20. Twenty

Twenty

Corentin

“I’m a tad shocked to sense all this excitement coming from you.”

Peering down at where my princess is tucked into my side, I shake my head and smile at her.

She’s so nosy.

That beautiful gaze goes from soft and sweet to narrowed in the blink of an eye and Tillman snorts beside us.

“See, it’s both of you. You’re both nosy,” I say.

“It’s not nosy when it’s just broadcast out in the open for me to feel or hear,” Willow sasses.

“Of course, princess.”

“So…”

A chuckle escapes me and her teasing laugh wraps around my heart as her arms lace their way around my waist. I don’t mind her eavesdropping, nosiness, whatever we want to call it. I’ve just found that I like teasing her. I love the pink her cheeks turn when I make her blush from something other than arousal .

I know I can make her skin pinken from the palm of my hand or a darkened look, but to make her flush at something funny or playful I said is completely different.

The whole feeling itself is something I’ve never experienced.

Me? Corentin Vito, teasing. No.

Realm’s most controlling headmaster, oldest and sternest of the heirs.

Yes.

For my princess, though, I’ll be it all.

I want it all. Her laughs, her playfulness, her moans. I need it all. So for her, I’ll tease, taunt, and joke until her cheeks are pink from laughing so much.

Then I’ll spank the other ones to make them match.

“Corentin…” she breathes.

“See what you get, little warrior,” Tillman mocks and the two of us send our low chuckles through to her, making her squirm.

“Draken’s almost done talking Layton’s parents heads off and Gaster, Keeper, and Tanith should be arriving at the academy any minute now, but to address your comment, princess, I am excited. It may not seem this way here lately, but I do love being headmaster. It’s not always so chaotic, and that’s when I really get to get important work for the academy and students done. Taking Layton today for a tour is a perfect example of that. Very rarely do we get kids his age with the ability and potential he has. This is going to make a huge difference in his life. For the better. This is the best part of my job,” I tell her honestly.

I remember her tour like it was yesterday.

That was one of the best days of my life, and I’ll never forget it.

Granted, I was still being a hard-ass, but on the inside, my body was thrumming with the awakening of our bond, and I wanted nothing more than for her to have an amazing experience. I didn’t miss a moment of any of her reactions. The awestruck wonder that came across her face when she took her first look at the academy will be imprinted on my mind forever.

“Then let’s get a move on so we can show it all to him and get him situated,” she says softly, squeezing her arms around me tighter. “Come on, dragon. You can talk more with them when we get there. Let’s go.”

“Okay, Fank family, we can talk more at the academy. We’ll have to walk you in through the wards, so hold on to me and the big guy,” Draken says, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

Sira, Layton, and two of his dads join Tillman, while the other three move toward Draken. Each of them looks nervous, understandably, but hopefully once they see where their son will be, they’ll grow less anxious.

Willow stays with me, and I obscure her sight of Sira touching Tillman, although I don’t think it would cause her to growl this time. Plus, as Cas presses into her back, she shivers and we share a look, plenty pleased with her being smushed between us.

I’m surprised he’s here, although I guess I shouldn’t be when the being he’s most obsessed with is between us. He’s been consumed over our uncle’s room since yesterday, but she got him to come to bed and come with us today without an argument.

Our mischievous grins swiftly turn into frowns when Willow announces, “Okay, on me.”

Caspian quickly covers his laugh with a cough and then looks at me with that fucking twinkle in his eye. He’s going to make me say something.

Asshole.

“Princess, maybe—”

“No, I know what you’re going to say. I can do this. I don’t like doing it, but I have to get over it. Oakly’s training on long distance tracking is starting ASAP and I at least need to know how to transport more than just me before then.”

Her unwavering tone settles any rebuttal I had ready. She wants to know and is determined to do it, so that’s that. Who am I to stop her from learning, and if this is what she wants, I’ll be the one to teach her.

