“What are your thoughts?” Kaj asked Mirakel, who was currently skimming the blueprint.
The male looked up, neon blue eyes locking on Obsidian. “How long will it take to get it complete?”
“We’ve opted to bring the trainees in now,” Obsidian explained, “put them to work. Time will be determined by their efforts.”
Kaj chuckled. “Building character early. I like it.”
“If all goes well, we’ll be up and running in four months. At least the basics, anyway.”
If it were up to Michael, Kaj knew they would’ve chiseled that number down to four weeks, but the archangel was rather ambitious, wasn’t he?
“I have five males and two females I’d like to bring in for the first class,” Mirakel told Obsidian.
“Of course.” Obsidian glanced at Kaj. “I assume you’ve spoken with to Michael?”
“Briefly.” Kaj had yet to follow up with his answer to the archangel’s request, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about it endlessly. In fact, he could think of nothing else, including the long list of duties he was shirking as the Alpha.
“Apollo and Amethyst plan to have a clinic put in down here. They’ll address any trainee injuries or illnesses here. No one will be permitted into either residence under any circumstance.”
“What about meals?” Mirakel inquired.
“They’ll have the equivalent of a mess hall. The trainees will be responsible for everything. Shifts will be outlined so they’re frequently alternating between cooking, cleaning, assisting in the clinic, as well as their required training classes. By the time they’ve completed the program, not only will they be capable to fight alongside thefiestreighand the Zenith, they’ll be successful in taking care of themselves.”
“What about recreation?” Blaz inquired. “Or is it all work and no play?”
“You sound a lot like Apollo,” Obsidian teased. “And yes, they’ll have a rec room. Can’t expect them to be working twenty-four-seven.”
As much as they would’ve liked to, no, it wasn’t feasible. Everyone needed time to decompress, and Kaj figured the schedules would be aligned accordingly.
“And when they’ve completed their training, where will they reside?” Blaz asked.
“I figure we’ll decide that once we’ve got a good read on their abilities.”
Kaj agreed. No sense planning for the future until they knew what the future would look like.
“If you’re in agreement,” Obsidian said as he turned to face Kaj, “I’ll let Michael know we’re ready to start assessing. Like you, I’m not simply accepting them into the program because they’ve been bred to be warriors. I’d appreciate your males’ help in weeding out those who don’t cut it.”
“We’d be happy to,” Kaj noted.
It made sense that he and Obsidian had become friends all those years ago. They had quite a bit in common, not to mention respect for each other. In this case, it was going to be absolutely necessary because two alpha males were going to butt heads when it came to final decisions. There was no getting around it.
“Would you mind giving us a minute?” Kaj told the others.
Once his males filed out of the space, Kaj tucked his hands in his pockets and began walking the length of the enormous area that would likely be the most state-of-the-art training facility to have ever graced Earth.
“Michael came to see me a few weeks ago,” Kaj told Obsidian.
“I heard.”
He peered back at the angel. “Did he happen to mention what we discussed?”
“No.” Obsidian began walking beside him. “It’s not my business, and I informed Michael as much. Told him if it’s regarding vampires, he’s to leave me out of it. If you choose to include me, I expect you’ll come to me.”
Another reason Kaj respected the male so much.
“Is there something you’d like me to know? Perhaps regarding Acadia?”
That pulled Kaj up short. As far as he knew, Acadia had yet to talk to Obsidian. Though they’d interacted every day since their initial discussion regarding them feeding only from one another, she hadn’t yet mentioned speaking to Obsidian.
