds from passing out and I hide my snickering behind my hand.

“She just thanked me. What the hell do I say?”

“I don’t know, Oakly, maybe something like, it’s wonderful to meet you, thank you for having me, you’re beautiful. Any of that would do.”

“I’m wonderful to meet. I mean, beautiful…I, shit,” Oakly stutters, slapping her hand to her forehead, and I die laughing.

Aurora starts as well but quickly covers it with a cough, then smiles fondly at her. “Don’t be nervous, please. You’re family. Family should always feel comfortable.”

Her magic washes across the room and Oakly practically falls into her open arms. It is a heady dose of happiness and even though I could block it out, I don’t. There’s no sense in blocking out a surge of ecstatic hormones.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Willow’s told me so much about you and yes, I’ve been incredibly nervous, but I’m also stupid excited. This is freaking amazing.”

“Stupid excited? Freaking amazing? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s her gift. You left yourself completely open and she’s pumping you full of her happiness.” I laugh.

“You may want to dial it back a bit, Aurora, or she’s going to be a chatterbox,” I tease.

“Oh, sorry, my girl. I’m just so thrilled. I went from having no daughters to two in such a short amount of time. All my dreams are coming true,” she says sweetly, and both Oakly and I melt.

When you go from not receiving this type of affection to being overwhelmed with it, it’s emotional.

“Okay, come on, you two. I’ve got the kitchens bringing coffee, Gaster dropped off pastries, and my whole afternoon cleared.”

Linking her arms through ours, she steers us past a number of rooms, her office, and out through her patio doors where everything she just claimed to have waiting is spread out across the table. Plus, Tanith is sunbathing in her gardens.

It doesn’t take long for the boost in excitement to wear off for Oakly and she eases back into her normal level of happiness. Once that occurs, the conversations start to flow seamlessly.

“I’ve never seen someone get so sick in my life. Granted, I should’ve known better than to let her drink that much. We can get ill here from too much drugs or alcohol, but I just figured by that point her stomach would’ve toughened up from being in the realm for a month.” Oakly picks, recounting the embarrassing night I spent bound to her toilet.

“I still get ill from transporting too much. Not as bad as that night drinking, but I don’t think it’s going to go away.”

“Ugh, I thank Elementra the only time in my life I’ve been that ill was during my pregnancy with Corentin. My goodness, that was awful. It lasted months but eased up. I was rejoicing that it was over, then I swear the second Tilly became pregnant with Tillme, it started all over again right along with her. As if we just couldn’t do anything without the other,” Aurora says and the sweet smile stays plastered to her face, but I sense the sadness lurking below.

“What was it like having siblings? From the stories I’ve heard and CC’s still obvious shenanigans, it seems like it would’ve been a blast,” Oakly asks .

I’ve wondered the same sometimes but usually shut it down. If I had a sibling growing up, they would’ve endured what I had to and that would’ve been a miserable existence. I’m thankful my siblings, blood and bond, came later in life.

“Wild but magical. We never had to worry about being alone or making friends. It was already built between us. The three of us were always up to something. Trouble mostly, let me tell you. Our mother made life very uncolorful, let’s put it that way, but Orien always found the magic in everything. Our favorite game was hide-and-seek, and we surely passed that on to our boys. Unlike them, though, we weren’t allowed to do it outside. We were limited to the central wing.” She smiles softly, no doubt falling into the past.

“Thinking back about it now, it’s so funny. Tilly and I always made Orien be the finder. Which in hindsight, no wonder we always lost. He had the gift of sight. We’d hide all over the wing and he’d find us in a split second, but on days when our mother had been particularly harsh or something happened, our favorite spot to hide would be under his bed. We didn’t know it then, of course, we thought for sure we outsmarted him but no, on those days, he was letting us win, just trying to cheer us up. Anytime we needed a good cheering up, Tilly and I would hide under his bed.”

Her musical laugh drifts all around us and we join in on the happy memory. I, too, have those fond moments. Hide-and-seek was certainly a favorite among the original Vito siblings because CC brought it to my life as well. We hid all over that forest until I created a clearing.

Just as I go to tell her about my own little hide-and-seek victories, a tickling across my mind halts me. I feel the words, the memory trying to push itself through, and I coax it gently. Encouraging it on.

My sweet, sweet Aurora. She’s going to have a field day to find out I was hiding in plain sight, just down the hall from her for years and years.

My chair crashes against the ground as I spring from my seat, panting. The reluctance to the words was because they weren’t my own. They were just a blip of a sentence thrown in with a hell of a lot of truth bombs that were dropped on me the day CC’s memories came through .

