2. Reverie
Chapter 2
Reverie
T he trip through the portal was uneventful. Aurathions, who created portals and pocket dimensions, were amazingly talented. Emberhold Academy existed in a pocket dimension created so Aurathions could meet and form Factions, learn, and strengthen their abilities without humans discovering their existence. The original Academy was one of the first buildings destroyed at the start of the war because it was essential in forming Factions built around a true Nexus.
I stepped out of my Jeep, inhaling the crisp, enchanted air. The beautiful trees that towered above the entrance to the Academy had a mix of gold and orange leaves. The main building was a massive gothic structure composed of a black rock native to our world. The rock was almost reflective, so it glowed when light hit the building. Quaint lampposts, benches, and tables lit the brick pathways leading to the dorms scattered throughout the campus. The dorms and training buildings were smaller structures identical to the main academy building. Houses scattered throughout the forest surrounding the Academy were built for fully formed Factions that needed to complete their training.
A small town was also located close to the Academy. Most of the businesses were run by Passives who hadn’t given up on finding their Factions. The town consisted of a few cafes, coffee bars, and small boutiques. Java and Jam was a favorite of my family. My parents often ate at the original that was destroyed at the same time as the Academy.
The gate in front of Emberhold was held up by massive posts made of the same rock as the Academy. The gate itself was constructed of material like earth’s platinum. Directly in the center of the gate was the Aurathion symbol. It was a Triquetra surrounded by two rings of flames, with a smaller Triquetra in the middle representing the Nexus.
I had no idea how extensive the forests were but assumed they were significant. There were animals of all kinds, some native to Aurathia. If this was an accurate representation of Aurathia, I could understand why my parents missed it so much. I looked around the half-full parking lot and realized most students probably used the smaller portals. A vehicle wasn’t needed to navigate around campus and the small nearby town, but leaving My Precious wasn’t an option for me.
My parents had taught me to always expect the unexpected. Sometimes, a quick getaway was the difference between life and death. After the destruction of our world, my parents didn’t leave anything to chance. Nathan could teleport anywhere he had seen or been before, but this talent had yet to appear for me and wouldn’t until my Faction was complete. Suddenly, I heard a knock coming from inside my Jeep. I jumped around and saw Nathan waving at me, sitting in my backseat.
“What the hell?” I jerked open the door and fell inside. “What are you doing here?” I whisper yelled.
“Welcoming my little Nexi to Emberhold, of course,” Nathan grinned. He had a boy next door look and he used it to his advantage. Light brown hair with a slight curl, big green eyes, a dimple in one cheek, and perfectly straight white teeth. At 6'1″, he was the perfect package- if you were into psychopaths.
Apparently, I was.
“Nathan, you know we need to be careful. You could have welcomed me somewhere a little more discreet!” I growled. Grumpy had warned us repeatedly how desperate Passives were to be part of a Faction. I didn’t need that kind of pressure my first few months at Emberhold. Not to mention Nathan becoming Faction without the ritual. The Council would put us in a lab somewhere and probably anally probe us both.
“Now, you sound like a mini–Daddy Grump”, Nathan pouted. “I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.” He wound a piece of my hair around his finger. “I just flashed in with no one the wiser. You know my power is unparalleled.” His arrogance was “unparalleled”.
“You shouldn’t be using your power at all.” I frowned. “And don’t call me daddy.” The last came out in a screech as Nathan jerked me under him.
“You’re wasting a lot of breath arguing with me when your mouth could be put to much better use.” Nathan batted his eyes at me. “I’ve missed those plump lips, and this smell!!” He groaned out while leaning down to take a large inhale of my neck. “Chocolate chip cookies and honeysuckle.” He made a smacking noise, “I could eat you up.”
I giggled, melting under him. Resisting my Psycho was not something I was proficient in.
The first day of kindergarten is always hard, but I thought it was harder on my parents.
“It’ll be OK, Pop. I’ll be home soon,” I giggled. Pop held me so tight I could hardly breathe.
“Put Tator Tot down and stop being dramatic!” Grumpy rolled his eyes. “She’ll be home in a few short hours, get ahold of yourself, man!”
Mom started laughing and took me from Pop. It was a struggle because he wasn’t letting go. Grumpy hit him in the back of the head, and Mom was able to pull me to freedom.
“You’re going to love school.” Mom smiled. “These children are precious, and I know you’ll make great friends.”
I knew she was right because I wore my most favoritest new dress. It was in the palest pink with darker vertical pink stripes. My hair was in two pigtails with dark pink bows, and my sandals glittered bright pink in the sun.
