Exordium (Emberhold Academy #1)

8. Zane

Chapter 8

Zane

I got comfortable at my desk in the corner of the large classroom. The room was set up with a row of seats starting at floor level and rising from there so that everyone had a good view of the podium. Professor York’s ability to create and project illusions made him perfect for this profession. When giving his lecture, he was able to produce images that better helped his students understand and process what he was saying. The professor walked in, surprised to see me already at my desk.

“Good morning, you’re here early. As a student, you barely made it in before the bell rang.”

“I wanted to be a better aide than I was a student,” I smiled, knowing Reverie was the reason I was early, I didn’t give two shits about being an aide. I was finding it hard to let her out of my sight and who could blame me. The girl was beyond gorgeous and sassy as fuck. I was becoming slightly obsessed.

“You were an excellent student, just not very punctual.” Professor York put his briefcase on his desk, cleaned off his glasses and put them on. “I’m glad you’re in early. This class is the largest yet, and we must try to stay on top of everything.”

“I’m your guy, Professor York,” I smiled, wondering why he wore glasses when Aurathions didn’t need them. Maybe he thought they made him look more competent, who knew.

Students started filing into class. I was anxious to see Reverie, all that raven hair, and those beautiful amber eyes. I loved it when she smiled, and those two dimples appeared on her cheeks. My Nexus was perfect. Zeke and I had to be the two dumbest bastards on earth to try the ritual with Kristine. When it was real, there was no doubt. SHE was my Nexus. I could feel it in my soul.

Kristine had talked us into the ritual. To be fair, it didn’t take much convincing. We had been desperate to find a Faction. I had seen what happens to Aurathions that remained Passives. Some made a good life, but most became bitter, more than a few committing suicide. I didn’t want that for me or my brother. Now knowing what it felt like to have a true connection, I knew I was a damn fool.

I came alive the moment I met her. My blood sang in recognition.

Performing the ritual with her was just a formality. I didn’t doubt that Reverie was my Nexus. The minute she entered the living room, I felt tingles all over my body, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. When I glanced at my brother, he was the same. I felt such joy in that moment knowing we would get our wish to be in the same Faction.

With Kristine, we were desperate to get our abilities and be in a Faction together. She was convinced that she was Nexus. We’d slept together occasionally, she was fun and adequate in bed. We thought deeper feelings would grow in time. Meeting Reverie, I knew how juvenile that was.

I would give up my ability just to be with her. Becoming Faction was a bonus, but not my focus. Reverie’s safety and happiness was all that concerned me.

The door shut, interrupting my musings. I looked up into the seats to try and spot the face fast becoming the most important in my world. I saw Chloe sitting alone—no sign of Reverie.

Just then, Professor York addressed the class.

“Hello Aurathions. Welcome to Biology. My class will begin by teaching the basic anatomy and reproductive systems of Aurathion’s and how it differs from humans.” He glanced down at his roster. “We seem to be missing three of our students. Does anyone know where Reverie Hawthorne, Jet Lockley, and Nathan Strauss are?” Chloe raised her hand, Professor York nodded his head “Yes, Ms. Moon?”

“Reverie had to visit Dean Mathews’s office, and Nathan insisted on going with her.” Chloe glanced in my direction, “Jet also accompanied them.”

What the fuck? Why in the hell did she have to visit the dean? I stood up and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going, Mr. Moon,” the professor asked.

I kept walking, ignoring his question. Nothing was more important than getting to my Nexus. What if she needed me? I picked up the pace, wanting to get to her as soon as possible.

When I got to the office, Zeke was already there, sitting next to a massive guy. It wasn’t often that me and my brother felt small, but Zeke looked average size sitting next to this guy. Nathan sat across from them with a murderous gaze trained on Kristine, who was sitting a few empty seats down from Zeke, holding an icepack to her nose. Kristine was surrounded by the Bitch Brigade, tittering over her injury and shooting dirty looks Nathan’s way.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, looking around the room and seeing no sign of Reverie.

“The little bitch you’re all so fascinated with hit me. I told you both that you shouldn’t be associating with her. She’s trash, just like her disloyal mother.” Kristine said in a nasally voice.

“She hit Kristine for absolutely no reason. Kristine was just offering to tutor Nathan and help him catch up.” Kristine’s friend chimed in, I think her name was Sophie. I'd always avoided hanging out with Kristine when her friends were around. They were all annoying as fuck.

She flinched when Nathan jumped up. Anticipating the move, Zeke rose quickly and grabbed his arm, “They’re not worth it, man. Just ignore the toxic bitches.”

Kristine looked hurt, “I can’t believe you said that. I’ve been friends with you guys for years.”

