Page 31 of The Brotherhood

“Yes,” she assured, forcing herself to meet his gaze, needing to read it as much as she needed to avoid it. “Thank you again,” she said at seeing genuine concern.

He gave a single nod and walked out, taking the breath from her lungs the second the door shut.

God, please show me what to do so I can leave.

The moment she shut the bathroom door, her breath rushed out. She pressed both hands against the counter as she stared down at the cold surface, trying to still the erratic pulse drumming at her temples.

Her entire body felt off. Too warm. Too awake. Too aware.

She swallowed against the dryness in her throat, forcing herself to inhale slowly. Deep. Hold. Exhale.

She repeated it five times only to feel like she’d inflated her anxiety.

Her skin buzzed with unwelcome heat, hypersensitive, electric. Like her own nerves weren’t her own anymore. She flexed her fingers, trying to shake the feeling.

It was him. The moment he left the room, she felt it ease just slightly, but it hadn’t disappeared. It still curled around her like a phantom weight.

Did he do something to her?

She straightened, exhaling sharply as she met her own reflection. Her cheeks were flushed, her pupils too wide. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face, hissing at the cold. She was burning from the inside out.

Another bite of pain hit her, something disturbingly close to hunger, all while the idea of food almost made her nauseous.

Was it the baby? Was something wrong with him?

Her breathing shallowed as her mind raced, then she stilled instantly.

Had he drugged her?

CHAPTER 8

The Velkratos

The encrypted connection stabilized, illuminating the chamber of the Velkratos Order. The four Pillars stood as expected, positioned in their usual arrangement, their expressions measured, deliberate.

Sinrik exhaled slowly, waiting. They never reached out without reason. Their meetings were not routine. They were rare,scheduledexchanges of information. If they required something from him, it was typically requested in advance. This was unannounced.

And more than that, one detail stood out immediately—Colton was present.The apprentices were rarely present for these discussions. They studied, they observed, but they were not included in active strategic exchanges. If Colton was standing beside Volkan, it meant something had already been in motionbeforeSinrik was brought in. Something they had deliberatedwithouthim. That alone made his pulse tick a fraction tighter.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping once against the armrest. “Unexpected.”

Nexus inclined his head slightly. “So is the data we’ve compiled.”

Noctis spoke next, his voice carrying an edge. “We need your insight.”

Sinrik’s gaze sharpened.Thatwas new. They took his observations into account, yes. Butneeded? No.

He gave a slow, expectant nod. “Here I am.”

Oblivion was the one to continue, stepping forward with the deliberate grace of a man who had already weighed every possible meaning behind what he was about to say. “We have identified an anomaly,” he began. “A pattern distinct from the natural casualties of the collapse. Unusual enough that it has surpassed standard classification and been flagged for further investigation.”

Sinrik blinked with raised brows, waiting.

Volkan stepped forward now. “As you know, we quantify death in every event of chaos. It is necessary for understanding the mechanics of destruction,” he elaborated for the sake of hearing himself since everybody knew this. He gestured toward the projected interface behind him, an ever-shifting array of data, numbers, and geographic coordinates. “Standard fatalities align with predictable models—starvation, exposure, conflict. But then there’sthis.”

A flick of his wrist condensed the data, isolating a new sequence of statistics.

“Colton,” Volkan called.

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