Page 47 of Exordium

“Not yet.” He replied in his no-nonsense way.

I sat as Chloe took the seat next to me. Pantar regally lowered himself in the aisle beside Chloe. He growled and flashed his teeth at any students that got too close.

“We haven’t seen much of you lately. How have you been?” Chloe leaned up and asked Jet.

“Good.” He pulled his notebook out for class. A man of few words as usual.

“I’m glad. I saw your performance on the obstacle course the other day. It was extremely impressive. What did you do before you discovered your Aurathion heritage?” I asked casually. I was curious about Jet and how he felt about Emberhold and theAurathion culture in general. I also felt a pull to him, which I was trying to ignore at present.

“I was a bouncer. Keeping in shape was part of the job, so luckily, I was somewhat prepared for life here at the Academy.” Jet faced forward, clearly done with the conversation. Just as I was about to ask him another question, whether he liked it or not, Nathan entered the classroom holding a massive coffee in one hand and a thermos in the other.

“There you are, my precious little Nexus.” Nathan said in an unnecessarily loud voice. Several people in class looked over at me, like I was an exhibit in a museum. “Why, Chloe, it was very generous of you to keep my seat warm.” Chloe huffed out a breath in annoyance but got up to take the desk on the other side of Jet.

“You don’t have to change seats,” I frowned, looking at Nathan in annoyance.

“We both know he won’t stop until he gets what he wants, and I’ll end up moving anyway. This is much easier, and on the bright side, I can block all the thirsty bitches from sitting by our hunky and mysterious Jet.” She winked at him.

“Nothing mysterious about me.” Jet stated, obviously annoyed at their antics.

“I agree with him. There is nothing the least bit interesting or mysterious about the guy.” Nathan sat down. “He’s my roommate, so I ought to know.” Nathan then placed the large coffee and thermos down in front of me with a big smile. “This is much better than that stinky old coffee Zane brought you this morning. I was also thoughtful enough to bring you refills so you can stay caffeinated all day.” I never ceased to be amazed at the lengths Nathan would go to win the imaginary competitions he had going on in his head.

“Thank you. I really appreciate the gesture, but the large coffee would have been sufficient.”

“Nothing about me or anything I do is just sufficient.” He twirled a piece of my hair around his finger that had come loose from my bun.

“Ain’t that the truth.” I smiled in agreement.

Leaning over to kiss his cheek, I was startled when I never made contact. Nathan had disappeared. “What the fuck?” I yelled, jumping to my feet.

“I think Emberhold decided it was time to initiate Nathan.” Jet’s eyes widened in shock.

“The lying one is not wrong,”Pantar said, nuzzling the top of my head in comfort.

I closed my eyes and prayed that Nathan was as badass and clever as I thought he was. Not having him here was going to feel like losing a limb. I wouldn’t feel complete until he was back where he belonged.

Right by my side.

Chapter 18

Nathan

What the fuck is happening right now? I’d been sitting by my precious Nexi, and then I was standing at the edge of a massive forest. I could see a cute little village with stone cottages and thatched roofs. Smell the smoke from the little chimneys.

Was this my initiation? If so, I was insulted. Someone as badass as me should be fighting four-arm beings with insectoid helmets or aliens with enormous dragon wings and a spider face. Wait, was I describing characters fromDestiny? Shit I was.That’s how I had pictured my initiation since I learned about it. Not to toot my own horn, but I was a beast at that game.

Crouching down, I decided observing my surroundings for a while was best. I had no idea what was coming for me, but it better fucking not be killer gnomes or some such shit. I’d never live it down.

My new reality was insane. Finding out I wasn’t human was a real trip. The best part of everything was knowing my bond with Reverie was unbreakable. As a human, I would’ve never let her go, but now, finding out I was Aurathion, she was genuinely tied to my side. I had been in love with Reverie for as long as I could remember. The fight I put up to have her was the most challenging thing I had ever gone through, including this jacked-up initiation. I should’ve been sickened at the lengths I had gone to have her, but I wasn’t. I would fight anything to stay by her side, even Reverie herself. Getting through this would bring me one step closer to letting everyone know she was mine, so bring this challenge right, the fuck, on.

I pulled into the high school parking lot, ready to start my senior year. I saw that Reverie’s baby blue jeep was in the parking lot. She liked to get to school early, so that meant I did too.

The fight to get Reverie to admit how she felt about me was mystifying. I was the total package. I’d had made sure of it. In primary school, she was my best friend; we played together at recess and were inseparable. Then, at the beginning of our freshman year, Reverie wouldn’t have anything to do with me. There was no explanation, just radio silence. I would havepreferred a good kick to the nuts than the pain of seeing her laughing and talking with other people.

I did everything I could think of: I worked out and got good grades; I was good-looking; extremely witty. What else could she possibly want in a man?

The most aggravating part of all was that I caught her watching me, the lust and love in her eyes more than evident to me. I didn’t understand why she was doing this to us. I needed to be near her, and the rage I felt at being denied was all consuming. Over the last three years, I had done things I wasn’t proud of, trying to get her attention. I was going to do one of those things this morning, in fact.

Entering the hallway, I spotted her looking at her phone, walking toward me, not paying attention. Glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else in the hall, I grabbed her and pulled her into the empty classroom nearby.

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