“Damn Adelaide, do you think you could have snuck some more pink accessories somewhere on Reverie’s tiny body?” Grumpy eyed all the pink like it was going to bleed over on to his clothes.
“Watch yourself, John!” Mom stuck her tongue out at him. “A girl can never have enough pink.”
“That’s right, Dad!” I said, sticking my tongue out, too.
I looked over Mom’s shoulder and saw a little boy with the prettiest green eyes staring at me.
“Give her back, Adelaide, right now!” Pop demanded. “I haven’t gotten enough hugs to last me through the day!” He grabbed my legs as they played pretend tug of war with me.
Suddenly, Pop let out a high-pitched yelp and dropped to his knees. When I looked down, the pretty little boy stood in front of my Pop, his fist drawn back to hit him again.
“Oh, my Lord!” A pretty lady with the same green eyes as the boy yelled. “Nathan, what have you done?”
“Looks like a good punch to the gonads,” Grumpy said quietly while snickering into his hand.
“What’s gonads?” I wrinkled my nose in confusion.
“Never mind that little girl,” Mom struggled to keep a straight face. Nathen glanced at his mom with a fierce look on his little face.
“Saving the princess!”
“I’m so sorry! I have no idea what’s gotten into him!” Nathan’s Mom apologized.
“He was pulling her apart, and ‘sides that, she’s my princess!” Nathan scowled.
“No, I’m not! I’m my own woman,” I said, looking at my mom for approval. Mom nodded at me and smiled while kneeling on the ground to look at the little boy.
“We’re her parents, and I promise we’d never hurt her.”
“I don’t know how to apologize enough. My name is Sarah, and this little terror is Nathan. Tell the nice man you’re sorry!” Sarah frowned at her son.
“But I’m not sorry! He was keeping my princess captive, so I punched him where Gramps said it hurts the most!” Nathan continued to eye Pop with suspicion.
“Gramps sounds like a wise man.” Mom laughed, “Why don’t you walk in with Reverie and ensure she gets to her desk safe and sound?”
“OK, Mrs. Princesses’ Mom.” Nathen grinned. “Come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
As the pretty little boy grabbed my hand to lead me into class, I wondered why my hand felt all tingly and my tummy dipped like when I was on a roller coaster.
Nathan lightly ran his finger over my forehead, licked my neck, then bit it gently.
“I’ve missed you so terribly, horribly, my Nexi.” He whispered. “I can’t stand to be away from you for so long, or I go crazy.”
“Too late, lunatic, you’re already there.” I smiled, “But I missed you too.”
“These next few weeks are going to be absolute hell,” Nathen groaned. “I’ll be glad when I can claim you in front of everyone. Oh! Look what I did to commemorate the first time we met!” He sat up in excitement and started pulling down his pants.
“What the hell, Nathan?! Tell me you didn’t get your penis pierced!”
“What? Is that something you would like, my Nexi?” He froze in contemplation.
“Well, I can’t say for sure since, you know, you’re the only guy I’ve ever been with,” I smirked.
“True enough, but I’d like to reserve the right to revisit this topic.” The Psycho grinned. “Look at my new tattoo!” He pulled his pants down to show the bright pink princess crown tattooed right above his dick with “NEXI” in bold black letters right in the middle.
“Why do I find your gesture strangely sweet?” I mused.
“Because it is sweet. But also, extremely sexy.” He waggled his eyebrows, adjusted his pants, and pulled me on his lap.
“How are you settling in?” I leaned my head on his shoulder and stroked his chest.
“It’s going good. You know how lovable I am, it’s the usual. Girls want me, and guys want to be me.” I rolled my eyes and pinched him.
“Hey now! There’s no need for violence. You know I only see your sweet face.” Nathan grabbed my hand and kissed the top of my head.
“Seriously, is everything going well? Do you remember everything we told you?” I snuggled closer breathing him in.
“Yes, my Nexi. Everything has gone smoothly. No questions asked after your dad enrolled me and explained to the Dean about accidentally stumbling upon our family.” He nuzzled his nose in my hair and kissed the top of my head.
“So, was the story about the blood test my mom conducted in her office believed?” I asked.
“Yes. We explained that I had visited her office for a physical, and after she got the test results, she researched my family background and found my Aurathion ancestry.”
“Fantastic!” I kissed his chest.
“Give me one more kiss, and I’ll return to my room... Pucker up buttercup.” I leaned my head back and gave him a kiss, and then, being the psycho he was, Nathan leaned forward and bit me hard in the juncture between my neck and shoulder, drawing blood. It should have hurt but instead sent a jolt of heat through me.