“Okay then, princess. Pinpoint the spots we’re touching you and send your magic there,” I instruct and when I feel the caress of her magic across my palm, I carry on, “Perfect. Now in your mind, clearly picture the front of the academy. Right where I took you the first time. Once you have it clear in your mind, open the transport, but don’t forget to pull our magic with you. ”

I leave my instructions short, quick, and to the point. She’s already read everything she can on transporting herself and others. It’s just the matter of doing it now. The only reason I bothered saying anything was to give her a moment to settle her nerves and ground herself.

“Ready?” she asks, blowing out a breath.

“Ready, princess.”

“Ready, Primary.”

Cas and I speak at the same time, giving each other confident nods. One of us will step in if we need to, but that won’t be the case. She can do anything she puts her mind to.

The darkness steals my sight and the entire essence of her surrounds us. The roasted, sweet coffee scent of her invades my lungs and her magic wraps around me like a blanket on a breezy day. I’ve never felt this engulfed by a transport.

Just a blip in time later, the sun’s piercing my eyes, and I’m left staring at Vito Academy in all its beauty. The sight beside me, though, is far more gorgeous.

“Open your eyes, Primary,” Caspian whispers.

An elated laugh bursts free from her as she peeks out of one eye, then jumps up and down, squealing. She launches herself at me and I easily catch her, spinning her around and stealing a kiss from her soft lips.

Passing her over to Cas, she wraps her legs around his waist and cheers, “I did it! Oh my God, that was exhilarating. It felt so much easier with the two of you with me. It didn’t feel nearly as unsettling as it does when I do it alone.”

Her excitement is contagious, drawing the attention of her other two men, and Cas doesn’t twitch or sneer about his face being smushed between her hands or her lips crashed against his. He embraces it fully and falls into the affection she’s pouring all over him.

“Good shit, little wanderer. Knew you’d do it. You can transport me back with you when we leave,” Draken purrs, pulling her into his chest before attacking her mouth .

We all roll our eyes at his over-the-top public display of affection, but we don’t dare say anything. It’s got to be a shifter thing because Willow eats that shit up. She loves for everyone to see him claiming her so possessively.

Tillman doesn’t speak out loud, but whatever he says in her mind, only to her, has her eyes shining bright. They flutter closed expectantly when he grips the back of her neck and tilts her head back, sealing his lips to hers.

Fuck, how times have changed so much.

“This place is…I’m going to get so freaking lost,” Layton says, almost to himself, but loud enough we all turn to look at him.

“Nah, you’ll be fine. We’re going to give you a good tour, and you’ll have an escort with you this whole first year,” Draken tells him, slinging his arm over the kid’s shoulder.

“Oh, I like that idea. So he won’t ever be alone?” Sira asks.

“Not until he’s eighteen, and even after that, he’ll still have supervision. He’s the youngest in the academy and will be for quite some time or until we can locate his Nexus brothers,” I say mindlessly as I type away on my communicator to inform Geo we’ve arrived.

“My…what?” Layton asks, confused, and I peer up from my phone to see not only his confusion but his parents’ as well.

Glancing over at Draken, the sly smirk on his lips tells me he didn’t inform them like I asked him to, and I just gave the kid, plus his parents, a shocker.

“He already likes me but is petrified of you. Figured you needed some brownie points,” he says, reading my face like a book.

Holding in my sigh, I plaster on a small smile and explain, “I thought it’d be in your best interest since you’re not going through the steps of lower and mid-level academies, that we visit those and see if you find your Nexus. Schooling at this level will be much easier with your brothers by your side. Not only that, Nexuses, for the most part, are paired equally. If you have a rare gift, there’s a likelihood your brothers do as well. Of course, if you don’t want to do that, you most certainly don’t have to.”

An eager smile crosses his face as he looks at his four dads, and his gaze settles on his mom. He’s playing through his mind what that would be like for him. Every boy, man, does it. Well, with a few exceptions .

“I want to do that. Thank you, Headmaster Corentin,” he says, grinning from ear to ear.

“Just Corentin, kid. Well, when it’s just all of us,” I tack on as an afterthought. I’ll be damned if the rest of the students around here started calling me just Corentin. “Come on, we’ve got a lot to see.”

