He was probably the only person in this world who truly recognized the Verity Vault for what it was. Whether on golden sands or within the Eyehole’s murals, he had seen this seemingly ordinary box before.
Furthermore, he was aware that this very box was now under Kestrel’s guardianship.
Towards the end of her notes, Lainey’s handwriting began to look more hurried and less organized.
On the concluding page, she had jotted down:
"I have an unsettling feeling. I think we’re being watched."
"I’m drawn to the beginning, to explore the depths of Polluted Zone Five."
"Must locate the subrged ship nad Mary."
"If my suspicions are right, I need to secure the Verity Vault."
"But where can I hide it where it’ll be truly safe..."
What followed these words was a ss. It seed as if a young kid had taken a crayon and scribbled all over, obscuring Lainey’s final thoughts.
Lost in the notes, Ren’s brow creased with concern. Beside him, Roy began to stir, slowly lifting his eyes to truly look at Ren.
"Who exactly... are you? Why have you co here?" Roy’s voice was tinged with confusion, his gaze piercing into Ren.
Suddenly, Brandon’s voice echoed, "Quickly, get out! He’s about to co to his senses."
Above them, the imnse blue butterfly began to flap its wings vigorously, scattering little sparkles of blue light everywhere.
...
The next mont, Roy felt a jolt, as if waking from a short nap.
Everything seed just as it was before. The water in his glass was still slightly disturbed. A short distance away, Brandon sat by the office desk, with Ren next to him, both engrossed in a hushed conversation.
Feeling Roy’s eyes on them, they briefly looked up, acknowledged his presence, and then returned to their discussion.
Roy had been feeling super tired lately. His mind was always racing, and he’d zone out even during the day. He put down his glass, grabbed his papers, stood up, and said, "I’m gonna head out. Tell Luther to call when he’s back."
Brandon looked up from his computer screen, gave him a nod, and replied with a friendly grin, "Sure thing. I’ll pass on the ssage."
After Roy left, Brandon took a deep breath, removed his glasses, and massaged his forehead. Whatever happened earlier had clearly worn him out.
Ren watched Brandon, waiting for him to explain for what just happened.
He was pretty sure Brandon was an alpha with a real psychic incarnation. While Brandon wasn’t the best at fighting, he was smart, careful, and well-respected by the team.
But today, Brandon had shown Ren sothing unexpected: he had so beta powers, even if they weren’t complete.
Ren had been with Brandon a lot lately, so he knew about their secret plans and knew how dangerous the plans were. But Brandon showing him this new power was like revealing a secret weapon.
"Don’t look so shocked," Brandon said, cleaning his glasses. "I needed to see what Roy found. Plus, I wanted to show you that you can trust ."
He stared seriously at Ren. Instead of speaking, he pulled out so paper and started writing:
"The Tower is super dangerous. ’She’ could be listening to everything."
"She pretty much controls everything in the Imperial Nexus."
"What we’re doing is risky. We could get in big trouble any ti."
"I trust you, and I think you should know everything."
"If sothing happens to , you’ve got to take over."
Brandon stopped writing for a mont, lost in thought.
He had a twin, and they were close when they were young. When they were six, they differentiated.
On that painful day, they woke up and realized that while Brandon beca an alpha, his brother turned into a rare beta.
"I don’t want to go to the Tower," his younger brother cried, gripping Brandon’s hand tightly. "I don’t want to live in that scary place. I don’t want to marry soone I don’t know, or be stuck in so fancy house. I don’t want that."
Brandon was young and didn’t fully get the danger they were in. Wanting to help, he pretended to be his brother during the check-up.
The brothers thought they had tricked the system, that they’d escaped the Tower, and could keep living their fun life together.
But soon, people got suspicious.
The Tower was known for its harsh penalties, especially if soone tried to hide a beta.
Officials from Imperial Nexus did sothing to force Brandon’s brother into his heat cycle, forcing him to mate with one of their alphas.
Everyone, including Brandon, felt defeated and thought that was the end.
When an alpha and a beta mated, they naturally beca close and dependent on each other. It was like a powerful bond that was hard to break. Since his brother was now bonded with the alpha, they believed there were no other options and could only accept that.
Back then, Brandon hid at Luther’s place. He watched through a small opening, crying, as his twin was taken away by the Imperial Nexus agents. But not long after, his brother ca back, safe but covered in soone else’s blood.
"I took care of them," his brother told him.
"I can’t go on anymore. Keep my psychic incarnation safe in your mind."
Brandon’s brother’s big blue butterfly flew into Brandon’s mind.
Normally, when soone dies, their psychic incarnation disappeared too. But for so strange reason, after Brandon’s twin was killed, the blue butterfly stayed inside Brandon’s mind, giving him so beta powers.
"The Queen is dangerous. Stay away from her and the Tower," were the last words his twin told him.
But Brandon didn’t listen. He disguised himself and, with Luther’s help, sneaked into Imperial Nexus and the Tower, right under the Queen’s nose.
Brandon stopped writing, then scribbled, "Sothing’s not right with the world. But soone will change it one day."
And he also wrote down his brother’s last wish: "Stay away from the Queen. Don’t let her notice you."
...
Kestrel took the elevator to the very top floor, where, just like before, the royal guard, Luther, was waiting. He led her up a bright white staircase to the palace at the tower’s peak. This was her second eting with the ruler.
The Queen, standing by a window, turned to greet Kestrel, her face lit up with a warm smile.
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