Page 9 of The Brotherhood

She sat with mouth opened for many seconds then giggled happily, shoving her tablet in her backpack and her phone in her pocket. She hurried out the stall, her heart pounding. Tonight he’d feed her something more than food. She paused, realizing that didn’t help her with thewhy’s.

How many of these lessons were there? What if she never got any right? Would that mean she failed? And couldn’t become his…whatever he was creating?

Ugh, he needed to tell her more! She couldn’t exist like this!

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The hum of the Neuromancer filled the room as the machine completed its final pass, thin threads of light mapping Handy’s essence with surgical precision.

Quantum’s gaze stayed locked on the console, his fingers occasionally tapping as he tracked the progress. “This is new,” he said, pointing to the screen. “The scan’s flagging parameters for the female bond he’ll need in order to sustain the containment.”

Harlow stood beside him and crossed his arms. “Resilience, power, and a high tolerance for chaos,” he read out, curious. “That’s a hell of a combination.”

“The warden system isn’t just syncing with Handy,” Quantum realized. “It’s treating the bond as a vital component. Those traits aren’t just bells and whistles—they’re required for the system’s success. Without a bond that meets them, the containment could fail.”

Harlow exhaled sharply, his arms tightening across his chest. “That’s asking a hell of a lot of a fucking woman, bruh. These nuns are amazing, but this? This is beyond that.”

Quantum’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully on him. “The Creole Kings have gifted students at their academy. They’ve trained some of the most resilient talents we’ve ever seen.”

Harlow raised his brows. “You think one of them could handle this?”

“It’s possible,” Quantum said. “Their training emphasizes adaptability and mental endurance, and they specialize in preparing their gifted for exceptional challenges.”

Harlow regarded the screen, shaking his head. “I bet they’ll be thrilled to provide one of their gifted females to pair up with our warden of Hell.” He flicked Quantum a sarcastic gaze.

“Right. I'll let you handle it.”

“And why the fuck?”

He held up a trembling hand, eyes drilling into Harlow. “I’m the exact risk and reason they should say hell no to this.”

CHAPTER 3

Handy

Poppy’s pulse galloped in her chest as she quickly made her way to King Skul’s office, going over possible reasons he’d need to call her out of class. She was meticulously careful to perform all duties perfectly but there was always room and reason to second-guess herself.

Was this about the Prodigy Program she’d applied for? Had they found a match for her?

She pushed down her hope only to have it bounce right back up in her chest.

She paused before the familiar door and knocked softly.

“Come in.”

She took a slow breath into her nose and closed her eyes as she released it carefully through pursed lips.

“Good morning Mr. Skul,” she said, entering.

“Good morning, Poppy,” he said, standing from his desk then gesturing to the chair before it. “Please sit.”

She quickly did, smoothing her gray wool skirt with both hands, presenting a perfectly calm and smiling façade out of habit. His astute gift of observation was the main reason she’d picked him for a mentor. King Alerik taught her how to use the touching side of her gift and King Skul the observatory. He’d laughed when she gave her reasons for picking him, even praised her wisdom for scoring two teachers, rather than one.

The other reason she chose him was for how handsome he was. All the Kings were, in their own way, but he had depth.And being required to stare at things—him included—as a form of practice turned out to be a bonus.

She watched him not watching her. Not directly, anyway. Two weeks ago, he’d have met her gaze head-on, pinning her with an unrelenting focus that saw straight through her, it felt. But now? His eyes skated past her, flickering to the walls and the floor, anything but her.

At first, she’d worried she was the cause somehow. The way he avoided her wasn’t dismissive, it was careful and deliberate. As though looking at her had become a chore. Or worse, a violation. A week later, the rumor began circulating about a bite that all the Kings had gotten from one of the Marsh Kings and that it had the power to triple one’s gifts. It also brought on a severe case of sexual cravings which had the entire student body in a frenzy of secret hopeful conversations. Well, the girls anyway.

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