Turning back to the academy, a loud, warning roar sounds overhead, and we all shield the sun from our eyes with our hands as we gaze up at Tanith soaring above us.

A booming roar answers from around the corner of the castle and out bounds a massive-ass fucking lion.

I swear, it’s like he has a sixth sense to other animals.

The second Tanith’s claws touch down, Vince, in his shifted form, runs right up to her as though he has no fear in the world. He presses his chest to the ground with his tail wagging like crazy in the air behind him, then completely ignoring Gaster’s yelling, he pounces.

Not in an attacking sort of way, definitely a playful one. He rubs his coat all over her, every inch he can reach and every gentle twitch of her wing, he paws at her. She huffs a couple times, gently flicking him away, but he doesn’t give it up.

A swish of her tail draws all his attention, and he bounds toward it, tackling it like a damn kitten playing with a toy. He’s lucky he didn’t spear himself on one of her spikes.

“Uh-oh,” Draken says low before chuckling to himself.

“Uh-oh, what?” Tillman asks.

“He’s gone full beast. I’ve never seen Vince lose control before.” Draken continues laughing as we all stare at Vince in shock.

I’ve never seen it either.

Damn, this is going to be embarrassing for him.

A warning rumble, paired with a ring of smoke blows out of Tanith’s nostrils and she whips her head around to where Vince is…Fuck me, he’s licking her tail.

I’ve found by observing Tanith since she’s arrived, for a dragon, she can control many facial expressions that are honestly easy to interpret. Right now, she’s glaring at Vince like he is the vilest creature she’s ever seen .

She finally has enough and with a powerful flick of her tail, Vince comes tumbling down the gravel way, stopping only mere feet away from us. Thankfully, that little hit knocks some sense into him, and he shakes his coat out, all majestic. As if he has a paw to stand on now that we’ve seen what he just did.

Shifting back into his human form, the mortification is obvious.

“A fucking dragon. A real dragon, not a shifter,” he says, bewildered.

“Well, little pussycat, that’s one way to introduce yourself. I’d give her some space for now, or you’ll be cooked right up,” Keeper says with a bloodthirsty smile that shows off his long, white fangs.

Fuck me.

“You brought a real dragon and the vampire here?” Vince asks, whipping his head toward me so fast, I’m surprised it didn’t snap off, and again, I glare at Draken. This was information that was supposed to be relayed.

“I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. Enjoy the moment, boss man, it’s hilarious.”

“Draken, that could’ve turned out very differently,” Tillman scolds.

“Nah, I warned Tanith. She knew a lion was going to be coming. She flew over the training fields first just to give him time to shift and run all the way up here. She was excited for his reaction till he decided to defile her tail.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, my mouth twitches involuntarily, and I try hard to hold my laugh in. I nearly choke on the air that’s forcing its way up, especially when Draken’s loud laugh bursts from him.

The second Tillman’s deep rumble bubbles out, it’s a losing game for the rest of us. Poor Vince stands, huffing with his hands on his hips as the entire group falls apart.

Even the Fank family joins in, and honestly, it probably settles their nerves seeing Vince like this. They were intimidated to learn their son was going to be taken care of and mentored by a Nemean lion. Which made no sense since they treat Draken like he hung the sun.

Clearing my voice, but not bothering to hide my smile, I say, “Vince, this is Keeper, and his bonded dragon that you so gracefully just licked, is Tanith.”

“I’m sorry about that, really. I haven’t lost control over my animal in, I don’t even know, almost two decades. I believe having a beast as formidable as her just called to his baser instincts and I wasn’t prepared for it. He never did that with Draken or Willow,” Vince says in a nervous ramble, sticking his hand out for Keeper to shake.

“Draken’s told me about you and your knowledge of shifters. It’s impressive, but your beast probably senses the human side in my son and his beloved, whereas Tanith is all creature with the intelligence to rival any in this realm and my own. It will not be me who needs to accept your apology but her. She has a mind of her own,” Keeper says with a mischievous grin, and I’m positive he’s setting Vince up to get eaten or maybe burned.

