Validus Vale Academy 3 (Essence Bound #3)

PROLOGUE

The shadows in my mind shift and stir.

I hate the feeling.

I hate most things these days, but the illuminated screen mounted on the wall is the worst of all.

But why do I feel repulsed when I look at those figures?

Mother is proud of them, so I should be too.

What was I doing?

Oh, yes. Going to check on the new subject.

Theo Wilson.

Her name in my thoughts makes me picture my twin. The chaos in my brain surges, then calms slightly.

Donovan.

I trust him. I love him.

I think.

He said this girl—Theo—was ours.

But the voices in my head call him a liar and a manipulator.

That can’t be true—it’s Donovan.

Pain swirls in my temples. It happens every time I doubt the voices.

I fight against it one more time.

I almost…think I do remember her—Theo.

Images dance just outside of my mind's eye, but then the revulsion comes, heavy and gross.

What was I doing?

Right. Go check on the subject. I open the door and walk over to where she’s strapped to the bed.

Huh. When I concentrate on her face, the shadows in my mind calm a little.

I study the delicate curve of her mouth; the Cupid’s bow, the soft bottom lip slightly chafed from dehydration.

Chiaroscuro.

The word arrives unsummoned. Light and dark. Something I was once obsessed with. I could capture the plains of her mouth on film, preserve them, and hide them away.

But don’t I already own those lips?

I’m so tired of being confused.

It’s been this way ever since I woke up strapped to this very table, with Mother shining a light into my eyes.

She told me I’d been on the edge of death, that she’d saved me.

Do I believe that?

There’s a jagged hole in my memories, a blank where the last year of my life has just disappeared.

And I don’t even trust the memories I do have.

Every time I try to push into that empty space, a cold, poisonous tang fills my mouth. It tastes like dark magic. It wraps me in invisible chains.

My mind wanders again, distracted by the low hum of the machinery through the vent—the rhythmic thumping of the extractors. Beyond this door, in the sterile white halls of the bunker, the energy cache is stored.

Energy cache.

Little children.

My mother tells me it’s progress and the natural order.

Is that real? I cannot tell anymore.

Those babies have sparks that barely flicker, nothing that can prevent the oily shadow being pumped into them every forty-six days.

When the source is at its peak. When the Dunamis Pulse happens.

The door opens behind me. My parents walk in.

“And there she is, our golden goose. Well done, son. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

Father lays a hand on my arm.

I shrug it off.

“Attitude,” Mother hisses.

A sharp spike pierces my head and I drop my eyes to the floor. “Sorry, Mother.”

I feel genuinely sorry for being rude, so I must love and respect them, right? It’s just…

Something about this loyalty to my parents feels off.

Fuck. Pain.

David, my mother’s assistant, enters, carrying a metal case. “Here you are, Doctor. Seven doses, as requested.”

“Excellent. We’ll begin the process in an hour.” Mother turns to me with a pleased expression. “You are so much less disappointing than your brother.”

Donovan. I miss him so much.

Argh. Pain.

My parents look smugly on as I clutch my head. “Amazing,” Father mutters. “Just amazing, Janine.”

“Some of my best work yet,” she replies. “So, one hour, everyone? Oh, and give her another saline bag before you go, Wes. Must keep those cells plump and healthy.”

I nod, going to pull a banana bag from the shelf.

They exit.

When I move back to the girl, hydration in hand, my gaze becomes fixed again on that face, those chapped lips.

My fingers itch for my camera.

My heart aches for something.

I know not what.