6. Reverie
Chapter 6
Reverie
M y alarm went off at 5:30. Even though we had been up late, I didn’t want my fitness to fall by the wayside. I could hear Grumpy’s voice in my head, “Conditioning is your friend.” I grinned missing him already. I jumped out of bed, threw my long hair into a ponytail, and pulled on black shorts, a sports bra, and a red razor-back tank.
I walked down the hallway, stopping at Chloe’s door but didn’t hear anything. Heading to the kitchenette, I made a pot of coffee using the beautiful coffee maker my parents were kind enough to buy. Chloe had been amazing to me, so making coffee for her seemed like the least I could do. I just might stop by Java and Jam and bring her some jelly donuts too. I wouldn’t mind a little sugar after our late night, either.
Quietly shutting the door behind me, I turned and ran directly into a hard chest. I looked up and saw one of the twins standing there. I was pretty sure it was Zeke. I’d noticed when we met, he had gold flecks in his eyes while Zane’s were a clear blue.
“Good morning, Reverie.” He smiled.
“What are you doing here so early, Zeke?” I couldn’t imagine he was here to see his sister this time of the morning.
“You can tell us apart?” He grinned, puffing his chest out.
“It’s in the eyes,” I smiled, feeling a little shy after his declaration last night. His grin got bigger.
“Nathan told us last night you usually ran in the morning. And full disclosure, I didn’t sleep at all last night. I thought, why not snag a little alone time to get to know each other better.”
“I didn’t sleep that great, either. Between meeting these two amazing guys last night and my first day at the Academy, my mind wouldn’t settle.” Look at me, managing to flirt at five thirty in the morning. “I’d love to have a running buddy this morning. Let’s get started because I want a shower before class.” I held up my knuckles, damn I’m lame, I thought to myself.
He didn’t respond, crap he must think I’m lame too. This was getting awkward; a full minute had passed, and he still hadn’t said anything.
“Zeke,” I snapped my fingers in front of his face, starting to get a little worried. “Earth to Zeke!” He jumped, then looked down at me and blushed.
“Sorry, I suddenly got a mental picture of you in the shower, and I didn’t want to return to reality.” He ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck, “That was probably an overshare.” He chuckled at his own expense.
I rolled my eyes and busted out laughing, he was adorable. Hooking our arms together, I pulled him toward the stairs. At least I never had to worry about Zeke’s honesty.
Walking out of the building, I inhaled the crisp, cool air. It was just the kind of weather I enjoyed on a run. Back home we didn’t experience weather like this until November, if we were lucky.
We set off at a good pace running in perfect sync like we had been doing it for years. The first path we came to wound through the wood, past the training facilities, and behind the Academy, ending back at my dorm. The route was about four miles. I usually ran at least eight, so I was going to have to run it twice or explore longer trails. As we caught our breath, I turned to Zeke,
“I’m going to head to Java and Jam and get breakfast for me and Chloe. Do you want to go?” His eyes lit up.
“Absolutely, I would.” As we headed that way Zeke moved in closer and grabbed my hand. Threading his fingers through mine, he looked at me shyly. “Is this, ok?”
I squeezed his hand, smiled, and nodded my head. I couldn’t believe how natural it all felt. With Nathan, it could’ve been like this if I had known he had Aurathion ancestry. It, in fact, was like this, until I got old enough to know that friendship wasn’t all I felt for him.
“So, how was it growing up away from the Aurathion people?” Zeke asked as we walked along the path, the sun just starting to come up over the horizon.
“It was alright. I wasn’t completely secluded. The council visited often, much more than my parents would have liked, and we went to the occasional gathering during the Aurathion holidays. When my mom lost Rue and Sly, it was tough for my family. Mom told me when I got older that it felt like she wasn’t a complete person, anymore. I would see her staring into space with a sad look on her face many, many times. My fathers would immediately do something outrageous to distract her or take her upstairs when she got like that.” After bonding with Nathan, I admired her even more. She had the strength to be an amazing mom to me even with the horrible pain she must have felt every day.
“That’s so sad,” Zeke frowned, stopping and pulling me in for a hug.
“It really is. Unfortunately, I never got to know them. They both died toward the end of the war. My mom didn’t know she was pregnant with me until a few weeks later. My pop told me that he thought I saved my mom’s life and helped the family heal. Even though I know they never recovered completely, my parents always ensured there was plenty of love in our house.” I smiled softly knowing how lucky I am. “What was your childhood like?”
“We grew up close to Cleveland, Ohio, in a small Aurathion settlement. My parents were a big part of the community. My dad, Mark, is Nexus. He runs a mechanic shop with my poppa, Michael. Meredith, my mom, teaches kindergarten at our small school. We call them the triple M’s.” Zeke laughed. I was glad they had a nice childhood. I hated to ruin the moment, but I had to know.