“Let’s meet the man of the hour, give Tanith sometime to…cool down until you apologize,” I suggest, putting my hand on his shoulder to steer him the other way when he looks back at the pissed off golden dragon. “I apologize for the dramatic introduction, but this is Vince Callico. Vince, this is Layton Fank and his parents, Sira, Langston, Sim, Joe, and Dani Fank.”

“Please do not take that display as my usual show of control. My lion and I are typically very much on the same page,” Vince says, embarrassed.

“That was so cool. You weren’t even scared,” Layton says, glancing at Vince the same way he does at Draken. Awestruck.

“Yes, well, my counterpart may not have been worried, but I’m about to piss myself, so this is a perfect example of the balance our other halves bring.”

I give Vince a second to give a more proper introduction to Layton’s parents and he explains what’s to be expected in their upcoming months together. The more he talks about the nitty-gritty of what he’ll be teaching, the mortified side of his embarrassment fades, leaving the typical, high-energized enthusiasm that comes from him when he gets an opportunity to work with a rare shifter.

Right before my eyes, it eases the turmoil we’ve seen in Layton’s parents since we had the original discussion that Layton had to come to an academy. The kid’s smile continues to grow, and each time he looks at his parents for validation in his excitement, they reciprocate it. Whether it’s a mix of a show and sincerity, I’m not sure, but it puts his worries to rest.

“Lead the way, Draken. We’ve got a lot to do this afternoon,” I say.

“I thought all we had planned was this?” Willow asks.

“This will take the majority of our time, but this afternoon we’re having a family meeting.”

“Mom’s dragging us all together, huh? Great,” Caspian drawls with an eye roll.

“Not Mom. Me,” I say.

Willow and my brothers all whip their heads toward me questioningly, but I don’t let my mask crack. We’ll discuss everything we need to when we leave the academy. For now, we need to focus on this kid and his future.

The future we’ll be able to provide for him once we wrap up this shit show of a war in our realm.

Twenty-two…

Twenty-two people sit around my parents’ table. Including me.

That’s how much our family has grown in the time my princess has been here and although she’s anxious, has been since I announced we were having a family meeting, she’s grinning from ear to ear. Her gaze bounces across each Nexus, ours, my parents’, the Mercies’, and Lyker’s, plus Keeper and Gaster with such tenderness and so much love, it’s heartwarming.

That’s the whole point of this meeting.

We’ve got to make some changes, put plans in place so our family, all families across the realm, can relax, enjoy their lives without the threat consistently hanging over their heads.

Me suggesting major changes. Never thought I’d see the day.

And actually feel…be okay with it.

Having Layton’s tour of the academy first before this meeting was more of a help than I realized it would be. As we walked through every building, every square inch, the new training gym, where he’d be staying in Vince’s new house. Every occurrence was a small, subtle change that loosened me up and fortified what I’m going to bring up in a moment, is the right thing to do.

It’s even more solidified in my mind now as I gaze at every person in this room. We all have our roles to play and if we play them properly, we can make irrevocable strides in the direction we need to be going.

“Corentin, my boy, you called this meeting. We’ve eaten, talked, teased, so let’s get on with it or Aurora and Willow are going to lose the fragile amount of patience they have,” Gaster teases, looking between the two of them, grinning as they glare at him.

“It’s not a lack of patience, thank you very much, Gaster. It’s anticipation of whatever he’s about to say. You know how hard it is to know I could just dive into his mind to find out, but I don’t?” Willow sasses right back.

“Exactly. I can feel his assuredness and apprehension. It’s got me on the edge of my seat,” my mom tacks on.

“I get it. It’s nothing bad, so everyone can ease up on the worry, but I do want to address some things I believe are important,” I say, gaining everyone’s attention.

Normally, I’d lace my fingers in front of me, to ground myself and keep the small glow of light beneath my fingertips concealed, but instead, I unbutton my jacket and lean back.

