Page 30 of Exordium

“Reverie, can I talk to you after lunch? We can walk to the gym together,” he asked quietly.

“Sure, is everything OK?” I was puzzled by their actions.

“I hope so.” He mumbled.

Nathan put his arm around her, “I’m coming with her.” I don’t think anyone was surprised at his statement.

“You probably need to hear it too,” Zane took a big bite of his burger. Seeming happy now that his brother asked to talk to me.

“I’m coming too,” Chloe pouted.

“It looks like we’re all coming,” Zeke said, exasperated with the whole thing.

Jet started laughing so loudly that everyone in the cafeteria looked over at them. I stared at him in shock. I didn’t think he had it in him to be this jubilant. When he could catch his breath, he grinned at me, “You’re not leaving me out this time, I want tocometoo.”

I rolled my eyes and stood up. Everyone was a damn comedian. Walking outside, I noticed Professor Lee standing at the side of the building, watching me. I hoped it didn’t have anything to do with what Nathan and I had been up to in class. If he told my parents, I would never be able to go home again. We left the building, and walked down the path, headed to the gym. Zeke walked beside me and grabbed my hand, stopping me before we entered.

“The instructor’s name is Oren Storm. He was a pretty good friend to us in the past, but after he graduated from Emberhold and still hadn’t found his Faction, he started acting weird. He disappeared for a while, and when he returned, he was different. He was angry and more psycho than usual. We tried to talk to him but he wasn’t having it.”

“I hate y’all lost a good friend, but what does that have to do with me?” I asked, confused.

“I bet I can answer that question,” Chloe winced. “I don’t think anyone has mentioned it before, but Kristine’s last name is Storm. Oren is her stepbrother, and you rearranged his baby sister’s nose.” Well, shit. This ought to be good.

Chapter 10

Oren

Iwas sitting in my office in the gymnasium, the only modern building on campus. The gym was massive, half of the building was dedicated to conditioning with a fighting ring, climbing walls, workout apparatus, uneven bars, and various other equipment. Separated by a large wall that didn’t quite make it to the ceiling, were insane obstacle courses that would help prepare the Passives for initiation. Even as an instructor, I didn’t know what the academy had planned for the initiates.

I didn’t have to worry about a training regimen. The Academy changed the obstacle courses from year to year, sometimes even day to day. No one knew when Emberhold would take each Passive to initiation. Fortunately, the Academy cared enough to try to prepare them. I usually didn’t give a shit, I had enough on my plate. But this year was different.

Some Passives were ahead of the curve because their families started training them at a young age. The unlucky were the students new to the Aurathion culture. The ones who thought they were completely human until the Council began actively looking for those with Aurathion ancestry. The Council members were patting themselves on the back at the success of their little program. I bet they changed their tune after they were all killed during initiation.

I remembered my initiation. It was amazing. I was thrown into a dimension where even the plants would try to kill you. The extreme heat drained my energy, and I fought creatures I could never have imagined. I loved it when the odds were stacked against me. It was rare I was actually challenged by anything.

I grinned, thinking about the look on my professors’ faces when I appeared back at the Academy. My body had been entirely black from the blood of the creatures I killed, only the whites of my eyes showed. I thought the massive smile on my face probably threw them for a loop. If I were allowed to experience it all again, I would. It wasn’t often that causing death and destruction was allowed.

I still had hope then. I knew that every skill I developed would protect my Faction. I was proud of what I brought to the table and was excited to be part of something bigger than me. A found family because my own was fucked.

I had always been a little unstable. I never cared about friendships or making alliances like the rest of my family. The only friends I’d ever had were the Moon twins. They hid it well,but they were almost as unhinged as me. I had a grin on my face thinking about the shit we got up to when we first started attending Emberhold. Things even I shook my head at now.

I decided to end the friendship when I became aware of the things brewing in my future. I hated it but there were moves I needed to make, and things I needed to keep hidden, until I was ready. I’d noticed in the last year that they were getting desperate. They even tried the ritual with my stepsister, dodging a bullet with that one. I’d attempted the ritual myself early on with several girls who were hungry for my dick. Luckily it didn’t take, or I would have had a life full of regret. That’s a lie, more than likely they would have met with an unfortunate accident. I wasn’t one for sacrificing my happiness because of one little mistake.

Suddenly, my door opened so forcibly that it bounced off the wall. Looking up, I raised my hands, and sparks came to my fingertips. Seeing it was my stepsister, Kristine, I quickly lowered my hands. She was holding an ice pack to her nose and had medical tape on it to hold it straight.

“You need to do something about the bitch that did this,” she dropped into one of the chairs in front of my desk.

“I don’t have to do shit about anything. Your problems aren’t mine.” I yawned in boredom. I was familiar with her dramatics. She was exactly like her mother. When Diane joined my father’s Faction after the loss of my mom in the war, she brought all the drama and none of the substance. I wasn’t sure the Faction had a peaceful day since.

Changing her tactics, she whined, “But she hit me for no reason. I was talking to one of the found Passives, and she took offense.”

“I hate to repeat myself, but I don’t give a shit. So, take your ass wherever it is you’re supposed to go. I don’t havetime for your preschool drama.” I twirled around in my chair, demonstrating clearly, I had the time but not the desire.

Kristine smiled slightly, “It was the Hawthorne girl that hit me.”

Well, that changed things. The Hawthorne family had pissed a lot of Aurathions off by not replacing their lost Faction. Aurathions with less power were forced by the Council to replace members lost to the war. I’d heard a lot of grumbling at the different gatherings I had attended, unhappy with this. Even though it was twenty-five years in the past, a lot of the Factions were in turmoil due to the Council’s mandate. So, to say they were pissed that the more powerful Factions refused the mandate, was putting it mildly.

I lost my mother when I was four. The Storm family did their duty and started going through the process of looking for a Passive to fill her place. My father interviewed several Passives until they decided on Diane. She was a daughter of a prominent Faction who had strong abilities. Diane had never found a Nexus and at thirty, hadn’t expected to. She had a daughter and was married to a fellow Passive. She left his ass in the dust when the opportunity arose to become Faction and access her abilities. That says everything about her character, so she fit right in with my father’s Faction. Diane was tied to the Storm Faction when the blood ritual was performed, and she was compatible. Her ability turned out to be fire, so she was an excellent addition. Most of the Storm Faction had developed elemental power in one way or another.

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