“I feel a little awkward asking you this, but Chloe told me about Kristine. Are y’all still involved with her? No pressure. I just don’t want to start the Academy and immediately make an enemy.”
Zeke winced, “No, not romantically, but we still hang out now and then. We’ve known her family since we were kids.” He stopped walking and turned to grab both of my hands. “We should never have attempted the ritual with her. Our parents and Chloe warned us against it, but we didn’t listen. Now, after meeting you, I know how ridiculous it was. She sometimes grabs lunch with us on campus, but we won’t do that anymore if it makes you uncomfortable.”
I hated how timid he sounded. I knew he and his brother had been looking for a Faction for a long time. Now that it was a possibility, he didn’t want to do anything to upset or offend me.
“I would never ask you to give up a friend. I’m just a little leery because Chloe doesn’t seem to like her at all. I don’t want to worry about drama while trying to prepare for whatever Emberhold throws at me for initiation.” I smiled softly, hoping I wasn’t coming off as an asshole.
“I get that. Chloe and Kristine had a falling out. We asked Chloe about it, but she wouldn’t tell us what happened. Kristine just said she was being ridiculous. Zane and I decided to stay out of it. I’m not going to lie to you, we hooked up occasionally but, when the ritual didn’t work we decided to just be friends.” Zeke squeezed my hands again. I could tell he was nervous. “I don’t think Kristine was entirely on board with that. But we were still looking for a Faction and didn’t want to muddy the waters. I’m so glad the looking is behind us now.”
He leaned down like he was going to kiss me. Just then, we heard someone running up behind us. When we turned, we saw Zane coming up the sidewalk.
“Hey, Reverie, why are you out with the uglier version of me?” Zane joked, pulling me in for a hug. Zeke frowned at Zane for the interruption.
“You wish. Everyone knows that you’re just a shittier version of the original.”
“Eleven minutes, asswipe, just eleven stinking minutes!” Zane stuck his tongue out at Zeke.
“You two remind me of my fathers. Always arguing over who’s the better-looking twin.” I laughed at them both.
Zane waggled his eyebrows at me, “You can call me Daddy.”
Oh lord! These two were going to fit right in. Grumpy and Pop were going to love dealing with three guys. I smirked imagining the smack talk.
We walked into Java and Jam, and I went to the counter to order mine and Chloe’s breakfast. A good-looking guy came up to take my order. He had short brown hair, green eyes, and a nice smile. His eyes zeroed in on my breasts and slowly rose to my face. That would have been a loss of points if I had been the least bit interested. Which I wasn’t.
“Hey, sexy Snow White, what can I get you to eat?” he winked at me.
“That’s a new one.” I hoped if I ignored his flirting he would get the hint. “I’ll take two chocolate donuts and two with jelly.” When I turned to ask Zeke and Zane if they wanted anything, they were both glaring at the counter guy with deadly intent. Granted, Zeke and Nathan had not hit it off immediately, but Zeke had been the first to try to resolve their issue. The menacing way they were looking at the counter guy gave me chills; there was a lot more than met the eye with these two.
“Do you see us standing here? Did you just call her sexy while we are standing right fucking here?” Zane growled menacingly.
“I think he did,” Zeke narrowed his eyes.
“Do you want me to pluck out your eyes and feed them to you?” Zane asked with an insane smile on his face.
The Joker didn’t have shit on him. What the actual hell was going on right now? They went from zero to sixty in point two seconds. The poor counter guy looked like he was going to shit himself. Did I get triple Nathans?!
“Guys, please stop. I’m sure he was just being nice.” I smiled reassuringly at the counter guy. “I’m so sorry, can I just get my donuts so we can leave?” I continued smiling but checked nervously over my shoulder, making sure the twins weren’t going to attack. He quickly packed my donuts, and we turned to leave. Right before the guys walked out the door, he decided to sack up and shouted,
“You should keep them on a leash.” I cringed, this idiot deserved whatever he got for being this stupid.
Zeke turned around and walked back, grabbed his shirt, pulling him partially over the counter. He leaned right in his face and then barked in a low, threatening way several times. The counter guy pissed himself, then Zeke slowly lowered him to his feet. Turning to me, he gently reached down and grabbed my hand. Zane opened the door for us, smiling sweetly.
“Let’s go, honeybuns; assembly is starting soon.”
I walked out the door with a stunned look on my face. I didn’t know what to think of the twins Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities. It seemed that my Faction may have been the teeniest bit insane.
I entered my dorm and saw Chloe making two to-go cups of coffee in the kitchen. “I knew I loved you.” I smiled in appreciation, “Let me grab a shower and we can walk to the assembly together.”
“No worries. We still have about thirty minutes to spare. Where are my brothers? I thought I heard them outside the door.” Chloe added three spoons of sugar to one of the coffees.