Willow’s hand slides into mine from beside me, where she’s perched in Tillman’s lap, and I bring it to my lips, sending her a burst of my love through to her bond. Some of this is going to come as a shock to her because I didn’t discuss it with her first, but I believe she’ll see where I’m coming from.

Turning my focus on my mom, I soften my eyes. She’s going to hate this. “We need to move the Spring Ball out.”

Just as I suspected, she startles and gazes between my dads, her mouth falling open and closed.

“The Spring Ball has been the same day for, for…”

“Two thousand years,” Gaster, San, and Caspian all answer at once.

“I’m aware, Mom. It’s been a Vito family tradition since our family took power, but it’s a few weeks out, and I can’t shake the feeling that we’re not ready for it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned here lately, you can’t ignore any inklings. It’s going to benefit us more by pushing it out, gain as much information as we can before we have a castle full of possible traitors,” I state firmly.

Willow’s disappointment slices me momentarily before her complete, unwavering agreement stitches me right back up.

“Corentin’s right. Things fall in place when they’re supposed to and if this is a feeling he can’t shake, then we aren’t supposed to shake it,” she states confidently, squeezing my hand harder.

“Okay then,” my mom whispers, a little teary-eyed over the broken tradition, but she clears her throat and rights herself. “When do you think we should host it?”

“The last day of spring for the Central. That gives us six weeks total to learn as much as we can and make as many moves as we need to.”

I emphasize spring for the Central because it lasts longer here than anywhere else. Because of the four territories meeting here, the seasons change very differently than anywhere else.

“That’s only three weeks more, angel. It’ll be fine,” Dyce says softly, reaching over to grip Mom’s hand.

“Send a decree tomorrow changing the day of the ball and announce we’ve found our true Primary,” Caspian says, and we all turn toward him.

“You all asked me—”

“I know, we asked you to wait, but this news will lighten any grievances people have over a fucking party. Not only that, but it’s also going to put the Mastery in a bad spot. If anything were to happen again to Willow, the realm will now know the Mastery made a move against the awaiting Matriarch. That’ll make them reconsider everything they do,” he says begrudgingly, looking at Willow for her opinion.

“Princess?” I prompt when she stays quiet.

“I agree. It’s something we all wanted to wait to do, but I think it’s for the best now. It’s no longer a secret to the Mastery that I’m here and who I am. Including that I’ll be introduced to the realm during the ball may also draw the second family further into the light. We’ll see their reaction to me firsthand when they have to meet me,” she says and our pride for her blows across my chest.

Each of my brothers, including me, smiles at her fondly. I don’t think she has any idea how much she’s truly grown.

“Okay. I’ll send the decree tomorrow. What’s next?” Mom asks.

Turning my head to Tillman, he nods, and I know he’s on board with my next decision. It was a passing conversation the two of us had, but now a full-fledged plan has formed in my mind.

“Lyker, I have a large request of you.”

His serious face never flinches or changes, but I catch the softening in his gaze when his eyes turn to Willow. “I’ll do whatever you need of me.”

He says that now.

“I want to send you all the wolf shifters in the E.F. I need you to train them properly. Also, any wolf in your pack who wants to be part of the fight. Previous E.F. members or not. Tillman and I have discussed it. We’ll grant you authority to authorize them as active E.F. members. They’ll receive the training and all other resources as if they went through the academy.”

His mask crumbles into a pile of confusion as he looks between Tillman and me. I knew this would be a shock, but not only that, a huge responsibility to place on him on top of his responsibilities as Alpha.

“Why?”

“Wolves are the fastest, most well-organized land shifters in Elementra. The pack dynamic gives them unimaginable strengths, but it’s no secret they’re some of the hardest to train. Simply because of the dynamic of your beast. Their animal craves an alpha, and although the human side can identify Tillman, Ry, any of us as their superiors, their beast does not. Of course there’re exceptions to the rule. You, Rhett, his brothers, you all don’t rely on that relationship, but you lot are few and far between.

“The members we have, have ridiculous potential, but we don’t have the resources to provide them with what they need. Draken and Willow possess the dominance of alphas, and could easily fill that role, but that would just be a disservice to the shifters. When this war is over, there will always be wolf shifters, but neither Willow nor Draken want to have to lead them every day. They need a permanent place to grow and thrive.”

