Read Online The Last Alignment: Cry of the Scorpions by Nathaniel Stewart - Free Book Online

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firmer.
    “ Androse? That’s a cool
name. I love your hair, by the way. Looks good on you,” Natalye
said helping herself to a waffle.
    “ Thanks.”
    Natalye guessed it was the way that he said
it, but after Androse thanked her, she stopped scooping potatoes
onto her plate and looked at him. She could see it in his eyes that
he was really appreciative of the compliment, and though it was
kind of awkward, she still thought it endearing. “You’re welcome,”
she responded.
    “ I’m Zander.” Hudson and
Androse both returned to their meals after the other boy spoke.
Making a mental note of this, Natalye reached over and shook his
hand as well.
    “ Nice to meet you,” she
said cordially.
    “ Are you a gymnast,”
Zander asked.
    “ Excuse me?” She was just
about to take a bite of her food.
    “ You have the body type of
a gymnast,” Zander said leaning on his forearms. Natalye didn’t
know how she felt about the fact that he had been checking her out,
but she was so hungry that she doubted that she really
cared.
    “ I did gymnastics for
about a year when I was seven and I’ve done ballet since I was
four. I’m a rock climber, though,” Natalye said finally taking that
first sweet bite of food; the potatoes were delicious.
    “ That’s cool,” Zander said
before taking a swig of orange juice.
    “ That is really cool,”
Hudson agreed as he refilled his lemonade. “How long have you been
climbing?”
    “ For about three years
now. A friend of mine from back home got me into it. Do you all
play any sports?” Natalye really wanted the focus off of
her.
    “ Well, I ran track my
freshman and sophomore years of high school, but I quit at the end
of the last school year. Got tired of a lot of the guys,” Hudson
said glancing at Zander who was unconcerned.
    “ What about you,” Natalye
asked Androse.
    “ Team sports aren’t really
my thing.” She could’ve sworn that she heard Zander say “big
surprise,” but she didn’t call any attention to it. “I just work
out from time to time,” Androse continued. “I love running,
though.”
    “ So do I,” Natalye beamed.
“I love trail running. It’s so much fun.”
    “ Seems like it. I’ve
wanted to try that for a little while now,” Hudson said leaning
back in his chair. Natalye couldn’t help her eyes wandering; she
could see the outline of his abs through his shirt. “Maybe the
three of us can go for a run together?”
    “ I think that I would like
that very much,” Natalye said returning to her food, sure that she
was blushing.
    “ Sounds good to me,”
Androse chimed in.
    “ I play basketball,”
Zander announced a little too loudly. Natalye had a mouth full of
waffle, so for the sake of being mannerly she shook her head like
she was impressed. “I used to play football, but my mom pulled me
off of the team after an incident at a game,” Zander
added.
    “ What happened,” asked
Natalye.
    “ Well, this guy from the
other school was running his mouth, so I got angry. After the hike,
I tackled him and ended up cracking his ribs. All of them.”
    “ Wow,” she said pouring
herself some milk. Natalye wasn’t sure if she believed him; Zander
was a small guy and looked as if he could barely crack a window,
let alone someone’s ribs.
    “ Where are they all
going,” Androse asked quietly. Natalye turned around to see all of
the adults leaving the kitchen.
    “ I don’t know,” Hudson
said trying to see where they were headed.
    “ Oh, yeah! That reminds
me…what’s going on here,” Natalye asked after drinking some of her
milk. “My dad and grandma gave me no info whatsoever.”
    “ Then you’re basically in
the same boat as us,” Androse said before sliding his plate away.
“All we really know is that all this has something to do with our
powers.”
    Natalye unexpectedly
coughed, pushing away from the table so that she didn’t spit all
over the food or on any of the guys. “ What ?!” She grabbed a napkin and
wiped her