Page 14 of Caelum

Eren shrugged. “Mark my words.”

“There’s nothingtomark.” I huffed out my irritation as I picked up my pace and started to jog. The five-minute walk to Nicholas’, the principal’s, office took less than a minute at our speed. Although my heart had begun beating heavily, heavy for us and heavy for a human were two separate matters.

To a human, I had a resting heartbeat, but to us, that was fast.

I knocked on the double doors to the office, wishing now that we’d gone back to our rooms for shirts. Not that it would matter that much since we were always in a state of undress from training. But I knew the girl would be taken aback to see our half-naked forms, and that bothered me even if she’d adapt after a few weeks here.

Just from watching her cross the gates, I knew she was sheltered. That was a given. Her clothes alone told me she wouldn’t be used to seeing men half-dressed. In fact, now that I thought about it, I regretted not getting a shirt even more because sheltered might be an understatement. The shit she wore was like something from a movie set.

“Come in.”

Nicholas’s eyes were on me, not the others, as we stepped into the room. The second the girl saw us, she gasped, and I drew my attention from the headmaster to her. Her cheeks were bright red, and I could see the glassiness in her eyes as she took us in, and then in an instant, she whipped her head around to face Nicholas as though we weren’t just naked but were fucking right in front of her.

Christ, where had she been all her life where that was her response to seeing a man’s chest?

That innocence did something to me. I couldn’t say what, just that it put me on edge and soothed me at the same time. The discordant emotions made my voice hoarse as I stated, “We thought we could show Eve around the school.”

Merinda cocked a brow at us, but there was a wicked grin on her face—not that it was abnormal. She was a Lorelei after all. They were almost as bad as Succubi. Every inch of her was made for seduction, but it didn’t hit me as hard as it would Eren and Nestor. I wasn’t certain which soul of mine was dominant yet, but I had a feeling it would be an Incubus. Either that or a Lorelei. All told, I’d prefer the Incubus. Feeding through sex sounded very pleasant.

No man would ever complain about that.

Nicholas bowed his head at my words. “That’s very kind of you.” To thegirl, he said, “Eve, there is plenty more that we must discuss. However, I think it would be better for you to get some rest and return to my office in the morning.” Then, as he uttered our names, he pointed at us so she knew who was who: “What you see when Nestor, Eren, and Stefan show you around… you must not fear. You are safe here. Safer than you have ever been.”

I saw no fear on her face that said she was scared or fretful about what Caelum represented. It made me think that she wasn’t scared, but there was a faintly mocking curl to her lips that told me she didn’t believe him.

The prospect perplexed me. Nicholas wasn’t an enemy, nor was he a liar. This entire place ran as smoothly as it did because of him, because of his dedication to our people.

“Stefan,” Nicholas addressed me, “she’s in block A. Lori will give you her key. Eve, you will have clothes in there. You should change. Your current outfit won’t help you fit in, nor will you be able to work out in it.”

She frowned. “Work out?”

Merinda sighed. “He means train.”

“Train for what?”

I cut Nestor a look that had him shrugging—he didn’t know if she was slow either.

A tut came from Merinda. “The souls fight a lot,” she explained. “To control them, we must engage in physical activity.”

Her words, or lack of them, told me we were keeping some things on the down-low. That wasn’t entirely unexpected. Eve would already be dealing with a shitload of information. Any more and I wouldn’t blame her for tapping out.

Merry’s words prompted Eve to say, “I understand. I’ve seen the men at the compound run and lift heavy things to build up their muscles.” Her cheeks were bright pink as her eyes caught mine before quickly flashing over my form. “They didn’t look like them though,” she choked out, and fuck, it made me want to preen.

I felt Eren and Nestor straighten up at my side and knew they’d caught the look in her eyes too—desire, embarrassment, and shame all swirled into one cocktail that had her blossoming brighter than a red rose.

“Well, they wouldn’t. Not only were those scumbags not creatures, but it takes a variety of things to look like the boys do.” I winced at that word. ‘Boys.’ I was nineteen, hardly a boy, but to someone like Merinda, I was a baby.

“What’s a scumbag?” Eve asked.

“Old bastards who marry lots of young girls and make them pregnant,then keep them trapped on a compound because it’s God’s will, then beat them for daring to think or be anything other than their slave.”

Eve jerked back at Merinda’s bitter statement, which served two purposes: answering Eve, but also confirming my belief that she’d been in a cult or something. That outfit alone was Cult 101.

“I can’t argue with that,” Eve replied softly, but her hands were taut as she pulled at the skirt of her dress.

“No, you can’t,” Merinda retorted, but her voice was gentler now. She was angry at wherever Eve had been living, but not at the girl. “What you learned when you were there, Eve, it was all wrong. And I’d say that even if you weren’t a creature. You’re one of us, yes, but those other girls and women on the compound… they shouldn’t be there. The New Order is a bad place.”

Eve’s chin jerked up. “I know.”

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