He observes me for a long moment. Most of what I just said, he already knows. Who am I to teach him about his own gift, but it needed to be laid out like that so he could see where I’m coming from and where I’m going with this.

“You want me to open a wolf shifter academy,” he concludes.

Smart, smart wolf.

“Precisely. We’ll support you fully every step of the way. You won’t do anything alone, and we’ll provide everything you need for it.”

“I love the idea, I do. It was always a dream of my dad’s to have a school for wolf shifters. He—and I agree now that I’m older—always felt the wolves wouldn’t get such a bad rap if they had their own place to learn. But I’m not sure how the pack is going to feel about me clearing land to build a shifter academy right in their backdoors. They’re still healing from the betrayal of the last Alpha allowing a multitude of species to train in their lands,” he says, but I was ready for that. I considered how it would make his pack feel.

From my coat pocket, I pull out an envelope and pass it over to him, then wait for him to read through it.

“What is this?” he asks quietly.

“The unclaimed land outside the pack lands where your childhood home is. Apparently, it wasn’t unclaimed. The paperwork had just been hidden. The land you believed to be unclaimed is actually in the name of Alpha Lyker Quinn. Your childhood home’s land was left to be reregistered in the name of the children of Iris Quinn, Lyker and Willow.”

I thought I was losing my mind yesterday when that envelope appeared in my office desk drawer. I’ve been through the desk so many times, I knew I’d never missed it. But once Willow called for us to see they’d found my uncle’s secret room, I knew their discovery unlocked mine.

“This was the surprise you said you had for me,” Willow whispers.

“Yeah. I hope it’s a good surprise.”

“It’s great, it really is, but…it really says children, as in plural and my name. I was included?”

“Yeah, princess. Take a look for yourself.”

“May I?” she asks Lyker softly, to which his confused features turn tender, and he slides her the page.

Down the parchment, it reads just as it did the day Willow’s mom filled it out, but at the bottom, a clause was included that the land would pass to her children in the event of her death.

Willow covers her watery smile with her hand as she says thank you and passes the paper back to Lyker. Her heart is beating so fast I can feel it through her fingers that lace tightly again with mine. Hopefully, now any worry about whether her mom wanted her to have that house alongside Lyker will vanish.

“That’s a perfect place for an academy,” Lyker finally says, smiling proudly.

“I swear to you, we’ll do this with you. You won’t bear all this responsibility alone,” I tell him seriously.

“I know. Tillman will have to come show his scary face every now and then. Remind everyone who the boss is.”

“Scary? I got the prettiest face out of all of us,” he teases, causing everyone to laugh at the obvious shit talking. His stern glare is one of the scariest looks I’ve seen.

The laughter breaks up the tension that was building in the room and everyone falls much more relaxed, even though I’m not done. Those two issues, though, were the biggest.

“What’s next on the agenda? I’m ready for dessert,” Oakly says, reaching across the table to battle Draken for the last handfuls of pastries.

She wins, by the way.

“Well, now that you’ve drawn attention to yourself, you are,” I say and she nearly chokes on said dessert she just shoved in her mouth.

When Jamie quits pounding on her back, staring at her as if she’s going to fall apart, they both turn to glare at me.

“Me?”

“You. I don’t believe you should continue at the academy. ”

Her evil, narrowed eyes shatter and her face crumbles instantly, but I quickly hold my hand up for her to let me continue before she has a meltdown.

“I’m not kicking you out. Just like Willow, I think it’s in your best interest to be finished with your studies. Let’s be honest here, Oakly, you’re already the top of your class academically, as a first year. The time you’ve spent with Gaster, Willow, and San has propelled you far past even the fourth years. There’s nothing left that the academy can teach you. You’re needed elsewhere now.”

“But what about my Archivist Aid? Final test? Certificate of Completion? I can’t just be done. I don’t have anything to prove it,” she says frantically.