“They were, but they had to return to their dorm and get dressed for class. Did you know they were both crazy?” I asked tongue in cheek.
Chloe looked at me, puzzled, while adding three more spoonsful to the same cup. I laughed,
“I’ll explain on our way if you don’t go into a diabetic coma before we can leave.” Chloe gave me the finger.
“How do you think I stay so sweet? Are those donuts for me?”
“Yep, enjoy,” I laughed as I walked out of the room. After showering, I looked in my closet trying to decide what to wear. We didn’t get uniforms until after initiation. I guessed there was no point in the expense until the Council knew if you were going to live or not. What a bunch of dickweeds.
I decided on ripped bootcut jeans, and a pink button-down shirt partially tucked in, with my western belt. The belt had a large buckle made of rose gold with my initials in the center. The buckle had been a gift from my mom for Christmas last year. I left the first three buttons undone and wore a rose gold chain Nathan bought me that had a pink glittery “N” charm that stood for Nexi, of course. Leaving my long black hair down to dry in waves, I swiped on some mascara and a little lip gloss. I sat on the bed, reaching for the drawer in my bedside table. I pulled out my holster, wrapped it around my ankle, and slipped my knife inside. I pulled on my shit-kickers, grabbed my backpack, and headed into the living room.
“Well, don’t you look like a little Texas heartbreaker?” Chloe grinned. She was wearing jeans and a mint green sweater with knee-high black boots. “I take it pink is your color?”
“A girl can never have too much pink.” I smiled thinking of my mom. “You’re looking good yourself, like a beautiful Irish rose.”
“Since you started your Faction, I figured it couldn’t hurt to throw out some bait and see if I get any bites.” Chloe sassed, striking a pose.
“Looking like that, I’m sure several Passives will be inspired to take a nibble.” I smiled at her antics.
Students were to report to the assembly hall this morning before class. As we headed that way, we compared schedules and saw we had three classes together. Aurathion history, Biology, and Battle Strategies. Other than lunch, the rest of our day would be spent conditioning and preparing for initiation.
The second, third, and fourth years, depending on whether you’d found your Faction, had classes about their abilities and how to use them. They then spent the entire second half of the day learning to fight together. Students that hadn’t found their Faction helped with classes for the younger students. In the hope that they’d find their Faction before the four years were up and they had to return to the outside world as a Passive.
The assembly hall was a vast room. The setup was like a basketball stadium. Students entered from the top, and the faculty members came through a door at floor level. The giant domed ceiling was made entirely of stained glass with different nature scenes and animals from our home world. The beautiful reds, lavenders, and oranges contrasted sharply with the gothic feel of the massive room. The floor was made of black polished stone with prominent white veins running through it. It almost had the effect of cracked glass. There were several oversized chairs, with the middle chair looking like a giant throne, all made of the Aurathion stone that ran throughout the building. A large podium was at the front of the stage.
I saw Nathan and the twins standing at the entrance. A beautiful brunette stood close to them, trying to get Nathan’s attention. While she talked, she kept touching Nathan’s arm and standing as close to him as she could.
“Looks like the Wicked Bitch of the West found another guy to try to sink her claws into. You better get over there before she fools him with her lies and little innocent act.” Chloe sneered.
“That’s not going to happen. Just keep watching. My Psycho is not anything she’s ever dealt with.” I smiled evilly.
No sooner than the words left my mouth, Nathan glanced down as she grabbed his arm. He took hold of her hand gently, and she smiled at him. Suddenly he twisted her arm behind her back and had her standing on the tips of her toes, trying to keep the pressure off her shoulder. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and her face lost all color.
The twins looked stunned and just stood there in shock. Nathan released her, and she stumbled forward. Walking some distance away, she turned and gave him the finger. Nathan just laughed.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Chloe smiled. I gave her a smug look that had Chloe laughing.
“I told you so.”
About that time, Nathan saw us standing there and walked over. Grabbing my cheeks and giving me a big wet kiss, he smiled, leaned down, and whispered in my ear,
“You ready to find a seat and get this over with, my Nexi?” I should have been annoyed at him kissing me so openly but screw it. After that display of loyalty, I didn’t care.
“Absolutely, my sweet Psycho.” I smiled dreamily. He had done some terrible things in the years we’d known each other, but his love and loyalty for me was never a question in my mind. The minute we bonded, he became the person he was before I ended our friendship. The way he looked at me never failed to give me goosebumps. That was part of the reason my parents had reluctantly accepted him. The love and devotion he felt for me was written all over his face. Nathan linked our fingers together, and we headed into the room, followed closely by the three siblings.
“I never thought I would meet someone crazier than the Moon twins, but here we are,” Chloe said, raising her eyebrows at her brothers.
“No shit!” Zane laughed. While Zeke nodded his head in agreement.