29. Reverie
Chapter 29
Reverie
I entered the gymnasium like my ass was on fire. I sat off to the side and started stretching. These feelings were getting extremely uncomfortable. The longer I was around men I knew were meant to be in my Faction, my resistance to them became non-existent.
It was like an illness, and it pissed me off. The drive I felt to bond with them was nothing like I had ever heard of. My mother had told me about the goosebumps and shivers but not the burning need to touch and be touched by them. The mark that appeared between my breasts was unique too. I needed to find out what it all meant.
There were so many differences between us and what I knew of other Factions that it worried me. I tried not to dwell on it. Nathan being gone this long was my biggest concern. However, my feelings for Jet (and he who shall not be named) were getting hard to ignore.
I had no relationship with Jet, other than friendship but, could feel my Nexus instincts pushing me toward him in a much different capacity. I wouldn’t force anyone to bond with me, but maybe Jet and I needed to have a conversation. Zeke and Zane kept telling me that Jet had feelings for me and watched me when I wasn’t looking. I guess it was time to woman up and find out if all that was true.
Storm was an entirely different matter. I had no idea what I was going to do about him. His behavior had changed, and I had grown to respect his brilliance in training Passives. That didn’t mean I agreed with his technique, but I thought he cared more about their survival than he admitted. Still, no matter how good-looking he was, and yes, I wouldn’t continue lying to myself, I didn’t know what my Faction would look like with him in it. It made me a complete idiot, but I would try and delay the inevitable for as long as possible.
“Reverie, earth to Reverie.” Zane sat beside me and had apparently, been trying to get my attention for a while.
“Sorry, my mind was a million miles away. You’re not mad from earlier?” I gave him my best attempt at puppy dog eyes, hoping it didn’t make me look constipated.
“No, baby, I wasn’t ever mad.” He laughed. “We Moons love our prank wars. I’m just laying the groundwork for catching Chloe unaware.” He picked me up and moved me between his legs, all without showing the least bit of strain. I felt my blood heat seeing that kind of forearm porn. After watching Storm work out and Zane’s display of strength, I was turning into a thirsty bitch just like Kristine and Sophie said. Zane buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply, “You smell so good. I’m one of the luckiest men alive and I can’t wait to complete our bond. Being inside your head and always knowing where you are will relieve most of my stress.”
I turned slightly so I could reach his mouth. He leaned down and kissed me like he hadn’t seen me in years. I lost myself entirely and just enjoyed the moment, wrapped securely in Zane’s strong arms.
“That’s enough PDA for the moment, Miss Hawthorne. I hope you put that much enthusiasm into your performance today.” Storm’s voice startled me. My eyes flew open, and I saw him wink at me and then return his attention to direct Passives to the first obstacle course.
My jaw dropped and I pushed to my feet. What was that? Had he dropped a weight on his head? Zane used his finger to close my mouth, and then narrowed his eyes on Storm
“Did Oren just wink at you?”
“Thank God you saw that too. I thought I’d lost my mind.” I whispered still in shock.
“Why are you whispering?” Zane whispered grinning.
“I don’t want to draw Storm’s attention. If he winks at me again, I might pass out,” I said, still whispering.
Zane laughed, “I think it’s too late for that. Seems you already have his attention.” He shook his head, “Our Faction is going to be unique.” He kissed me then walked to his station yelling at his group to line up.
After gym, I was even more confused by Storm’s actions. He didn’t flirt or give me special treatment in any way. He was as much of a hard ass as he always was. I didn’t want to be treated any differently, but his actions were confusing to say the least. Maybe luck would be with me, and I could delay the inevitable a little longer.
Zane walked me back to my dorm and said he still hadn’t located his portal making friend. He was worried because the guy’s Faction hadn’t seen him since yesterday. Zane was going to help them search for him, and much to my surprise Jet volunteered to help also. I wanted to believe it was out of the goodness of his heart, but I suspected it was to ensure we made it to my parents’ house. I’d wanted to help, but Chloe had shown up and recruited me to decipher some ancient books she had found in the library. Thinking they could answer some questions and possibly help my Faction, I agreed.
“This is hopeless. The writing is so old that I can’t make out half the words, and translating this ancient Aurathion script takes forever.” Chloe whined.
We were sitting on the floor with several old books spread out on the table. Zeke brought snacks and then left to help Zane look for their friend. That guy always ensured I was fed, and I loved him for it. He was a caretaker at heart and what a lucky woman I was that he was mine.
“We’ll get it. It’s just going to take time. I bet my parents can help us and maybe they know some of the old stories of Dionysus’s time.” I leaned my head back on the couch. It was getting late, and we still hadn’t heard from the twins.
