Page 5 of Traveler (Soulbound #1)
Aly
Hyperventilating, I try to take suck in air, but it's not working. Blood rushes to my ears. This is all way too much. Standing, I rush out of the room, down the hallway, and out the front doors. The second the air hit’s my face, I double over, sucking in lung fulls. As I'm actively attempting not to die, I see a shadow fall over me, and before I know what's happening, I’m being picked up and pushed into someone's chest. The ache settles, and I'm finally able to take a breath. The hand rubbing circles on my back slows.my hearing slowly returns, I hear a deep voice whispering, “You're okay. Just breathe, little one. Good job: there You go. ”
His face is pressed to my neck. When I pull back, I see one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. His light blonde hair has fallen into his face, blocking part of his glasses. Before I realize what, I’m doing, I push the hair back. My touch sends shivers through both of us.
“I- Thank You.” I stammer, suddenly feeling awkward because I'm sitting on a stranger's lap. I try to get up, but his arms tighten to keep me still.
“No need to thank me. What happened?” he asks, his voice soft.
“I- Just got overwhelmed and needed a second.” he must notice the question on my face because he laughs lightly before setting me down next to him on the bench.
“I’m Saul Jacobs, I’m a professor here at the academy. “He says reaching his hand out to shake mine.
“Alyssa James, Tomorrow is my first day.” Good God Alyssa get it together stop being so mopey. This is one of your mates, and You're acting like a literal child right now. Straightening my back, I take his hand and give it a firm shake. Enjoy the male eye candy today, therapy tomorrow
His face morphs to shock briefly before tilting his head slightly. “Genna Is Your?”
“Ah- Aunt. Vivianne my cousin is actually going to be attending classes with me.”
“It’s good You'll have someone. School here can be… Intense. You're a James so Your family name will help, but people here can be snobby.” He says in a low tone. Before I get a chance to respond Vivianne comes running out of the building and stops dead in her tracks when she sees me sitting with Saul.
“Mr. Jacobs. How was Your Holiday Break?” she asks her eyes cutting to me briefly.
Clearing his throat Saul Straightens. “It was relaxing, it’s good to see You're back. “He says all professional now.
He stands looking to me one last time before excusing himself to run some errands before classes start. Vivianne and me decide to head back to the Dorms so we can relax. My mind keeps going back to the fact that I have a whole family now. It’s been years since I’ve had anyone and to go from nothing to all of this is overwhelming. Ugh save it for therapy Aly! Shoving the feelings down I bump my shoulder against Vivianne's.
“I’m not mad.” I say giving her a small smile.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell You, I just didn't want to add more to Your plate. This is a lot as it is. “She laughs.
“I do have a question though. What do I tell people about my mom. I know you said I'm not supposed to talk about being a traveler, but Saul knew we were related and ask how I was related to Your mom. I just don't know how to explain why no one has seen my mom in over 20 years and yet. Here I am.”
“Everyone has been told Your mom went to live in Ender, with her mate. So, if anyone asks that is where You're from.” She says quietly pulling me into our room and shutting the door before walking over to her wardrobe and pulling out maps and papers.
“Okay so basics about this realm so You don't make a complete fool of Yourself. “Cue Eye roll. God this girl is asking for me to draw a giant dick on her forehead in her sleep. Pointing at the map now laid on the floor she starts her history lesson.
“There are three territories in this realm Ender, which is where You are from. She coughs. The main terrain in that territory is desert based so lots of sand rock formations stone houses things like that significantly less vibrant than here but pretty in its own way. There is an academy there as well called Ashfield Academy. Which is where You would have gone if Your parents… “
“Hadn’t died, yeah got it.” I finish for her. For someone who likes to give me shit she’s super shy about the whole dead parents’ thing.
“Yeah that, Anyway the other two are where we are which is the Woodlands. Our whole family is from here and the James family is considered a legacy family so Merry Christmas no one should fuck with you too bad. “
They celebrate Christmas here. Seeing the look on my face she rolls her eyes.
“Yes, we celebrate Christmas. And no , Santa isn't real here either. We live in a realm called Narine ; we are currently in a city called Stonebrooke hence the giant signs everywhere that say ‘Stonebrooke Academy for Elemental Magic’. Lastly there are the Isles, there are a few Academies there, Tidefall is the most well-known but that’s less important. Any Questions?”
Uh, yeah how about. Can You repeat all of that? Letting the information she just shoved at me sink in I try to think about what’s more relevant to me. The isles are at the bottom of that list.
“So, wait Ember I'm assuming has Cities what City do I say I'm from? “That seems like a less stupid question. Go me!
“Mom thinks it would be best if You say you’re from Ironwood. It’s a small Ish town big enough that not everyone knows everyone but still smaller. If someone suspects Your lying it genuinely isn't that big of a deal. Being a traveler isn't a bad thing, but they are rare, and different. People don't like things that are different for them it means Dangerous.”
“You mentioned before that there are powers that travelers have that others don't what are those?” remembering she mentioned that.
“Oh yes! Sorry we should test for those. All I need is a little bit of Your blood.” She chirps
Jumping from the floor to grab a bag in her wardrobe. When she sits back down, she pulls out a bowl, knife, and six jars. I place my hand in hers, she takes the knife and cuts a small line on my palm pulling a squeak from me. Don't look at me like that I don't like pain. Well, okay that’s not entirely true I don't like pain that isn’t matched with pleasure. She flips my hand over and pushed at the bottom of the cut to force blood from the wound, mixing in a clear liquid she split’s the contents of the bowl between the jars.
“Now what?” I ask holding the towel she handed me to the cut.
“Now, we wait until one glows.” She picks up each one and flips them to mix the liquids. By the end two are glowing. One is bright purple color, the other a light blue.
“What do the colors mean?”
"Yellow’s all about light it’s the power to create it or take it away. Green boosts physical abilities: things like speed, strength, agility anything that gives You an edge in the physical world. Silver, on the other hand, is tied to Divination, so it gives You glimpses into the future or even peeks into the past. Black is for Shadows, and that’s more than just being able to move in darkness. Some with the Black can travel through shadows, and others have the crazy ability to create entire pocket dimensions. Purples for pain. She grimaces. It sounds worse than it is. You can give and take away pain. It’s meant as a defensive power to help travelers protect themselves. And then there's Blue. Blue lets You tap into someone’s mind, so You can read their thoughts, read their emotions, and even see their memories if they let You, of course."
“I’m sorry. Did You just say- “I start to sputter before she cuts me off
“That You can read minds? Yep! Honestly, it’s not bad it’s something You’d actively attempt to do and as far as invading someone’s privacy that’s between You and Your own moral code.” She quips picking Up the vials and putting them back where she got them. Okay that was not the power I was asking about but whatever.
“What are these powers for anyway? Why doesn’t anyone else have them? “
“Remember when I told You that travelers weren’t always accepted? They were given powers to help them survive whether that’s getting away from danger, using dreams to alter perceptions of them, hiding ‘incriminating’ evidence in pocket deletions.” She gives me a pointed look
“Yeah, fine but You said it’s mostly safe now so why do the powers still exist!”
“Things change all the time Aly; things might be okay now but what happens tomorrow if someone says fuck it and tries to kill every traveler known and they succeed because people can’t save themselves?”
She lets the thought sit with me while she busies herself getting ready for bed. My thoughts move to tomorrow. I finally get to start classes and try to find some normalcy; this place is amazing but at the same time I can’t help but feel like a fish out of water.
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