“We were friends with your brother for years, before he turned into such an asshole. We just became friendly with you last year. Apparently, we should’ve paid closer attention to what kind of person you are.” Zeke barked out.

“I haven’t been very impressed with you two assholes. Now I’m questioning your intelligence, anyone with half a brain can see she’s toxic,” Nathan snarled at Zeke. “Don’t ever grab me again. I won’t have her talking about my Reverie like that.”

Zeke glared at Nathan, not the least bit intimidated, “There are more subtle ways to deal with a problem. Use your brain.”

Kristine was starting to look a little more cautiously at the guys. Maybe the dumb cunt realized she had fucked up. I hated to agree with Nathan, but perhaps me and my brother were dumbasses.

I was surprised to hear Nathan using Reverie’s name and not Nexi. It just showed how vital her safety was to him. The guy was rough around the edges, but I would be proud to have him as my Faction brother. We just had a few minor kinks to work out.

“Going back to my original question, what the hell happened?” I was getting impatient.

“This girl was too stupid to take a hint and approached me again. Then had the bright idea to insult Reverie’s parents.” Nathan grinned widely, “Reverie helped her see the error of her ways by reconstructing her nose. I’m just sorry it’ll heal quickly.” Nathan gave Kristine a menacing stare.

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, “Reverie is a little spicey, I guess you got a sample of that.” I laughed at Kristine. Before she could respond, the dean’s door opened, and Reverie walked out with Dean Mathews directly behind her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all need to get to class. This doesn’t concern all of you. Kristine, come, let’s get your side of the story.” Dean Mathews escorted her into his office.

The Bitch Brigade grumbled but got up and left. Sophie flipped us off before she closed the door. That bitch better watch it, or she would get to know the real me.

Nathan jumped up and pulled Reverie in his arms, “Are you OK, my sweet Reverie?”

Looking up at him, she said, “Better than OK. I got to practice my swing while punching the face of an actual tampon-sucking, asslicking douche guzzling, shit stain.” Reverie leaned her head up and kissed his cheek.

I couldn’t wait until she felt that comfortable with me.

“Damn, Reverie, you sure have a way with words,” Zeke chuckled.

“You ain’t heard nothing yet. Wait until Poker night. She’s a sore loser.” Nathan smiled, in a much better mood now that Reverie was in his arms.

“I haven’t lost to your ass at Texas’s Hold’em yet!” Reverie punched his arm.

“She seems like the kind to cheat,” the big guy said, speaking for the first time.

Reverie turned and mean-mugged the shit out of him.

I was confused at his presence, “Why are you here?”

“I’m a witness,” he said in a deep voice. “What’s it to you.”

I scowled at him, “I tell you what it is to me, bitc-.” Nathan interrupted.

“This is Jet. We share a dorm.”

Of course, the two nutjobs shared a dorm. If he didn’t watch how he talked to me, I’d slice his big ass. I’d have to catch him while he slept, and probably bring Zeke with me, but it could be done.

The more I watched his eyes, I didn’t believe he was here for any of the reasons given. His eyes only left Reverie reluctantly. Just great, another one.

Walking over to Reverie, I pulled her away from Nathan and into my arms. Nathan was so surprised he released her without a fight. When he realized what happened, he scowled at me.

“What did the dean say?” I brushed back her hair, releasing a wave of her honeysuckle scent.

Looking slightly surprised at my show of affection, she said, “He was just disappointed in me for not taking the high road. Especially knowing who my parents are. I told him he must not know them very well because they would be proud of me for not putting up with her shit.” I chuckled and squeezed her a little tighter. This was the first time I’d gotten this close, and I was taking advantage of it. Was it weird if I sniffed her hair? Did I care? Apparently not, because I leaned down and rubbed my face on the top of her head, inhaling deeply as I did. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell of honeysuckle and cookies. I felt my cock jump and goosebumps break out all over my body at the scent.

The big guy stood up and casually bumped into me causing me to let go of Reverie and stumble back. What the hell? I narrowed my eyes at him. I fucking knew it, the jealous twat.

“So, do you need me here? Cause if not, I’m going to head out.” Jet growled out in his freakishly deep voice.

“I don’t think so,” Reverie frowned. “After the bullshit comment, he told me that he would contact my parents. It all seems ridiculous when you realize we’re over eighteen and could die during initiation.”

I nodded absently in agreement. Fucking Jet. Now Nathan had pulled Reverie back into his arms. The fool stuck his tongue out and flipped me off behind her back.

I turned and looked at Jet, narrowing my eyes at him. It was that asshole’s fault for bumping into me. Jet just stared innocently back. I used my middle finger and pointer finger to point at my eyes then Jet's, in the universal symbol for I’m watching you.