“Willow, what’s wrong?” Aurora asks, concerned. Both her and Oakly stand from their chairs rapidly and stare at me as if we’re about to be attacked.

“That big little shit,” I mumble.

“What?” they both ask.

“CC. He’s been playing the ultimate game of damn hide-and-seek.” I huff before turning fully to Aurora. “Where’s his bedroom? Where you’d hide under his bed?”

“In the central wing, right down the hall from my room.”

“Will you take me there, please?”

At her nod, she scurries ahead, with me and Oakly hot on her heels. Whatever we’re about to find has my adrenaline pumping and my curious little heart doing cartwheels.

After a flight of stairs and numerous lefts and rights, we finally approach a door like any other, except it’s so much different. This is the strongest I’ve felt CC’s presence outside of the south wing.

“It’s…nothing’s really changed since he was a boy. Even after he moved into the south wing, we weren’t willing to change a thing,” Aurora says almost to herself as she turns the knob gently.

The only issue with that is, he never moved into the south wing.

I hold my breath as the room comes into view, and my eyes search every surface. It’s nothing like you’d except a teenage boy’s room to be like. It’s neat, orderly, a bed perfectly made, and bookshelves that also serve as a headboard.

“What is it we’re looking for, Willow?” Aurora asks.

“I’m not sure yet,” I say as I continue to scan the room. That is until my eyes fall on the very out of place, not matching rug stretched out under the bed. “What’s your favorite color? And Tilly’s?” I ask.

“Mine is yellow. Tilly’s was green,” she says and I smile.

The chaotic green and yellow rug under the bed tells me all I need to know. All my most favorite gifts were given to me in some shade of purple. Colors were a personal touch he put on everything.

“Under the bed,” I whisper .

Moving to the foot of the bed, using my air, I lift the whole thing up and move it to the other side of the room, nearly knocking Oakly and Aurora over since they weren’t paying any attention.

A belly-deep laugh bursts out of me when I gaze down at the note on the rug and the two of them come to stand beside me.

“Oh, that asshole,” Aurora whispers, bending down to pick it up.

I WON.

That’s all it says, and Aurora laughs until there’re streams of tears rolling down her cheeks. Both happy and sad.

“He seriously just wanted to leave me a note telling me he won hide-and-seek?” she asks.

“No, I don’t think so,” I mumble as I still feel his power pulsing through the room.

Looking down at the rug, its triangular-shaped pattern makes me dizzy as I stare at it for too long. My eyes begin to blur and beg for me to blink, but that’s when I see it.

Arrows pointing upward.

Again, calling my air element out, I use the wind to roll the rug up and squeal in excitement.

“It’s a secret room,” Oakly and I shriek at the same time.

“Orien, you sly creature,” Aurora murmurs.

Impatience and curiosity override all my senses as we gaze down at the small door carved into the floor and I reach for the grooved handle. A shock shoots up my arm and I snatch my hand back, screeching.

“What the fuck?” I cry out, gripping my hand.

“When will you learn, Willy?” Oakly snickers and I shoot her a deadly glare.

“Fair warning, everyone. It’s going to shock the shit out of you.”

They laugh at me, then gently lay their hands to the handle as well, taking the electrocution with ease and grace.

We watch a shimmering web skitter across the surface of the door, then gasp as we hear multiple locks begin to unclick. The sound of metal sliding against metal echoes around the room and I swear none of us breathe until the room falls silent once more .

“After you, Aurora. You’re the one who lost the game,” I whisper as if speaking too loud will disrupt something.

“Funny. You act just like him sometimes, you know?”

Yeah, I know.

Releasing a deep breath, she once again grips the handle, and my heart thunders in my chest as the creaking sound of hinges filters through my ears. A light illuminates a staircase for her to follow down as soon as the door fully opens, and me and Oakly glance at one another with her first step.

“This is so cool. I feel like an E.F. spy.”

“Yeah, well, there’s no telling the booby traps he has placed down here,” I tell her with a devilish smirk that has hers melting away.

As soon as Aurora leaves enough room for me to take a couple steps behind her, I follow right along, leaving Oakly to pick her own jaw up off the floor.

From the top, the staircase seemed so much longer than what it actually is, and only after twelve steps, I’m freezing at the bottom beside Aurora as Oakly slams into my back.

“Shit, why did you quit—oh my.”

The massive room is like Gaster’s office but on steroids.

