Exordium (Emberhold Academy #1)

5. Reverie

Chapter 5

Reverie

W e walked out of the room and into the small living area. The setup was identical to my dorm: the wall color, furniture, and everything. The only difference I could see was the mountain of a man standing in the kitchenette. He managed to make the small space appear even smaller. When he turned, I gasped. Nathan immediately pushed me behind him.

“What is it?” he growled. “What the hell do you see?” Desperately trying to locate the danger. I grabbed his arm, jerked him around, and then punched him in the stomach.

“What the hell was that for?” Nathan wheezed out in complete confusion.

“It was for that stupid sticker you put on my forehead!” I narrowed my eyes at the asshole.

“Why the hell would you think of that now?” He was still trying to catch his breath.

“I think I can answer that.” The big guy smirked. “I saw sticker girl this morning while I was picking up my packet and dorm assignment.”

“So, you two have already met?” Nathan stood up, recovered from the unexpected punch.

“If that’s what you call it.” I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment. Nathan started laughing hysterically.

“Since I got a tattoo dedicated to you, I thought you should have something to represent my sacrifice.” He cackled, not doing a very good job of hiding our relationship from his roommate.

“And a sticker on my forehead was the answer?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Just a harmless prank, my Ne- Stop hitting me woman, or I’m going to assume you want to play,” Nathan frowned, trying to block my punches. I was going to kill him. He almost called me Nexi. We already had enough on our plate, having to explain our situation to the Moon siblings. I didn’t want to deal with this guy too. The big guy was laughing at our antics.

“So, this the perfect princess you were talking about? I pictured a crown on her head, not a crown sticker on her forehead.” Everyone is a comedian. I rolled my eyes.

“This is Jet,” Nathan smiled. “Although I’ve taken to calling him Jolly. You know, for the Jolly Green Giant? The vegetable guy?”

“We know who it is, Nathan,” I smirked.

Jet just looked at him. Same Jet, same. Seeing someone else stunned by the words coming out of Nathan’s mouth felt validating.

“My name is Reverie, definitely not perfect or a princess.” I smiled trying to appear sane after the show we just put on.

“My name is Jet Lockley, definitely not Jolly,” He replied with no expression on his face.

“Well, nice to meet you, Jet. We’ll talk more later, we’ve got a previous engagement.” I ended the conversation abruptly dragging Nathan to the door before he said anything else incriminating to this guy. Jet stared at us until we closed the door. I’m sure we both appeared perfectly normal.

Nothing to see here . I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts.

We arrived back at my dorm and paused in the hallway before entering. I was nervous and just wanted a minute before going in. I hoped this didn’t change anything between Chloe and me. We’d hit it off immediately, and I loved the idea of having a friend I could hang out with.

“Let’s do this, my Nexi. There’s no need to stress about it. If we don’t like what happens, I already told you I would take care of it.” Nathan reached over and wrapped a lock of midnight hair around his finger.

“I know you did, but I think murder should be our last option.” I smiled at him in exasperation. “I’m just nervous it’ll change how Chloe looks at me, and I liked the idea of having a best friend.”

“I thought I was your best friend. Now I’m thinking murder should be our first choice.” The Psycho gave the door an evil stare.

Before I could respond, the door flew open, and Chloe jerked me into her arms. I was so shocked all I could do was stand there with my arms hanging at my sides.

Behind her, Nathan mumbled, “Too bad she doesn’t have gonads.”

“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick.” Chloe shrieked. Zeke and Zane came running out of the dorm.

“Finally, we thought we were going to have to get in touch with your family to see if you teleported home!” Zeke grabbed me away from Chloe. Chloe looked as shocked as I was at his action.

“I’m glad you didn’t. I’ll tell my parents, but maybe not quite yet. I’m sure you have questions, and if we can go inside, I’ll try to answer to the best of my ability.”

Nathan jerked me out of Zeke’s arms and gave him a narrow-eyed stare. Zeke gave Nathan a cold look in return, but turned and walked into the dorm, and we followed close behind. Chloe and I sat on the couch, but Nathan walked over, picked me up and sat down with me in his lap. I guess someone was feeling a little territorial.

“This is Nathan Strauss. We went to High School together, and we’re a Faction.” I rubbed his chest in a calming manner as I spoke. He smiled proudly at my introduction.

“Thank you for not trying to gaslight us.” Chloe smiled in appreciation. Zeke and Zane stood side by side with their arms crossed staring at Nathan.

“Would there be any point? I won’t start our friendship by acting like you’re stupid.” I smiled back at her.

