Chapter 1 #2
The housing provided to Factions was more than sufficient.
Emberhold designed and modified them as it pleased.
Fortunately, the home Emberhold created for our Faction suited us perfectly.
It was a completely open-concept space; when you entered through the front door, you had a clear view of the dining and kitchen areas.
All the bedrooms were upstairs, with one for each of us.
Reveries was at the end of the long hallway, and it was by far the biggest, with a bathroom that would be any woman’s dream.
I couldn’t wait for the day that I’d be able to run her a bubble bath in the giant tub. My Treasure’s feet probably wouldn’t touch the ground for months after her return. I’d see to it personally.
Oren spoke with his mouth full. “Damn, I knew I should have made him walk over with me.”
I poured him a glass of tea, and he downed it much like Zane had the whiskey earlier.
“Thanks, man. I can’t remember the last time I ate.” He rubbed a hand down his face.
“That needs to change. We’re not going to be able to help Reverie if we’re not at our best.” He nodded in agreement. Then I asked, “What’s going on with Nathan?”
“He’s been torturing anyone who had the smallest relationship with Kristine. I told him I’d already investigated everyone thoroughly, but that hasn’t stopped him.” Oren sighed and poured another glass of tea from the pitcher I’d sat near him.
“Good thing you locked Sophie away where he can’t find her.” I had no sympathy for the little bitch, but we needed to get everything out of her that we could before we disposed of her.
Nathan materialized next to me. “I’ll find her, and when I do, she’ll sing like a canary. You can bet your ass on that.”
I didn’t even startle at his appearance; he popped in and out so much I’d grown used to it.
“The girl is so terrified now that she hardly speaks since Jet got hold of her when we first returned. The last thing we need is you questioning her.” Oren frowned at Nathan. “I’m still hoping that Kristine will contact her. Leave the dead girl walking alone until then.”
“What took you so long to get here?” I asked the Psycho, as my Treasure called him.
“I had people to see and torture to inflict.” He grabbed a sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth, almost swallowing it whole, not bothering to clean the dried blood from his hands first.
“Fuck, Nathan, what kind of mess do I have to clean up now?” Oren dragged a hand through his hair.
“Why do you give a shit? All that should matter is getting my Nexi back!” He slapped both hands down hard in front of Oren.
“I care because we need the help of some of the families you're pissing off!” Oren yelled. “Don’t you think I want to go on a fucking killing spree too? I hate every single motherfucker that even looked at Reverie wrong, but I know it’s going to take more than just the five of us to get her back.”
I frowned at Nathan, “And she’s not just your Nexi. We all belong to her. You tend to forget that.”
“Fuck… fine, she belongs to all of us.” He directed at me, then scowled at Oren.
“I’ll try to hold back, but when she returns, I’m going to make sure that none of the people who even caused her the slightest inconvenience still draw breath.
” He grabbed another sandwich, then found the bottle of whiskey Zane had drunk from and poured himself a shot.
“I truly hope you mean that. I could use the extra time spent trying to get you out of trouble to recover our Nexus." Oren stood, grabbed another glass from the cabinet, and motioned for Nathan to fill it.
Zane came down the stairs and grabbed the bottle, just as Nathan finished pouring Oren a shot.
Nathan roughly slapped him on the back and clinked his glass to the bottle. “To the silence after the screams.”
Those two had become closer since Reverie had been taken. It didn’t surprise me; both of them were more than a little crazy and had become more so over the last few months.
Oren followed with, “To mercy… may it die screaming.” He threw his shot back.
“So, what’s the plan, Boss?” Zane grabbed two sandwiches at once and began eating.
I was glad to see it after all the whiskey he’d consumed.
It took a tremendous amount of alcohol to affect an Aurathion, so he wasn’t in danger of getting drunk.
For me, it was knowing he was on the edge and in danger of falling.
I needed him—no, I needed all of them—to be whole when we found our Nexus.
I was going to take it upon myself to make sure it was so.
“Let’s wait for Jet and Deshawn to arrive, then we’ll sort it out. I want to find out what his contact has planned and see if it will benefit us,” Oren ran a hand through his hair and sat back down, the mantle of leadership heavy on his shoulders.
I nodded, recognizing the importance of that.
I understood that Oren was barely holding on, just like all of us.
His family’s involvement with Reverie’s disappearance must have been tearing him apart, but he refused to let it stop him.
In fact, it seemed to drive him—sometimes he wouldn’t get home until early morning and would sleep on the couch in his clothes, working nonstop to get our Nexus back.
I knew he had contacts with the resistance in Aurathia, but he kept his information tight—knowing there were many ears in the academy that would kill for it.
Before I could reply, Jet and Deshawn walked in with Chloe and Oliver following right behind. Jet had a thunderous look on his face.
“What the fuck has happened now?” Nathan asked Jet, already scowling in preparation for his answer.
“The damn council has decided to use someone more experienced in Aurathion culture to represent them with the humans,” Chloe spoke up before Jet could.
