Page 34 of The Brotherhood

Sinrik let the silence settle before shifting gears.

“I need to leave,” he said smoothly. “I want you to come with me.”

Beth blinked. “What?”

“I’m meeting with the Velkratos Order,” he explained. “They monitor chaos in all its forms, tracking its patterns. And something is shifting.”

Beth frowned slightly. “The Velkratos Order?”

Sinrik nodded. “They are the closest thing this world has to seers of chaos. They observe its cycles, study its movements, and forecast its evolution. And right now, they are seeing something unprecedented.”

Beth straightened slightly. “And you trust them?”

Sinrik eyed her. “Trust? No. But I listen. They do not interfere, they do not manipulate. They observe. And when something alarms them, I pay attention.”

Beth considered this.

“So you’re going there to get answers?”

“I’m going there to understand the shape of what’s coming,” he corrected. His gaze settled on her. “And I want you to come.”

Beth hesitated. “Why?”

Sinrik studied her for a long moment. “Because maybe your gift holds answers they do not have.”

Beth frowned. “So… you want to use me as proof?”

Sinrik’s lips barely curved. “I want you to speak for yourself.”

Beth exhaled, the sound soft but charged. She lowered her gaze to the manual, fingers ghosting over the pages. “Maybe that’s why I’m here. To meet them?”

“Maybe,” he allowed, while not believing it.

“I don’t have anything to… travel in.”

“We’ll need to get you proper clothing for a visit there.”

She looked at him, curious.

“It’s the Gobi desert. And brutally cold at this time of year. You’ll need a lot more layers than you came with.”

“How cold?”

His gaze rose to hers, searching for signs of how she felt about the idea of leaving with him. “Have you ever been there?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“It’s below freezing in the day with extreme negative temperatures at night.” He regarded her belly. “We have storehouses. I’ll send Morgue to get the necessary clothes for the trip. Maternity,” he added.

Seeing uncertainty, he pulled his phone out and dialed Morgue, giving him the order before she protested, then remembered his other plan when he hung up. “I’ll need a number I can reach your husband on. To let him know you’re okay.”

Her entire face lit up. “If these men we’re going to see are why I’m here, then… I can go back home after?”

He shrugged indifferently. “You’re not my prisoner.”

Her face slowly fell.

“What’s wrong?”

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