Page 65 of Exordium

“We’re her big brothers, and she expects us to be assholes. If we weren’t, she’d be disappointed.” He said innocently.

“Sure, she would.” I smirked.

By the time we reached my class, we had finished the donut holes. Zeke took the bag and threw it away.

“I’ll see you at lunch. Zane will be here to walk you to Biology.”

“Y’all know I can get to class fine on my own.” I reached up to cup his cheek.

Turning his head to kiss my palm, he said, “We know you can, but it makes us feel better to do it. You wouldn’t deny us that, would you?” Zeke pouted. He could pass for Zane with that pout and flirty eyes.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to deny y’all anything.” I sighed.

“Good.” He leaned down to kiss the tip of my nose, then turned and walked away. I continued to stand there staring at his ass, completely mesmerized. I tilted my head to the right, then the left. Yep, it looked damn good from any angle.

“Hey Bitch! Quit staring at my brother’s ass.” Chloe jerked me into the classroom.

“Where the hell did you come from? I thought you were skipping class?” I held my hand to my chest and tried to keep my heart from jumping ship.

“Nope, I decided not to deprive you of my company.” She rolled her eyes, “I called your name, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from Thing One’s booty.” She pulled on my braid. “Allof us Moons are blessed with exceptional glutes.” She slapped her ass and a guy walking in behind us tripped over his feet. She waggled her eyebrows, “Now come on Jet’s saving us a seat. Let’s hurry before the thirsty bitches steal it.”

I followed behind her, laughing. I didn’t even try to deny the accusation. Thing One’s booty was worth staring at, although to be fair, Thing Two’s booty was just as nice.

Jet watched us walk his way and stood, motioning for me to take the seat next to him, putting Chloe on his other side next to the aisle. This was a surprising turn of events since he had been avoiding me for weeks.

“It’s about time you got to class. I’ve been saving these seats for a while.” Jet said, his eyes darting around the room like he was looking for something.

“Are you alright?” I observed him in concern, he looked a little stressed.

“Yes, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” He glanced in my direction but continued to watch our surroundings with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know. But you’re looking around the room like you expect us to be attacked at any time.” Chloe was watching him in concern.

He turned to Chloe and started to reply but stiffened when Storm walked through the door, closing it behind him. I was surprised at Storm’s appearance, too.

“Hello, class. I’m lecturing in Professor Austin’s place today. We have a lot to cover, so please take your seats.” Storm smirked, and I could swear I heard panties dropping. I would admit he was handsome, especially today. He wore jeans and a black Henley, his dark hair brushed back from his face, touching the top of his shoulders in tousled waves, like he frequently ran his fingers through it. His green eyes were piercing, his very presence demanding attention.

Stepping behind the podium, he began, “Today, I want to talk about the ritual we perform when Passives are trying to form or become part of a Faction. The ritual is performed here, at Emberhold, but in special cases, and with the Council’s permission, the ritual can be performed in other settings. It’s been vital to Aurathions for centuries to bond Passives together and reveal the center of a Faction, the Nexus. I’m sure most of our born Passive students have looked forward to performing it and having their abilities revealed. Found Passives have probably heard many accounts of what it is and how it’s performed, but today, I’ll give you the facts, so you know what to expect.”

The class was focused entirely on him. Their attention was hanging on his every word. “Dionysus is commonly known as the Greek god of winemaking, fertility, ritual madness, and religious ecstasy. What is unknown to humans is that he was an Aurathion that had the ability of potion making and was Nexus to his Faction. He was only worshipped after Aurathions began visiting this world through portals. A few years after his Faction was formed, Dionysus mixed a powerful potion, golden in color, that Aurathions named the wine of Dionysus, which became an integral part of binding Passives together. A knife made of pure silver is used to cut each Passive’s palm; they then join hands over the Kapala, a small skull cup also made of silver and covered in precious Aurathion stones; after the Kapala is half full of their combined blood, a drop of the wine of Dionysus is added. If they’re compatible and one Passive is Nexus, the liquid in the bowel will turn fully golden.”

“What happens if they aren’t compatible, and neither are Nexus.” A student in the front row asked.

Looking annoyed at the interruption, he continued, “If they aren’t compatible, and neither is Nexus, then the blood will remain just that— blood.” Storm strolled from behind thepodium and leaned against Professor Austin’s desk. “All that I’ve explained is true and part of why the war was fought. A significant number of the population in our world was growing restless. Fewer Nexus have been born as the years have passed, leaving many Passives no choice but to abandon hope of ever gaining their abilities. A serum was invented that allowed babies to access these abilities if administered during pregnancy- without the ritual or a Nexus.” He paused as a few of the students gasped at this revelation. “The Aurathions, now called Dark Faction, didn’t think it was fair that the serum was only available to embryos and wanted to see if it would work on Aurathions of different ages.” You could’ve heard a pin drop, most Aurathions knew nothing about any of this. “Does anyone know why the serum wasn’t entirely successful on adult Passives?”

I knew the answer but didn’t raise my hand. I felt like this lesson had taken a weird tone and had no idea where he was going with this. He looked around the room in expectation. I was surprised when Chloe raised her hand.

Storm nodded for her to speak, “Their abilities became unstable without a Nexus to balance them. Many lost their minds, and some even committed suicide.”

“You’re partly correct, Miss Moon, but that’s not the entire story. The General of the Tempest Faction didn’t show any signs of insanity and did, in fact, plan and execute the removal of all Factions that didn’t agree with his stance.” He stared out at the class like he was waiting for something.

I couldn’t contain myself, “I think his grasp on sanity is debatable. He did betray his people and start a war.”

Storm looked pleased by my response, “I suppose that’s true, but it depends on which side you were on, now, doesn’t it? If you were part of a Faction and already had your abilities, could you really judge what they did?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t ever cause chaos and grief for my people just to benefit myself. The loss of life and the destruction of our world weren’t worth the price. The serum was already proven to work on babies, and our future was looking bright, but greedy, corrupt Aurathions ruined that.” I spoke passionately, enraged by his words.

Storm smirked, but looked oddly proud, “Maybe, maybe not. You’ll never know what you would do because you already know you’re a Nexus and won’t ever have to live without your abilities. It’s impossible to judge them when you’ll never walk in their shoes.”

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