Page 14 of The Brotherhood

The seconds of silence resounded with a clash of wills, many that were not his or hers but forces beyond them. “Because that’s who she chose.”

Everything stilled within her.

Oh no.

She struggled to regain ground and backbone as he filled her with a fire he had no intention of lighting, she was sure. “So we are both vessels of sacrifice. Sounds like… we’re a perfect match.”

As his face slowly withdrew, her blood and muscles filled with a pulling, as if he’d anchored himself in her. “Sorry, Poppy,” he said, hot fingers sliding so very slowly off her face. “You willneverbe that kind of match.”

His words punched the air from her lungs in one painful gasp as she struggled to hold her composure.

“But regardless of what you want or what you need or what I will or will not give to you,” he continued, gliding his thumb over her lower lip. “I will accept you as my sacrificial lamb. As mymatedprisoner.”

CHAPTER 4

Meo Eterno

“You can still say no,” Mr. Skul all but demanded from her bedroom doorway as she packed her bags. “Them and their damn emergency fuck-ups,” he muttered. “You should have a chance to say goodbye properly, not leave in the middle of the night like a…plot twist in a low-budget sci-fi movie.”

She sat heavily on the bed, fighting the crush of his anger and the shock that he’d just cussed!

“What’s wrong, are you ill?”

“I am!” she cried covering her face, then dropping her hands. “I can hardly bear this.”

“Then you won’t, I’ll let them know—”

“No, Mr. Skul,you,” she cried flying off the bed to pace and wring her hands. “I can’t bear your fear and anger in all of this. You’re my mentor, you’ve prepared me for great things, and am I wrong to assume that this is a great thing?” She stopped to look at him. “It feels like a very great thing to me. I’ve weighed it with everything that I am and all that I intend to be,” she pled, watching the sharpness in his gaze soften before it lowered. She stared at him, waiting for what she was dying for. His approval. “I don’t want to leave with you disappointed in me but... I will if I have to. Because I... I saw what’s inside that poor man. Destined to be put out of his own body because the woman he loved chose to be with the other side of him. I saw his fear, Mr. Skul,” she whispered. “I can surely imagine what it is like to not have a home or a family, but I cannot imagine not having the basic security of your ownbody.” She wiped her tears, herheart breaking all over again. “I may not be what he needs or wants but he needssomebody. And I want to be that somebody. Please,” she barely squeaked, covering her face with both hands.

His strong arms wrapped her in an embrace that yanked more sobs from her chest. “I’m sorry, Poppy,” he whispered, stroking her head. “If this is what you want to do, I will support you a million percent. I amveryproud of you. You’ve surpassed every expectation I ever had, and I couldn’t have asked for a better student—or a better woman to step into this role. But…” His voice wavered as he put her before him, his gaze turning sharp, raw. “For the first time in my life, I am… terrified. Not for me. For you.” He gripped her shoulders lightly, his composure crumbling more. “Terrified that I am sending someone I care for like my own blood, into a world where my reach can’t shield them. Do you understand that?”

She nodded, no longer fighting her sobs. “Thank you, Mr. Skul.”

“From this moment on, I will no longer be Mr. Skul to you,” he soothed, helping wipe her tears. “I am just Skul. Your brother.”

****

Handy paced in the containment room, hurrying to the window when Quantum and Harlow appeared. “I want to know every step of this procedure, every risk, and do not hide it, Iwillknow.”

Quantum approached the glass with Harlow. “Well, your initial meeting that we extracted was used to create the blueprint for the imprint,” Quantum began. “Your neural framework was programmed based on those responses, specifically tuned to recognize her as the stabilizing anchor for the dark energy matrix. When you see her again in your new body, that recognition reactivates the connection. It’ll be like rebooting asystem with the same access key—it immediately aligns your system to her presence.”

Harlow eagerly added, “But it’s her gift of persuasive empathy that ensures the process locks into place.”

“Correct,” Quantum said. “Her gift will interact with the dark matrix and shape its energy field, moderating how it integrates with your neural framework. As her emotional signature interacts with your system, her gift fine-tunes the energy spikes, rerouting volatile surges into manageable flows.”

Harlow jumped in quietly. “Her presence sets the emotional foundation, and her gift ensures the matrix integrates fully, shaping the energy into patterns your system can sustain and control.”

Handy glared at him. “Hejustsaid that.” He eyed Quantum. “Still waiting for the risks.”

“Well,” Quantum said, “The imprint is not a passive process. As the matrix synchronizes with your system, there’s a chance it could reject the calibration. If that happens, the energy spikes could destabilize your neural network entirely.”

“But that’s where the pod comes in,” Harlow said. “It’s designed to monitor every variable—neural activity, energy output, and how the matrix responds to her presence and gift. If there’s any sign of rejection or instability, the fail-safes will kick in.”

“Define ‘fail-safes’,” Handy ordered, pacing now.

“The pod is equipped with a quantum containment field generator,” Quantum said. “If the matrix begins to destabilize, it locks down the energy field, neutralizing the output entirely. It also shuts down your motor functions, preventing the dark matrix from overriding your control.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” Handy pressed.

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