Jet might be joining us eventually. I noticed Reverie watching him almost as much as he watched her. I need to find out more about him. Right now, I wasn’t too thrilled at the idea. He seemed like a cock block to me, and Nathan was going to be bad enough.

I felt like Zeke, and I needed to spend time with Nathan and start building a relationship. It wasn’t going to be easy since asshole, was Nathan’s default personality. But working together as a cohesive unit was extremely important to the safety of our Nexus. I felt the power inside Reverie, and it would take more than a few Faction to protect and fight beside her, so we needed to get on the same page.

“Are you headed back to class?” Zeke asked Reverie. I needed to talk to him about improving our game. I wanted our relationship cemented ASAP. We had an advantage over this dude, every girl fantasized about a twin sandwich, didn’t they?

“I guess so. I think battle tactics start in about ten minutes. Who teaches that class?” Reverie asked.

“Professor Lee,” Jet smiled, showing the dimple on his cheek. “I’ve met him several times. Let’s head that way, and I’ll tell you about him.” Holding out his arm to Reverie.

Was this fucker serious? Flashing that fucking dimple at my Nexus? If he thought for one second, he was jumping in line, that fucker was dead wrong. I looked over and saw Nathan giving him the evil eye. Zeke was frowning in Jet’s direction, as well, probably because he had stolen Reverie’s attention. Well, well.

It looked like he, Nathan, and Zeke had something to bond over.

Reverie walked over to him, put her arm through his, and they headed out of the office. Nathan followed immediately, still staring a hole in the back of Jet’s head. Well, maybe his upper back. The fucker was huge.

Zeke left with them, and I was right behind. I damn sure didn’t want to be here when Kristine came out. Zeke and I were helping with conditioning after lunch so we would be able to look out for Reverie. Unfortunately, Oren Storm was the instructor of fighting techniques and conditioning.My brother and I used to be best friends with him. Oren was a badass, there were no two ways about it. Hence, why he was offered the position at such a young age. He was two years older than us, and our families spent a lot of time together. After Oren finished his fourth year without finding his Faction, he stopped spending time with us and became belligerent. We felt terrible for him but couldn’t deal with the constant hostility, so we lost touch. I really didn’t want to be the one to tell Reverie that Oren was also Kristine’s stepbrother.

We left Reverie, Nathan, and dimple boy in their classroom and headed toward the gymnasium and workout room. Zeke looked at me, “Are you telling Reverie about Oren, or am I?”

“I think it should be you,” I smiled innocently.

“Why the hell should it be me?” Zeke frowned.

“Because you’re the oldest, so it’s clearly your responsibility.” He wanted to brag about those eleven minutes, now he could sack up.

“Are you serious right now? You’re always bitching about it just being eleven minutes.” Zeke said in disbelief.

“But you’re the one always bringing it up. Time to use that maturity and wisdom, and man the fuck up.” I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue.

“You are a fucking idiot,” Zeke growled at me. “I’ll fucking tell her, but you’re going to owe me one, and I will collect.”

“You got it! Now, on to the next business. Did you notice that dude Jet staring at Reverie when she wasn’t looking?” I growled out.

“What is his deal? I noticed him flashing that damn dimple. I wasn’t amused.” Zeke ran his hand through his hair, frowning.

“I think he might be another candidate for Reverie’s faction. I’m not sure she’s aware of it, though. She watched him when he wasn’t looking and didn’t hesitate to take his arm when he offered it. So, we need to check into him.” I narrowed my eyes. If he wasn’t a good candidate, he might just disappear. Everyone would just assume he didn’t survive initiation.

“I’ve never heard of him, which, I guess, isn’t unusual since he’s a found Passive. But if he’s a possible Faction brother, doing some digging is worth it.” Zeke agreed.

I nodded, “Let me check in at the office and see if I can get any information.”

“Are you really going to flirt the information out of Frances knowing you’ve found your Nexus?” Zeke said disapprovingly.

“I’m so good I can not flirt, and girls still think I’m flirting.” I winked.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Zeke squinted at me in confusion.

“As my twin, I should never need to explain myself,” I smirked at my brother. “Seriously, you know that Reverie will never have to question my loyalty to her. I was so scared this day would never come for us or that we would be separated, and I wouldn’t do a damn thing to jeopardize that.”

“Me too, brother, me too.” Zeke agreed, hugging me and patting my back. “Let’s see if we can gauge Oren’s mood. I’d hate for Nathan to try and kill the asshole on his first day at the Academy.”

I was excited for this new chapter in our lives. We had lucked out and got the most beautiful and powerful Nexus anyone could ask for, and we got to stay together. No matter how much work it would take, it was all worth it.

“Let’s go. He’s an asshole but as our soon to be Faction brother it’s our duty to look out for him.”