“Why the fuck would they do that?” Oren stood and began pacing.
“That’s what I was going to ask you.” Jet plopped into Oren’s chair and began stuffing a sandwich into his mouth.
I’m glad I made them. Apparently, everyone was starving to death.
Oren kept pacing and muttering to himself.
By now, we all knew his routine and understood it could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours before he decided to involve us.
We usually remained patient with him because we’d come to understand that he was a genius at the workings of the council and the other leaders of the Aurathion people.
“La’u alofagia, can I get you a sandwich? You haven’t eaten at all today.” Oliver began fixing a plate, not waiting for her answer.
Even in the midst of my personal heartache, it was truly a wonder to see my sister cared for with such love.
She was almost as devastated as we were and sometimes forgot to take care of herself.
Oliver had been a big help to us in our search for Reverie, but his first responsibility was to his Nexus, as it should be.
And yes, we knew she was Nexus now because everyone, except Chloe, acknowledged that Deshawn was hers too. She was denying it because I believed, subconsciously, that she wouldn’t allow herself to take that step without Reverie here.
Oren had been sending her out to the war-torn cities and towns to help with the recovery effort. It was just one of the ways we tried to keep her busy and away from the majority of the fighting.
Chloe took a seat next to Jet. “I’m not really hungry.”
“Hungry or not, you need to eat.” Deshawn sauntered over, standing so close to her that his chest was touching her back.
Deshawn wasn’t willing to wait. He was getting impatient for Chloe to admit who he was to her. The poor guy had been through a lot, discovering he was Aurathion the way he did.
Chloe ignored him, but I noticed her leaning into him just the slightest bit.
Oliver smirked and repeated exactly what Deshawn said: “Hungry or not, you need to eat.”
“Okay, since you insist.” She took the plate and began eating.
Deshawn laughed, “Ignore me all you want, Firefly. I’m not going anywhere.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “She’s hardheaded like that.”
Zane held his knuckles up to me for a fist bump, “Hell yes, she is. Our little booger can be a handful.”
“Booger?” Oliver and Deshawn repeated simultaneously.
Chloe’s face turned an alarming shade of red, and I knew that an explosion was imminent.
Before she could kill my brother, and by the look on her face, I thought his death was a real possibility, Oren stopped his pacing and yelled, “I’ve got it!”
“What do you have?” Nathan asked, sinking back onto the couch, his clothes covered in dried blood and who knows what else.
“The reason the council wanted a change.” Oren walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face.
Jet stood and leaned against the counter next to Oren. “And just what would their reason be?”
The man was huge. After Reverie was taken, his focus was solely on searching for her and working out. Now his muscles had muscles. If he kept it up, his head would be swallowed up by his pecks… I wasn’t dumb enough to tell him that, though.
“I believe it’s power. They’re scared that with a foot in both worlds, your power will surpass theirs. And that is something they’ll never allow.” Oren leaned back against the sink, staring into space.
“I don’t care about power; I just want to find a way to bring Reverie back.” Jet rubbed his face, visibly frustrated with the political obstacles we had to deal with.
“We have a lead on that,” I spoke up, realizing we hadn’t let him in on the information Nathan and Zane had collected.
Oren straightened, giving me his full attention. “What would that be? And I’m going to need someone to explain why that wasn’t the first fucking thing I was told as soon as I got here.”
“Maybe, because you busted in here with something else we needed to deal with,” Zane said, clearly having a death wish. He was on a roll today.
Jet glowered at him. “Reverie is more important than anything else.” He turned that anger toward me. “Tell me exactly what you found out.”
I ignored his anger because I understood it. “They’re going to attack Copper Creek.”
He slowly grinned. “Jesse’s plan worked.” He started pacing, then stopped suddenly. “When?”
“In two weeks.” Nathan strolled back into the kitchen. “We need to have a foolproof plan for commandeering their portal. I can’t take being away from her much longer.”
“None of us can.” I scowled at him. I could feel my Draxon growing irritated with my Faction brother. Nathan’s human upbringing sometimes hindered his ability to remember that he wasn’t in this alone.
I took deep breaths, trying to calm him.
Not long after Reverie was taken, mine and Zane’s creatures revealed themselves.
We hadn’t shifted yet, but I knew that it was only a matter of time.
We used our flames and frost, respectively, and our beasts made their opinions known all day, every day.
It was a lot to manage, especially when we needed to keep them hidden.
“We’ll make sure we’re prepared for all scenarios.
I’ve already informed the Hawthornes of the information we collected, and they want to meet tonight to finalize our plans.
They’ll want input, especially since Adelaide is the bait.
” Oren headed for his office. “In the meantime, I’ll work on what to do about the council. ”
Jet frowned, impatient to start planning, but he kept his mouth shut. Oren had a lot on his plate, and we all knew it. Without his knowledge and contacts, we would be fucked.
Reverie’s parents would play a big part in the success of our plans, so waiting for their input was the right move.