Seraphim

    There were seven of us. We had had been together for years, and we couldn't have been any closer if we'd shared blood.

Nathan and Declan were the oldest, at twenty years old. Nathan had been with the training academy for eleven years, Declan for ten. They were closer than brothers, best friends since they became roomates at the academy. Even though academy students are allowed to leave once they've graduated at eighteen, both boys made the decision to stay.But outside of the academy, Nathan was a blacksmith,Declan a Computer Technician.

Next in age were Jared and Luke, also best friends. Luke was eighteen, and Jared had just turned nineteen, also one of those who stayed after his graduation. But unlike Nathan and Declan, he didn't do anything but train.They were as opposite as night and day, but in that way they completed each other. Jared was hot-headed and angry, and Luke never batted an eye. They had both entered ten years ago, right after Declan.

Harper and I were next, both of us seventeen. I had come to the academy just overseven years ago, and Harper only a few months before me. As the only girls in the academy, we had quickly formed our own duo. We stuck togetherin and out of the academy, on the streetsand in the ring, a force not to be reckoned with.
And then there was Jackson, with whom I actually did share blood; Jackson, my fifteen-year-old brother. He didn't have a set partner, as he was the youngest and the odd number out, but he fit in well with any of the pairs. Hehad followed me to the academy two years after I'd entered.We often fought together as a team, working well since we were siblings.
The seven of us were the elite team at the academy. We knew we were revered by all the lesser fighters, but we could never take advantage of that, as we hardly ever saw any of them. We were kept in seclusion to train, the seven of us, and it had always been that way.
Everyone was put into teams when they entered the academy. But not like us. We were different. None of us could say how, but we were.
I for one didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. AfterI graduated the academy, I was torn betweenremaining atthe academy and getting out on my own. After almost a decade with these seven, I couldscarcelyimagine living without me. I could at least stay two extra years until Jackson graduated. But I had to do something with my life. I had to leave, even if I just ended up coming back.
But still. . . . I wasn't ready to leave when I did. And especially not how I did. My name is Jadyn. Nathaniel, Declan, Jared, Luke, Harper, and Jackson are my teammates.
We were elite martial artists. We were family. We are Superior Nephilim. We are Seraphim.