Page 27 of Gift from the Source (Source of Elementra #5)

Twenty-Two

Willow

My breath hitches as we’re the last to walk out of the Central wing and I get my first glimpse of the army outside.

It doesn’t matter which way I turn my head. There’re E.F. members everywhere, lined up. Waiting.

We don’t have to maneuver around the central for me to know they are covering every square inch of the palace grounds. Their collective anticipation vibrates through the earth and into me.

The large gap of grass and gardens that creates the central’s entrance between the north and west wing is completely covered with people.

I’m in such shock, I barely make out Tillman assigning everyone their roles and what it is they’re supposed to be doing. I try my hardest to focus, but the tree line in the distance continues to suck in my attention. Especially the E.F. members that are almost within the trees.

The guy’s game.

There’s no room for all of us out here.

We’re going to be playing the deadliest game of hide and seek.

“Don’t lose that train of thought, little warrior. Talk it out,” Tillman says and all the guys turn to me.

“The trees provide too much coverage. All around us,” I murmur .

All four of them look in the directions of the four different forests surrounding the palace. The woods they’ve played, practiced, and trained in their whole lives.

If we were to take to the sky and fly to the left, we’d reach the mansion. The right, Rebel Castle. Behind us, the academy. All warded with the force of the Ruling Nexus and them.

In front of us, the face of the central wing, is still warded, but not as layered as the other directions because traveling forward would lead you to the heart of the Central territory.

The towns, the farms, the homes, the people.

That’s where he’s going to come in.

“He’s going to attack from the front,” Cas and Draken say at the same time.

“We need more space. We need to see them coming in. The forest has to come down. The others need to be trimmed,” Corentin declares.

“We’ll do it,” Aurora says quietly from beside me and I squeeze my eyes shut. There’s such sadness in her voice.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t be upset for me, my girl. I’ve always cherished the fact my sister and I could use our elements together to grow things, make them flourish like no other. We created so much together, but we didn’t create this forest. Only nourished it. Tillman can tend to the next one. Carry on the tradition. You all go, get everyone ready,” she orders softly.

She laces her fingers with mine, then squeezes before she and my fathers-in-law walk through the parting E.F. members to get to the tree line. I don’t take my eyes off her until all her men lay a hand on her, and she holds her palm out. Just as the ground starts vibrating gently, I turn back to my men.

“What’s next?”

“You take Oakly and go talk to Gaster. He isn’t going to handle the command of not being here for this very well coming from one of us,” Corentin says, and I nod.

Oakly and I share a glance when I walk the few feet toward her. The two of us have so much to say, but neither is willing to speak it out loud. We just stick close and share looks. Our arms brush the entire time as we walk against the flow of E.F. members heading toward where we just left the guys and I spot Gaster pacing at the central doors.

“Girls, there you are. You both should eat something really quick,” he says frantically as soon as he sees us.

“Thank you,” we mumble together, taking the pastries he passes us.

My mouth is so dry and the lump in my throat is making it incredibly difficult to chew, but I force my jaw to work and swallow it all down. Including the tears forming in my eyes.

“Gaster…”

“No. Absolutely not. Don’t even start, child,” he says, shaking his head. He knows what I’m about to ask.

“Please,” I beg, latching onto one of his hands and Oakly’s, and she grabs his other.

“I won’t leave all of you in our realm’s time of need.”

I close my eyes and release a desperate breath. Behind me, I hear the distant echoing of Tillman’s voice. His words send a vibration through the earth to me and a pulse begins to surge through the air.

He’s readying everyone and they’re rallying with his words.

I don’t have time to convince my Guardria to please leave.

“I’m going to be honest with you, old man, and you’re not going to like it,” CC surprisingly chimes in and I couldn’t have asked for a better time for it.

Fuck, I needed to hear his voice.

“My boy…Say what you must, and I’ll decide then if I care to listen.”

“You must go. I don’t know the outcome of today, but what I do know is this…If something were to happen to Willow, you’d not survive. Your heart couldn’t handle it. You’d join us in the beyond. But reverse that. If something were to happen to you, Willow would survive. She has a completed true Nexus bond and a Perfecta Anima bond that would keep her going here. But you’d be leaving her here to mourn for you every day. Do not do that to my daughter. ”

I didn’t expect that brand of bluntness and my heart explodes at the imaginary pain that scenario conjures up. My hand covers my mouth as I choke back a harsh breath and my eyes blink rapidly.

I don’t ever want to imagine a life without him. Living day to day without CC is hard enough, but to lose both of them…I’d never be the same.

“Don’t, Willow. Don’t lose yourself right now. You have so much to focus on,” Gaster grunts as he pulls me into his chest. “I’m sorry. I should’ve thought of that on my own. Not my selfish need to be with all of you. He could’ve put that more gently, but he is right.”

“I’m sorry, to both of you. But we don’t have time for sugar-coating right now. There’s not much time left at all. I love you both. Don’t let emotions get in the way of hard decisions today,” CC says and with that, his presence leaves me.