“I appreciate that. But I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just tell us when we met. I mean, you must have found your Nexus to be able to access your power.” Chloe frowned, “Or you’re Nexus, and your Faction is complete. But that would be crazy.” I glanced over my shoulder at Nathan. He gave me a nod of encouragement.

“Crazy should be his middle name, not mine, but I am Nexus.” I reluctantly shared.

“When did you perform the ritual? I bet your mom performed it! She’s amazing!” Chloe answered her own question. I sighed in relief. I didn’t think we should tell everyone just yet about that little detail, but I didn’t want to lie to them. Chloe kept talking, “It would be unusual, but not completely unheard of.” She was mumbling to herself at this point. “Nathan must be your only Faction member that’s why you’re getting your ability.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case. My Nexi is way too strong for that. I can feel how powerful she is through our connection.” Nathan narrowed his eyes at Chloe like she had insulted me. Zeke and Zane looked relieved at Nathan’s statement but confused at the same time.

“So, if your Faction isn’t complete, how in the hell do you have an ability? I’ve never heard of a Nexus getting access to abilities before completing their Faction, and nothing about this guy looks special.” Zeke sneered at Nathan, probably still pissed at how he acted earlier, and a little envious he already had a Faction.

“I most certainly am special. You’re just a duplicate. There’s nothing unique about you,” Nathan sneered back at Zeke.

“I’ll make sure you’re seeing double several times over after I knock the fuck out of you.” Zeke growled, balling up his fists.

“Bring it on, bitch!” Nathan growled back. The twins took a step closer to Nathan and he started to get up. This was getting ridiculous. I put my hand on Nathan’s chest to stop him from attacking Zeke.

“I hadn’t gained any abilities until tonight. We have no idea what’s going on.” I said quickly, hoping they didn’t question me any further.

“I know we just met, and you know nothing about us, but I promise you we just want to help. We won’t tell anybody what happened here,” Chloe stated seriously.

“Do you realize how insane this is?” Zane directed the question to me.

“I do know that. As far as I can remember, nothing like this was in any of the lessons my parents taught me. Maybe by having access to Emberhold’s library, we can figure out what’s going on.” I looked at Zeke when he cleared his throat to get Nathan’s attention.

“Look man, I’m sorry shit got heated but I was worried about Reverie, and I’m man enough to admit to being a little envious. We’ve been waiting on our Nexus for a long time.” Zeke held his hand out to Nathan.

“Believe me, it’s unusual. I’m normally the emotional one.” Zane chuckled trying to lighten the moment further. I frowned at Nathan and waved my hand in a “come on” motion.

“It’s all good, dude.” He reached out and shook Zeke’s hand. “But I do want to reiterate that I am special.” He pouted, looking at me for confirmation.

“You’re unique, alright,” I smirked kissing him sweetly. “I know you won’t tell anyone, and I’m truly sorry y’all are getting dragged into our mess. We both have every intention of letting the faculty know about my Nexus status, but we wanted to wait until we’ve passed initiation.” I blew out a breath, relieved everything was out in the open…well almost everything.

“I can speak for both of us when I say we’re happy to get dragged into your mess. There is nowhere else we’d want to be.” Zane winked at me continuing his flirting from earlier. I glanced at Nathan and waited for the explosion, but he just looked thoughtful.

“At least, on the bright side, initiation will be easier.” Chloe smiled at me.

“How so?” I asked confused at her reasoning.

“Well, you both will be able to do initiation together,” Chloe bounced excitedly.

“I don’t think it works that way. My parents said the first initiation is solely to prove your worth as an individual.” I told her, hoping I was wrong.

“That’s the norm but has anyone ever formed a Faction before initiation? If so, I haven’t heard of it.” Zeke ran his fingers through his hair, still appearing agitated.

“If there’s the slightest chance you think it might be possible to go together, please let me know. It’s killing me to think about her going it alone.” Nathan squeezed me tightly.

“Your parents are right. The Academy has never let two people go through it together. Although, as Zeke said, I’ve never heard of anyone being Faction before initiation. Who knows what Emberhold will do.” Zane said, eyeing Nathan’s arms that were still wrapped tightly around me. Zeke seemed hesitant but began speaking, looking Nathan in the eye.

“I just want you to know that we’re here for you both. We only met Reverie tonight, but the devastation I felt seeing her disappear is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and, frankly, shouldn’t have, since we just met. I’m sorry to lay this on you, but you’re being honest, and I wanted to return the favor.” He paused taking a deep breath, “We’ll be part of your Faction, and the ritual will be just a formality.” Zeke moved his gaze to me, his sincerity and adoration obvious.

“I feel the same exact way. I’ve never felt anything like it before.” Zane agreed, eyeing Nathan like he was a ticking time bomb.

