Page 44 of Knot Your Fated M.U.S.E.

"It's not just Patient 495 they're protecting. There are three others, all locked down under the same level of security. The encryption, the firewalls, the redundant systems – this is nation-state-level protection. The kind you use when you're hiding something that could start or end wars."

Atlas absorbs this in silence, his fingers drumming a thoughtful rhythm on his knee.

It's fascinating to watch him process information – the slight shifts in his expression, the minute changes in his posture that speak volumes to those who know how to read them.

"Can you break it?" he finally asks.

"Given enough time? Maybe. But we're talking weeks, not days. And that's assuming they don't catch on and change their protocols." I scrub a hand over my face, frustration mounting. "Whatever they're doing with these omegas, they're serious about keeping it secret."

"Then we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." His tone carries a hint of anticipation that I recognize from countless missions past. "Go in blind and adapt."

"Blind being the operative word," I mutter, then wince at my own tasteless joke.

But Atlas just smiles that enigmatic smile of his.

"Sometimes not seeing is an advantage. It keeps you from being distracted by what's obvious, lets you focus on what's hidden." He rises smoothly from the bed, moving with that uncanny grace that makes me question everything I think I know about blindness. "Get some sleep, Vale. You've done enough for tonight."

"Says the man listening to romance novels at four in the morning."

"Research," he corrects primly, retrieving his fallen earbud. "One should always study successful precedents."

I watch him navigate perfectly around my furniture, heading for the door without a single hesitation or misstep.

"You really think we're going to find our happily ever after in a place like Ravenscroft?"

He pauses at the threshold, hand resting lightly on the frame.

"I think fate has a sense of humor. And I think sometimes the darkest places hide the brightest lights."

Then he's gone, leaving me alone with my computers, my cooling coffee, and thoughts of what other secrets Ravenscroft might be hiding behind its walls.

7

ALLIES IN THE HEART OF BROKEN EXPERIMENTS

~NYX~

Consciousness returns like a tide dragging broken shells across the sand – slow, painful, inevitable.

Every muscle in my body protests as memory filters back through the lingering haze of whatever gas they used to subdue us. The shadows whisper warnings as my mind clears, urging caution, patience, and observation.

The stone floor beneath me is cold against my skin, grounding me in this new reality. They've changed my clothes while I was unconscious – a thought that makes my skin crawl.

The nightgown they've dressed me in carries the musty scent of previous wearers, the fabric worn thin in places from countless bodies. How many omegas wore this before me? How many died wearing it?

Count the living first.Then plan for survival.

"Well, look who finally decided to join us," a harsh voice cuts through my assessment. " Ravenscoft’s Favorite Sleeping Beauty awakens from her chemical nap."

That would be the one I've dubbed Riot – all barely contained fury and sharp edges. Her dual-colored hair is a tangled messaround her face, but her eyes burn with the same defiance I saw in the testing chamber.

"Two seconds ago you were worried she was dead," comes Azurite's cool response. Her heterochromatic gaze meets mine briefly, calculating as ever. "So maybe dial back the attitude."

Riot's lip curls, her piercings catching what little light filters into our prison.

"Why don't you find a dirty sock to shove in that mouth before I introduce it to my fist?"

"I'm just relieved we all survived." Luna's soft voice carries an otherworldly quality that makes the shadows stir with interest. Her unseeing eyes seem to track movement none of us can perceive.

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