Page 16 of Exordium

“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 numberin 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.

Chapter 6

Reverie

My 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 coffeeusing 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 andrubbed 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 spacewith 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.

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