CHAPTER 34: CH 34: DULY NOTED.

Aegon shuffled out of the class with the other Novuses— confused about everything that had occurred and heavily questioning his words.

Quinn hadn’t spoken a word to him since, completely ignored him and marched out of the auditorium. He also lost sight of Mira before he could even approach her.

But Cara? Cara was irate, and wasn’t exactly concerned about hiding it— evident by her soul piercing glare.

He ignored her. He knew what he said would come back to punch him sooner or later but— there was throughout the class, one thing he couldn’t shake off.

Why was Nightwalker in the academy?

No sooner had the thought come to mind did he see him. Nightwalker, walking across the field and trying to space himself away from the students who followed him.

"Dad!" Micheal called for him, scurrying forward.

Nightwalker paused — not because he wanted to, but because the sound scraped against his patience. His head turned a fraction, barely enough to count as acknowledgment.

Aegon wasn’t certain but he could’ve sworn he saw Nightwalker roll his eyes.

Micheal jogged closer, but Nightwalker took a step back — subtle, but intentional.

He turned his eyes back to Micheal to give him a Wolf’s smile. "Not now."

He stretched out his hands for space, stopping the crowds that were gathering around him— even his son.

His knees buckled, arm firm by his side and face faced upward.

His shoulders roll once. A slow inhale. Chest rising like a quiet drumbeat before the storm.

The air around him tightens, humming low, like the world holding its breath.

~BOOM!~

Nightwalker was gone in a microsecond. Tearing a hole through the clouds and into the sky.

All their eyes darted up to catch something— anything, maybe even just the sharp glare of his cape fluttering in the wind.

Micheal nodded in understanding. He swallowed hard, that kind of swallow you do when you’re pretending something didn’t sting.

’Ouch, man.’ Aegon thought, feeling a little sorry for Micheal.

"Right," Micheal muttered, already turning away, pretending he had somewhere urgent to be.

Aegon watched all this unfold from a distance, unsure whether he should follow Micheal or not.

"You!"

He whipped his head back to see a very enraged Cara marching towards him, fists folded and posture stiff.

’Shit,’ he raised his hands to calm her down as she shortened the gap between them.

But she didn’t seem to stop. Immediately she reached him, she grabbed a handful of his shirt while her right fist moved for his face.

"I know it’s you!"

Aegon blurted out seeing no other way to survive. Her fist stopped at about a hair’s breadth from squaring his face.

"What’s me?" she asked but never moved her fist from his face, as if determining if what he knew was solid enough.

He slowly grabbed her wrist and lowered her fist from his face. Moved closer to her and whispered.

"I know you created Aethera." Before slowly moving back to see Cara’s red eyes wide open.

Her grip on his shirt unconsciously loosened. She blinked twice to see him grinning at her.

"Bullshit. I have no idea what you’re talking about." she retreated a few steps back.

"Oh really? And the temporary lag in your brain right now was from what?"

"Watch it. I can still pound you into the ground—"

"So you’re not denying it. You created it."

Cara looked around the field to make sure no one else was looking. Most of the other Novuses had already dispersed to their various dorms.

She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him behind her as she moved to the back of the auditorium.

"How’d you find out and who else knows?"

"It really is you." He knew it was but actually heading it was awe-inspiring, "How’d you even do it all by yourself?"

She rolled her eyes, realising he wasn’t he wasn’t going to answer her till she answered him.

"I didn’t do it all by myself. Any Mechania Awakened whose affinity is Mechaniaflow can connect to the network. I’m just the only Mechania Awakened with the affinity mechaniaflow."

"Wait. So all of you are just in the academy’s network and do whatever you want?"

"I wish. We can only connect to the basic network, for a school the academy has a very intricate web of networks.

I, and the other Mechania Awakened can only access the school files, cameras, sound system... But you see the really good stuff— the hidden files, the defence systems and so on is out of reach."

"How dumb are you?" Aegon thought aloud, "Your dad’s literally a teacher at the Academy and your doing shit that could get you expelled."

She took a step closer to him. Finger pointed at her face. "Look at me. do I really look like I’d care if I got caught?"

He didn’t back down. He stepped forward making them uncomfortably close. "And yet you dragged me back here so no one else would find out.

So yes, you do look like you care."

A bulging red vein rose under her forehead. "Do whatever the you want, just keep in mind that I can find anywhere and anytime."

She retreated. Leaving Aegon standing alone behind the auditorium.

A few minutes after Cara left, Aegon left for his dorm. He hadn’t figured out why Nightwalker was in the academy today.

Maybe it was nothing but in this school, nothing always meant something.

He opened the door of his room. Eli was laid on the bed, legs crossed and on his phone. Quinn wasn’t back yet.

Eli slid his phone into his pockets, crossed his arms while staring at Aegon. "Where you been, Slut?"

He shook his head. "You have a serious problem man." He pointed at Quinn’s bed. "Where is she?"

"oh," his pitch screamed exaggeration, "You mean one of the members of your non-monogamous harem?"

"I never said it was a harem." he clarified. "And seriously Eli, where is she?"

"One, she hasn’t been back all day, I texted her but I haven’t heard back.

And two, you basically told the entire school that you’re in a relationship with the three girls from top five.

You’re a living legend right now."

Aegon ignored him, moving to his bed to sit. Unbuttoned his shirt and dragged his hair back.

"When’s the party you keep blabbing about?"

Aegon asked Eli.

He shot up from his bed and turned to him with a confused yet happy smile. "You actually want to go?"

No. He truly truly did not. But he had to cultivate with someone sooner or later, and what better place to get laid than a teenage party.

"Yeah, why not?"

"So who are you planning on going with?" Eli asked, "To my surprise, you have a lot of options—"

~Knock. Knock.~

Aegon happily stood to get the door, anything to avoid that question right now.

The moment he grabbed the handle, something inside him whispered that this was a bad idea.

He dragged the door back—

~BAM.~

Quinn’s fist shot forward— fast and precise.

His head tilted backwards until his entire body fell back in a messy heap.

His eyes fluttered open to the white ceiling and a sharp pain from his nostrils. He didn’t need to check to know it was bleeding.

Yet, none of this was surprising. In actuality, this was very well expected.

She stepped forward, hovering over him now. Crouched down slightly and draped a napkin over his torso.

"The next time you say we’re in a relationship, it’ll be the last thing you’ll ever say."

He nodded lightly in understanding. "Duly noted."