Just then, we heard a knock. Heaving myself up, I opened the door, but nobody was there. I saw a picnic basket with a bow tied on the handle, picking it up, I closed the door and sat the basket on the coffee table.
“Who sent that?” Chloe yawned, flicking the bow with her finger.
“I have no idea.” I opened the basket and saw two eclairs, one chocolate, and the other raspberry. There were also two mason jars with what looked to be hot chocolate. Each jar had directions on a cute little tag that gave the amount of warm water or milk to pour in to get the perfect cup of chocolaty goodness.
“Wow, that’s thoughtful. I bet Zeke sent it to impress you. He’s the chef in our family.” Chloe pulled out the Raspberry éclair, as I knew she would.
“I guess I’ll take the chocolate.” I sighed heavily in mock disappointment.
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t eat that one anyway. We both know you have a serious weakness for anything chocolate,” she narrowed her eyes at me.
Chloe opened her mouth to take a bite of her éclair, then paused, “You don’t think Zane is fucking with me, do you?”
“Normally I would, but he’s obviously worried about his friend, so I don’t think he would take time out of his search to fuck with you.” I bit into my éclair and moaned. “Damn, that’s delicious.”
“Screw it.” Chloe joined me in the enjoyment of our unexpected treat. As I took the last bite, I licked the delicious cream filling from my fingers and then let out a massive belch.
“My compliments to the Chef.”
“What the hell? That was terrible.” Before I could call her out on her bullshit, Chloe let out a burp that shook the walls and lasted at least thirty seconds. “Now that’s how it’s done.” She smiled at me smugly.
“Ya basic!” I said with a straight face, trying to hide my amazement at that manly burp. Chloe flipped me off and we both laughed until tears poured down our faces. Chloe made our hot chocolate, and we sipped it while continuing to decipher the ancient books.
About thirty minutes later, I let out a jaw-cracking yawn, followed by Chloe’s, “I’m exhausted, I say we go to bed and attempt this again tomorrow.”
“I agree. I can barely keep my eyes open.” Chloe yawned again.
“See you in the morning,” I staggered to my room, shut the door, shed my minion pajama pants, and fell into bed.
Later that night, I woke slightly when I felt a sting on the palm of my hand. I smelled cinnamon and embers, and those two scents triggered my internal alarm. My eyes were too heavy to open. Feeling a gentle kiss on my lips, I heard a soft whisper, “Go back to sleep, Nexus of mine.”
The voice comforted me, and I fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When I woke up the following day, I felt groggy. I had trouble getting myself out of bed but finally made it to the shower. Turning the cold water on, I let it do its job. Thank God it was Saturday, and I didn’t need to be anywhere. What in the hell is wrong with me? The water had perked me up a little, but my vision was still blurry.
I threw on some sweats, having to sit on my bed to pull my pants up. I didn’t even put on a bra, pulling a t-shirt over my head, I sat back on the bed to put on my shoes. I strapped my ankle sheath on and slipped my knife in, I was groggy but not out of it enough to forget that. Heading into the kitchen to make coffee, I absently scratched my Nexus mark as I pulled two cups from the cabinet.
Chloe entered a few minutes later and didn’t say a word until she took her first sip of the hot brew.
“I didn’t think I was going to be able to get out of bed until I smelled coffee. Bless you, Bestie, for making it. I feel like I downed a fifth of tequila.”
I opened the refrigerator to get the creamer and started scratching at my mark again. Was I getting a rash? I discreetly pulled the neck of my shirt out to see what was going on. Was that another mark? A fucking lightning bolt was in one of the spots that was previously blank. I dropped the creamer, and it spilt all over the floor.
My body felt like it was on fire, getting hotter each second as I went into a full-blown panic. Suddenly, my fingers began to tingle, and fire shot out from them, headed directly for Chloe. We both screamed, and Chloe dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being burned alive.
Pantar suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stepped in front of the stream of fire shooting from my hands. The fire hit his side, but he didn’t flinch as the flames engulfed him. I screamed again, pleading with everything in me for the fire to stop. Much to my surprise the fire immediately disappeared.
I ran to Pantar, scared to death that I had hurt him, but when I got to him and ran my hands down his side, there were no burns or marks of any kind on him.
“Calm, Nexus, your power cannot hurt me.”
I fell to my knees in relief, hugging Pantar tightly.
“What the hell is going on?”
“I’ll give you one guess, my sweet Nexus.” A different voice said in my head.
I felt my eyes roll back in my head, and for the first time in my life, I passed out.