I can’t help but smirk at her. I really appreciate the fact she wants to prove herself, do things the way they’re supposed to be done, but certain situations call for certain measures.

Also, I think sometimes she forgets who her sister truly is. If she hasn’t figured out already or if she’s simply forgotten that she has a place at the palace alongside all of us by now, I’ll let her figure it out in her own time.

“All will be awarded to you properly. You’ll receive a Certificate of Completion for the academy, E.F. training, and Archivist Aid. All signed off by me, my mom, and Gaster.”

She looks at her men dumbfounded as if she just can’t wrap her head around this. Gaster gives her an encouraging nod. My mom gives her a warm, reassuring smile, but when her look falls to Willow, my princess squeals.

“Why the hell do you look so lost?”

“This is real?” she asks quietly.

“Fuck yes, it’s real! You’re done with the academy,” Willow shrieks, causing the whole table to erupt into cheers.

Which causes Oakly to cry.

“Stop all that, Perfecta Anima. You know better than anyone you deserve it,” Cas says, but it’s missing its usual coldness.

Oakly snorts, wiping her face clean. “You’re right, asshole. I definitely do. ”

Cas rolls his eyes, but the two of them still smile, and that seems to light my princess up with happiness. The bridge that’s been gapped between the two of them makes her overjoyed and I’m so happy to see my brother moving past issues, not even caused by Oakly, but regardless, he’s taking baby steps starting with her.

“Last topic,” I say, quieting everyone once more. “I was going over reports this morning. With the exception of Willow’s kidnapping and Oakly’s, Ry’s, and San’s, the Mastery hasn’t attacked anyone since then. Nowhere in the realm has reported anything from them.”

“What do you think is going on?” my mom asks.

“They’re gearing up.”

Tillman, Caspian, Draken, Ry, San, Nikoli, Lyker, Lennox, Kyan, Zane, my dads, Roye, and Dyce, even Keeper all say the exact answer I figured. Their years of experience, and Keeper’s years of being kept prisoner, told them immediately what the lack of attacks are hinting at.

“So what’s your plan, son?” Roye asks.

“We prepare. Starting tomorrow, everyone’s schedules will have to change up to focus on their strengths and work on weaknesses. Every morning, apart from your Nexus for now, Lyker, we’ll have Nexus training here. Following that, Draken, Tillman, Ry, Jamie, and me will report to the academy. Willow, Gaster, Oakly, Cas, San, and Keeper, you all…” I trail off just slightly. Fuck, I’m not too happy about this, but it’s how it must be for now.

“You all will be here. Studying, researching, digging through any bit of information you can. The new book Oakly received, the amplifier room, figuring out the Summum-Master’s identity, finding Willow’s blood supply, Trex’s brothers. All these things have to be taken care of. Ideally, we find Willow’s blood supply and the second family betraying us before the Spring Ball. The afternoons can be spent at the academy where you’ll work on combat, long-distance tracking, and whatever other areas need to be worked on.”

The thought of Willow being separated from me for half of the day every day is a kick to the balls. I hate it, regardless of the fact we can easily transport to one another whenever we want. I’d feel better with her being wherever I am.

“That’s a big change from what we discussed,” Willow mumbles, her displeasure evident in her bond and tone.

“I know, princess, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for springing all of this on you and if there’s anything you disagree with, I’m all ears. This doesn’t have to be the end-all plan,” I say softly, kissing each of her knuckles as I hold her sad gaze.

“No, it’s all perfect, unfortunately. It’s what needs to be done and this way, with a schedule and plan in place, it will get done.”

Tillman pulls her closer to his chest, whispering sweet nothings to her mind and easing the worry from her brow. She mindlessly rubs her hip, both receiving and sending comfort from Draken. The shadows that dance around her wrist soothingly are braided, hers and his.

When her thumb runs across my finger, I can’t help but smile down at my ring that she caresses. The ring she put so much effort, love, and pieces of herself into. Countless times I’ve caught myself turning it in circles since she slid it in place, rubbing its smooth surface instinctively. All of us have done it.

Wherever we go, we’ll always have a piece of her.