I want nothing more than to beg for it back. For him to stay with me through what’s to come.

“You girls listen to me, okay?” He pulls Oakly into our hug. “Protect each other out there. Do not second-guess yourselves or your abilities. You two are so incredibly strong and I am so very proud of you both. I am blessed beyond measure to have granddaughters as amazing as you two.”

“We love you,” Oakly and I choke out at the same time.

“I love you too. Now go join your Nexuses. I’ll go to the academy and I promise to stay safe if you both do as well,” he says, sniffling and wiping his eyes as he pulls back.

“We promise. Go make sure the boys haven’t torn your office apart,” I say lightheartedly.

“They will regret it if they have.”

With a quick kiss to the tops of our heads, he hastily walks away from us before transporting out. I know the quick retreat is so we don’t see him get even more upset, but the pain is potent in my chest. Oakly’s trembling beside me doesn’t help.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” I mumble.

“Are you scared?” she asks.

“Fucking petrified. ”

“Okay good. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only one being a little bitch right now.”

A watery laugh slips out of me, and I pull my sister in for a hug. As the seconds stretch by, I tell myself repeatedly, this is just me telling her I love her.

The last thing I’m going to do is tell her what else we discovered this morning. She may faint and I can’t have that.

“Let’s go find our men,” I say when we break apart.

Turning around, we don’t take a step before our eyes are widening and our feet freeze in place. What was just a crowded garden is now completely empty. All we can see now is the backs of E.F. members who have formed a line way past where the trees once stood.

“Shit,” she mumbles.

I grip her arm and pull her forward with me. “Come on.”

Marching across the open space, either way I look, the line of E.F. members continues to stretch out. The surrounding forests have been trimmed and pushed back, but the forest that was once in front of us is gone. You can see for miles ahead and she also created a massive clearing around the entire perimeter of the palace.

My head tilts up to check the moon.

Time is ticking away.

The silent crowd splits, watching Oakly and me as we walk toward our men at the front of this massive line.

As the E.F. members close in behind us, a chant starts up. Each rumble comes from deep within them. No words are sung, but the vocals are strong enough to make the ground beneath my boots vibrate.

The distance between us and the front line seems to stretch longer as the war beat gets louder. In front of us, my Nexus, Oakly’s, Aria, my brothers, Keeper, Aurora, and my fathers-in-law turn to watch us take this walk.

The intensity in the air has my dragon’s wings unfurling in my chest. She readies herself. Her deadly claws burrow in and smoke blows from her nostrils with her warning rumble. I allow it to flow through my own as my eyes shift violet and nails morph into claws .

Four resounding growls sound in front of me.

A dragon. A wolf. A tasmonium. A lion.

A chain reaction flows through the space as echoes of the many species among us answer the call.

Each step I take, flames burn the grass beneath my feet.

The embers are doused by shadows that crawl across the earth.

Light pours from my palms as I lace Oakly’s hand with mine.

I meet the eyes of my family standing feet from me now and latch onto their minds.

“I will not walk to the end of this line and give some speech that’s not quite a goodbye but could pass as one. I do love you all, more than this realm we will defend. But I will not tell you goodbye. We will come out of this together.”

“Together,” they all echo.

Oakly and I are surrounded the moment we step close enough to be embraced.

Silence reigns as we bask in one another.

They are my forever.

The family I’ve created and collected.

“What’s the plan?” I ask quietly.

“Lyker’s Nexus will head the shifters against theirs. Keeper will target the vampires. Tanith will be in the sky. Codi, Trex, Dec, and Xander will tear down the illusions around the Summum-Master and any other they put up. We’re leading the front lines with Aunt Rory, my uncles, and Ry’s Nexus. They have no advantage, but neither do we. We stick together and stay vigilant. There’s no mercy to be found today, little warrior.”

“No mercy,” I repeat.

For the first time, it doesn’t taste like ash on my tongue .

I can’t find compassion for those who fight on the wrong side today.

“All the wards are down?” I ask.

“All but one. There’s just a simple alert on the outer perimeter. It won’t stop them. It’ll just tell us they’re coming,” Aurora says as her eyes scan the, for now, empty and open expanse.

I can’t help but wonder if she did that on purpose.

It’s a stunning sight.

There are only a few visible stars left in the dark blue sky, but lights far in the distance look like little shimmers on the surface of the earth along with us. Those are our people either starting their day or they’ve been up all night.

Colors are becoming noticeable as the moon prepares to kiss the sun good night.

The temperature feels amazing. The day hasn’t warmed yet, but the night wasn’t cold. It’s cool and comforting.

This would be a wonderful morning to watch the sunrise.

It’s perfect.

The beat of my heart thuds in my throat as the tension building inside of me tries to gag me.

A shiver flows down my spine, and I turn my attention forward.

“Did you feel that?” Tillman asks.

“He’s here,” I murmur softly.

They are.