“That’s new.”
He grinned, showing slightly extended incisors coated in my blood. “The taste of your sweet blood on my lips is euphoric.” He groaned in ecstasy looking a little confused. “It seemed like the thing to do so I just rolled with it. I like seeing my mark on you, especially since I can’t claim you publicly yet. Until we meet again, Nexi mine.” He saluted me then teleported out.
It was just like Nathan to go with whatever he was feeling without question. It looked like we were dealing with another ability. I would need to contact my parents about this new development. I suspected some of the possessiveness stemmed from him knowing that we would be growing our Faction soon. I grew up in this culture, so multiple mates were the norm for me. Nathan had not, and even though my fathers had assured him on multiple occasions it would feel natural, and no jealousy would be involved, he was having a hard time with the idea.
I got back out of Precious and headed to the hall for check-in and room assignments. Hopefully, I got a roommate that was nice and not some snotty, assface. I had met plenty of those at the few Aurathion gatherings my family had attended. Entitled Passives, who believed they were better than average Aurathions just because they had powerful parents.
As I walked under the giant arched door and into the building, I admired the marble floors and the massive chandelier fifty feet above my head. A beautifully, curving staircase was in front of me with a railing made of the same black stone as the Academy. It had a gothic elegance that I appreciated. Signs were directing new students where to go, so I headed toward the register office. Pushing the door open, I saw a blonde lady behind an elaborate counter talking to a massive guy.
“You’re in dorm A, and your room number is 402.” The blonde lady batted her eyes and sent him a flirty smile. I could see why the lady looked so Twitter-pated. The guy had muscles upon muscles with dark hair that reached the top of his shoulders. If the view from the front was as lovely as the back, any woman would be the same.
“Thanks,” Mr. Muscles turned after grabbing his packet and walked right into me.
“Whoa, sorry!” I exclaimed, realizing I had drifted too close, I was a little distracted when I realized goosebumps had broken out all over my body at our brief contact. When I didn’t get a reaction, I looked up and froze. Wowzah, he was H-O-T! All Aurathions were attractive, that was a fact. But this guy was at the next level: dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, full lips, all on an outrageous body. Also, damn, he was huge. Granted, compared to me, most people were tall, but the top of my head barely reached his nipples. He had to be 6'7″. I realized we were staring at each other without speaking.
“Hi, I’m Reverie. And you are…?” He stared a few moments more, then slowly backed out of the office, never breaking eye contact. When the door closed, I turned to find the woman behind the desk staring at me.
“Well, that was rude.” She didn’t respond and I noticed her gaze was trained on my face in confusion, “Do I have something on my face? Is it a booger? Oh shit, I’m so embarrassed!” I started wiping my nose frantically.
The blonde woman blinked, “No, but the pink princess crown sticker on your forehead is a strange fashion statement.” I blinked my eyes slowly, exited the office, and entered a small restroom I had spotted on my way in. Looking in the mirror, I saw the sticker on my forehead; peeling it off, I screamed so loudly that it would make Jamie Lee Curtis proud.
“NATHAN!”
After pulling up my big girl panties and returning to get my packet and dorm assignment, I headed to dorm B to check out my room. I was on the fourth floor in room 410, the last dorm. I stuck my thumb to the scanner, and the door clicked open. I walked in and was amazed at how big it was. I didn’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. My dorm had a central living room with heather grey walls, an oversized brown sofa, a glass coffee table, and a small kitchenette on the left side. As I walked further in, I saw a small hallway with two bedrooms off to each side with what I assumed was a bathroom at the end. The rooms had a small scanner beside each door that had initials on a plaque above it. The room to the right had my initials R.H. in bold letters. I saw C.M. on the door to the left. I sincerely hoped my roommate was a good match. I put my thumb to the scanner, and my door clicked open.
The smell of home put me at ease immediately. The fabric softener my mom used and a vanilla candle on the nightstand made me release tension I didn’t even realize I’d been holding. My parents and Nathan must have decorated my room as a surprise for me. They truly were the best. The large double bed was covered in a fluffy pink comforter that went well with the same grey walls from the living room. Pink and grey pillows were scattered at the top of the bed, and a grey throw blanket was draped at the end. Two small side tables occupied the space on either side of the bed with a pink lamp on each, a desk, and a large closet finished out the room.
I threw down my backpack with a few essentials: my blades, a laptop, a few snacks from Buc-ee’s (the best gas station in the world), and a photo of me with my parents that we had taken at the state fair. I looked around the room and realized this was my home for the foreseeable future. The next phase of my life was starting now, falling back on my bed I thought, bring it on!