The walls are lined with books on not only the first floor but the second as well. Years upon years of information is piled into this room and the smell of wood and mint is potent. I swear if knowledge had a scent, this room is saturated in it.

There’s a small kitchenette that has a kettle on the stove ready to go and three mugs are set out on the small table in the center. A never-ending fireplace burns softly, lighting the room in a dim glow, and my eyes water on the small, made bed.

A door that’s partially cracked on the other side of the room draws my attention, and my feet move faster than my mind. I can’t hold the waterworks back as I sling the door open wide and Aurora gasps behind me. His closet is full of his clothes and my nose fills with the smell of him.

He lived here. This was his room .

“Willow, Aurora, you should come see this,” Oakly calls out and the two of us hastily wipe our eyes before hustling back out the closet to her.

Standing at the small table, she’s holding an envelope in her shaking hand and she gulps as she turns it over repeatedly, checking the front and back.

“There’s one for each of us. Even me,” she says quietly.

The two of us nearly fall over ourselves as we rush to join her at the table, but we both freeze when we peer down at our names.

“Orien,” Aurora breathes as she picks hers up and rips it right open, not wasting another minute to get the closure she needs.

Turning to Oakly, she gives me a confident nod before doing the same.

I still peer down at mine, running my fingers around the pointed edges. Every time I receive a note from him, something changes. Something big usually, but I swallow down that fear and face it head-on.

Filia mea,

Remember when our games of hide-and-seek turned into scavenger hunts?

Well, some of the answers you seek will be found here, the south wing, and various other places.

Continue the path you’re on, my sweet girl, but just know, you’re no longer on it alone. Everyone and everything you will need is now in your life. Together, you will conquer it all.

CC xoxo.

Bringing the letter to my nose, I inhale sharply, breathing in the scent of him before smiling against the parchment. I can picture him now, sitting at this table, writing these letters to us.

“Shit!” Oakly screams, followed by a loud bang against the table that has me whipping my eyes to her. “A book just fell out of my letter!”

“We can see that,” Aurora says, laughing and crying as she wipes away the tears and folds her letter up close to her heart. I’m not going to ask her to tell me what it says. I believe if it gave her any guidance or information I needed to know, she’d tell me. Other than that, that’s her letter.

For her eyes only.

“What does it say, Oak?” I ask .

Clearing her throat and tearing her gaze away from the massive encyclopedia-like book, she peers back down at her parchment.

“Dear Oakly,

This isn’t how I wish we had met, but alas, I come bearing a gift to make up for my poor manners.

The book you just dropped on my table has never had eyes on it from anyone in this realm, other than myself. It is a collection of sorts that I’ve worked on over the years that I believe will come in handy to you. Not even the old man has seen this. He’s surely going to be prepared to fight you for it.

I figured, though, the realm’s—”

She stops reading, gasping for breath as sobs begin to wrack her chest, but when I step closer to her, she waves me off.

“I figured, though, the realm’s most renowned Master Archivist deserved the first glance.

Read it. Memorize it.

As a matter of fact, ask your Absorber for the Recollection Spell. He’s stingy with that ancient knowledge.

You’re going to do amazing things, Oakly Mercie.

Don’t let anyone make you believe differently.

CC xoxo.”

Laying the letter down, she starts flipping through the pages rapidly, and her breathing quickens. Faster than I can follow, she starts spouting off facts and stats from every page and her face continues to grow brighter.

“This is crazy. The Nexus Mark, the Pyrathian Origin stone. What…” She trails off as she becomes fixated on the page she’s on.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Well, the first, you know the Nexus Mark. It’s a rune. The Pyrathian Origin stone is a relic. It’s claimed to have come from the first layer of the decimated side. From Pyra’s first ever eruption. The others…I haven’t a clue. Relics, runes, artifacts, all kinds of stuff I’ve never even heard of.”

Blood rushes to my ears and my body breaks out in a fever. Oakly’s so occupied with the book, she doesn’t even realize I’m having a moment.

It can’t be.

“Wh-What did you say?”

“You heard me—” Her eyes flash up to me, and she startles at my pale face. “Willow, what’s wrong?”

My mouth gapes open and I can’t even get the words out, so instead, I send Trex’s conversation to her and Aurora’s mind.

Tracking. Relics. Artifacts. Runes. My blood supply. The ritual.

“Oh, Elementra,” she breathes, running her hands around the rim of her new book. “We have a lot of training and studying to do, Willy.”

“Yeah, Oak,” I choke. “Yeah, we do.”