Did I even want to?
I hated this war within myself. I was usually the kind of person who decided on a plan of action and stuck to it. If I embraced my feelings for Reverie, my life would irrevocably change.
I’d fought in horrible places and seen things most people were fortunate enough never to experience. I did it in the nameof my country, but I was honest enough to admit that I enjoyed it.
There was no one for me to worry about. I had no wife or children, which gave me the freedom to take chances I might not have otherwise. Most importantly, I was happy with the status quo. Then I found out I was Aurathion and met my Nexus.
My feelings for Reverie are complicated. The Aurathion in me wants her with no question.
Thatpart of myself wanted to fuck her into the ground until no one could tell where she ended, and I began. I wanted to bite her until she bled and suck the very essence of her into my body, and eliminate all threats to her, taking on the Dark Factions entirely alone.
Then fuck her covered in their blood.
The other part of me didn’t want any attachments. I wanted to continue my life exactly as it was, worrying only for myself and waiting on my next mission, not dealing with these messy emotions.
I suspected I was fighting a losing battle.
I got out of bed, showered and dressed in my workout clothes. Grabbing my knife, I strapped it around my waist, just under the waistband of my pants.
The only thing I could do to get my mind in the right place was put my body through an intense workout. Maybe it would help me concentrate on my mission and not the raven-haired beauty living rent-free in my mind.
I didn’t see anyone on the way to the gym. It was still extremely early, and I was glad of it. I didn’t want any interruptions this morning.
Jumping on the treadmill, I started slowly, gradually increasing my speed until I was at my preferred pace. After a few minutes, I was in the zone. My thoughts became clearer, and Ifelt some of the stress that had been weighing on me since last night disappear.
Before I returned to the academy, I had the opportunity to report to my contact. The information I received in return was concerning. Even though the Aurathion towns hadn’t been attacked, the DF was in play and making serious moves on the board.
The Hawthornes were their first targets but wouldn’t be their last. My contact even believed that there were several plants at Emberhold.
It was confirmed that the DF didn’t learn about Reverie until recently. We weren’t sure what their next move would be regarding her, but our intel suggested that kidnapping could be a possibility.
Over my dead fucking body.
I might be at war with myself and my feelings for Reverie, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wouldn’t be hurt or taken on my watch.
I had no problem with killing. I didn’t go out of my way to do it, but if it needed doing, I wasn’t bothered by it.
For her, I wouldn’t blink.
After I finished ten miles, I stepped out of the room to take a piss and fill up my water bottle. When I was leaving the bathroom, I heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hallway.
I stepped into a small room used for ice baths and storing supplies. As passives, we weren’t as immune to sore muscles as Aurathions with a Faction.
I didn’t want to deal with anyone right now. My head wasn’t in the right place to pretend I was an ordinary Aurathion looking for a Nexus.
Hearing the steps stop right before they passed the room I was in, I looked through the tiny crack I’d left in the door to see who it was.
There were two guys I’d seen around. Both were mean bastards. They’d been in the group of people giving Cassandra hell on our first day of the obstacle courses.
The possibility of spies at the academy didn’t come as a surprise; the way these two guys seemed to sneak around and whisper made them likely candidates.
The fact they were dicks made me hope they were.
They continued past the door, and I decided to follow them. I was curious about what had them out so early. I had to be careful because I didn’t know their abilities. If they were DF, then they’d been taking injections for years.
Knowing this didn’t scare me. It just meant I had to use more caution than I would with atypical. That’s what my contact called humans with no Aurathion ancestry, and I’d adopted the practice.
The two men kept walking until they entered the workout room I’d previously been in. They both stopped at the weight station and began doing curls, looking around furtively before continuing their conversation.
