Free Sample
Preview from chapter one
All characters are over 18.
The lights in Lecture Hall Seven flickered, that annoying pulse pattern they claimed "helped learning." I hated these mandatory resonance lectures. Professor Kailix droned on about "proper aether channel maintenance" like we hadn't heard it a thousand times.
"The primary resonance pathway must remain clean through regular rituals," he explained for what felt like the hundredth time. "Failure to maintain proper hygiene results in reduced function."
I was twenty-three years old, a full-ranked Aether Operative with the highest rating in my group, not some rookie fresh from training. My fingers traced the silver emblem on my sleeve – the twisted helix that marked me as Elite Response Division. Five years of field operations, and they still made me sit through these basic lessons because of one small mistake on my last mission.
My mind wandered as it always did lately – to Lysandra. My sister.
Not that anyone else knew we were related. The Concordiat made sure of that, separating us as babies, putting us in different training groups on opposite sides of the Nexus. Standard procedure for blood-related operatives – especially full siblings. Too dangerous to keep together, they said. Too much risk of "inappropriate bonding."
I found out six months ago when I hacked into the secret database during that security breach. Everyone else was busy with the emergency on Level Eight. No one noticed me slipping into the unguarded computer terminal. It took less than three minutes to bypass their weak security and access my own file.
SUBJECT: STORMHEART, ZEPHYR
LINEAGE: BATCH 37-A (NIGHTSHADE/STORMHEART PRIME)
SIBLINGS: 3 (SEPARATED – SEE RESTRICTED FILES)
Three keystrokes later, and there it was – the truth they'd hidden from me my entire life.
RESTRICTED FILE: BATCH 37-A OFFSPRING
- STORMHEART, ZEPHYR (MALE) – ASSIGNED TO CADRE EPSILON
- FLAMESONG, LYSANDRA (FEMALE) – ASSIGNED TO CADRE ALPHA
- MOONWHISPER, TALIS (FEMALE) – ASSIGNED TO CADRE GAMMA
- NIGHTSHADE, SERAFINA (FEMALE) – ASSIGNED TO EXPERIMENTAL DIVISION
Full siblings. Same mother, same father. Engineered from the same genetic material. Prime stock, apparently.
I glanced across the room where Lysandra sat three rows ahead, her copper-flame hair falling down her back, catching the blue-white glow from the projector. She wore the red uniform of the Alpha Cadre, the fabric tight against her curves. My cock instantly hardened in my pants, pushing against the tight fabric.
We shared the same blood – completely. Same mother, same father. The thought should have disgusted me. That's what they programmed into us during early training – "genetic diversity strengthens the collective." But instead of feeling grossed out, my dick throbbed with need every time I looked at her.