Page 2 of Exordium

They were twins and Pop loved to tell me stories of how they switched places in school to mess with people. Mom got extremely aggravated with the amount of female attention they garnered everywhere we went. Apparently, women found matching book ends with over six feet of muscle attractive. Who knew.

Jessie Randall Hawthorne was mischievous, whereas Grumpy was serious, outgoing to Grumpy’s introverted personality, always ready to stir up trouble. They were the best fathers a girl could ask for. Their one similarity, other than their faces, was that me and my mother always came first. Our safety and happiness were the most important things to both.

“I’m only driving two hours to the portal,” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Grumpy pulled me in, giving me a bear hug.

“You know the drive doesn’t worry us, Tater Tot. Although Sly’s talent for creating portals would be awesome to have right now.”

Pop sighed, “Sly and Rue would have been so proud of you. We’ve done our best to fill the huge hole their deaths left. I just wish they could see how amazing our little girl is.”

Making a visible effort to shake off the sadness, Pop pulled me away from Grumpy, giving me his own version of a bear hug,“It’s the first time you’ve been on your own, and the Academy can be brutal. It sucks we won’t be there.”

“I know! But y’all have taught me to kick ass, so I’m not worried,” I squeezed Pop and smirked. “Nathan is so protective I’d be surprised if I even got a paper cut.”

“Watch the language, little girl.” Grumpy narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up, for him that was like a full grin. A large racoon we called Rubbish climbed up his leg to sit on his shoulder.

Pop laughed, “We know you can kick ass, but there’re a lot of secrets that must be kept. We can’t help but worry that one of you might slip up, and by one of you, I mean Nathan. If the Council finds out, we’ll have a huge issue. We’ve done our best to prepare you, but you’re still our little girl.” Pop kissed the top of my head.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to take a deep breath until you complete your initiation.” Grumpy sighed, reaching into his pocket and handing Rubbish a carrot.

“You don’t give yourselves enough credit. I can take care of myself. Look at Nathan he sucked when you first started training him, and now he’s badass.” I chuckled, shoulder bumping Pop.

“I wouldn’t call him a badass,” Grumpy grumbled making me laugh. He still wasn’t completely sold on Nathan. “Just remember we’ve kept you apart from other Aurathions for a reason. We love our people, but the Council has become too powerful since the war, and we don’t like the decisions they’ve made lately. Being a Nexus is rare, and finding your faction is difficult enough without their interference.”

“Knowing I’m a Nexus this early in the game gives me an advantage over the other Passives,” I reminded both of my fathers.

“That may be true, but it didn’t come without a cost,” Mom said walking out of the house shooing Copper, our mongooseout of the way. “I think we’ve prepared our baby girl better than most, and with Nathan in the mix, she’s even more protected. You two need to stop stressing.”

Adelaide Ophelia Hawthorne, at just 5'3", was a force to be reckoned with. She was one of the most powerful Nexus that ever lived. The fact that she survived the deaths of two of her Faction was proof of that. Her white hair and light amber eyes also made her stunningly beautiful.

Unfortunately, I only reached 5'2" but was lucky enough to have Mom’s amber eye color, small, upturned nose, and full lips. I didn’t get her beautiful hair but inherited Grumpy and Pop’s raven color. The dimples in my cheeks came from Rue, and my pale, unable to tan skin, came from Sly.

I don’t think my mom had ever fully recovered from losing her men and her beloved Fellat, who was defending them. My fathers tried to keep them alive by telling stories of how they formed their Faction. I never got tired of hearing the way they met and how each of my fathers fell in love with my mom. We had albums filled with pictures of them together, but Mom kept them in a special cabinet in her room. Sometimes, we would pile up on her bed and she would pull them out and tell me about the stories behind each one. As I got older, I noticed how upset she would be after seeing them, so I stopped asking to look at the pictures.

When my parents were students, the Academy was still located in Aurathia. Unfortunately, the original Academy had been destroyed during the war. A replica was created in a pocket dimension so Passives could be tested and find their Faction.

Our home was in a small town north of Houston, TX. We lived in a two-story farmhouse that sat on 30 acres. Complete privacy and the freedom to train and use our abilities were important to my parents.

They didn’t want to settle too close to the Aurathion communities. After the deaths of Sly and Rue, my mom was in no shape to make any decisions so Grumpy and Pops moved us to a more secluded place to avoid the machinations of the Council. They all needed to recover from their loss and raise their child away from the nightmare that dealing with the Council had become. They only had contact during certain holidays and Council gatherings they couldn’t get out of. Nexus were so rare that the Council tried to insist that Mom replace her dead men with new Faction members. There was zero chance of that happening, and as powerful as she was, they couldn’t force the issue. I stepped onto the porch to hug Mom.

“I know what to expect. The other Aurathions can’t always be trusted, and as soon as my Nexus status is revealed, I’ll most likely be inundated with Passives wanting to be Faction.” I recited what she had been telling me on repeat the last few weeks word for word.

She smiled, “Just remember what I told you about the way you’ll feel when you meet a Passive meant to be yours. Never try to force a connection because even if they become part of your Faction, in the end, your Faction will fail.”

I nodded my head, “Yes ma’am. The way I felt when I met Nathan will be easy to recognize. Anything less would be unacceptable.” I winked at her. “You know I won’t put up with any bullshit.”

“Hey! Watch that mouth, little girl!” Mom laughed. “Your fathers really need to clean up their language around you.”

“I don’t think they’re the ones with the problem,” I grinned.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Mom somehow managed to say without smiling.

“Adelaide, I should put you over my knee,” Grumpy frowned. Once again, the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly, so no one took him seriously, least of all Mom.

“I don’t have a fear of that happening. Mom would zap you to the Cimarron Forest.” I joked, laughing at the face Mom was making behind his back.

“Unless she liked it,” Pop winked at me.

I started gagging, “OK! That’s enough! As soon as the disgustingness starts, that’s my cue to get the hell out of Dodge!”

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