“I understand how you’re feeling because I felt the same way as soon as I saw her.” Nathan nodded his head knowingly, looking surprisingly at ease. I looked at Nathan in amazement. When we were in school, if he noticed anyone looking my way in class, or anywhere for that matter, he would threaten them with death. The fact that Dane survived prom was a smooth miracle; lucky for him, Nathan manifested his power, and its fallout probably saved his life. Nathan noticed the amazement on my face, “I was pissed when he jerked you into his arms without my permission. Him not acknowledging how special I am was harsh too, but they seem like all-right guys and the fact they noticed how amazing you are earns them points. Plus, for some reason, I don’t mind them looking.” Nathan appeared a little puzzled at this.

Zeke and Zane both looked at each other with giant smiles on their faces. Then turned in unison to stare at me with so much heat in their eyes I started sweating. Chloe jumped up and down, screaming in excitement. Nathan looked at her with annoyance.

“What the hell is all the that about? Just because I don’t especially want to murder them doesn’t mean that I believe they have souls or anything.” Nathan grunted speaking with his usual flair.

“This is going to be fun,” Zane laughed evilly.

“What’s going to be fun,” Nathan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. I just stared at them all feeling a little shell shocked.

“Hell, yes, it is!” Chloe fist pumped.

I got up from the couch and excused myself to the restroom. I quietly shut the door and then leaned back against it. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I just needed a moment. Nathan was already such a part of me it should have been hard to imagine the twins in my life in the same way. It wasn’t. Remembering all the things Mom had told me over the years brought me some measure of comfort.

Mom and I sat on the front porch swing, enjoying the evening breeze. My daddies were cleaning up the kitchen because I heard Mommy say that she might be too tired to wrestle with my daddy’s later if she had to do it. I wasn’t sure what she meant because it was almost bedtime.

“Mommy how did you meet my daddies?” I asked her in my tiny five-year-old voice.

“Well, baby, I met your Grumpy and Pop first. I was at Emberhold and stayed after class to speak to one of my professors. I was running late for my next class, so I rushed down the hallway, not looking where I was going. Out of nowhere, this giant wall appeared in my way. I hit it and then fell to the ground. As I looked up, I got super scared because I thought I must have hit my head and had a concussion.” Mom laughed.

“Why Mommy?” I scrunched up my nose.

“Because I thought I was seeing double,” Mommy grinned.

“Double trouble!” I giggled.

“Exactly. Double trouble indeed.” Mommy said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Was you in love at first light?” I waited excitedly for her answer.

“It’s love at first sight, precious girl.” Mommy laughed. “It wasn’t exactly love.

More like tingles at first sight.”

“I felt tingles when Nathan held my hand yesterday at school,” I was excited to have something in common with my Mommy.

Mom looked at me strangely, “You did? Maybe you were just cold.”

“No, Mommy, it felt like ants crawling on my arm, but in a good way,” I snuggled closer to her.

We heard a plate crash, and Mommy got up and ran inside. I heard Pop, and Grumpy arguing about whose fault it was and Mommy saying something about knowing bullshit when she heard it. Grumpy hated when Mommy said bad words. I thought she sounded tough and wanted to be just like her.

The memory calmed me, and I was able to breathe. I splashed water on my face and returned to the living room. Walking in, I heard the guys talking about football as they sipped a beer. Wow, it looked like they were already bonding. Poor Nathan was new to this world and had no idea what this meant. Everyone loved him in school, but he never had any close friends, I didn’t think he was ever that interested in having them.

I joined Chloe in the kitchenette as she cleaned up. All the guys' eyes followed me as I walked across the room, never breaking from their conversation.

“Feeling better?” Chloe asked me in concern.

“I just needed a moment. I wasn’t expecting to add to my Faction so soon.” I sighed, then smiled. “Having a complete Faction does take the pressure off.”

“What makes you think you’re done?” Chloe jabbed me with her elbow, and grinned.

“Don’t even imply that there’ll be more. Three is average and those men in the living room are probably going to feel like six.” Chloe laughed at that. “Plus, that’s the most common number in most Factions.” I said, totally ignoring the way I felt meeting Jolly…I mean Jet. Damn Nathan and his nicknames.

“Your mom got four,” Chloe’s grin got bigger.

“That doesn’t prove anything. Mom is the strongest Nexus I’ve ever heard of.” I shoulder bumped Chloe back.

“Maybe that was just until her daughter came along,” Chloe jabbed me again.

“You, my friend, are a handful.” I thumped Chloe on the forehead. “We better kick the guys out and go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be crazy. I sincerely hope we don’t get called up for initiation.” I yawned, “Staying up this late isn’t going to do us any favors.” She flicked me with bubbles from the dishwater and we both started giggling.