41. Brandon

41

brANDON

B randon was filled with a mixture of pride and concern as he watched Morelle continue the experiments. She was getting better at controlling the flow of power, learning to modulate it so she didn't accidentally send anything crashing through walls, but she had a long way to go before she could use her ability with precision.

Amanda had placed several sensors around the room to collect data and transfer it to her tablet while Brandon and Jasmine cleared the living room of breakables.

Brandon had never paid attention to the decorative pieces the designer had picked out for his house and carefully placed in strategic locations to make the space look more welcoming, but now that they were no longer there, their absence was notable .

The room felt bare without them.

"I think I'm ready for another round," Kian said, rolling his shoulders. He'd spent the last hour recovering from Morelle's previous draw on his power. "I want to see if my recovery time affects the amount of energy you can pull and if your ability to channel it changes with repeated attempts."

Morelle looked around the room. "I need something hefty to channel the energy to, but it should be something that is not breakable. Any ideas?"

"I know what we can use." Brandon ducked into their bedroom and collected the overflowing laundry basket from the bathroom.

"This weighs about thirty pounds," he said, pulling the drawstring tight to keep everything contained. "Should be a good test object."

"Perfect." Amanda took a picture of the basket with her tablet. "Morelle, try to lift and throw it using only Kian's power while we are still in the room."

After several tries and guidance from Amanda, Morelle managed to pull individual strings of power from Brandon and Jasmine and used them to move small objects a short distance.

The question was whether she'd be able to isolate Kian's massive power from the grid and use only that to power a major telekinetic feat.

Brandon moved to the far corner of the room, watching as Morelle closed her eyes in concentration.

The air seemed to thicken with potential energy, and then the laundry basket shot across the room like it had been fired from a cannon, hitting the opposite wall with enough force to make the house shudder.

"Sorry!" Morelle winced. "That was more than I meant to use."

"You're getting stronger," Brandon said. "That throw had more force behind it than all of your earlier attempts."

"I'm just more confident," Morelle admitted. "Fear was holding me back from pushing more power into the objects, and Kian's energy is particularly potent." She winced and glanced at Syssi. "Sorry. That didn't sound right. I hope you know that I didn't mean it that way."

Syssi waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm not the jealous type, and I know that my Kian is exceptionally potent." Her cheeks pinked when she said that, but she didn't look shy at all when she winked at her husband.

"The readings support that," Amanda said, studying her tablet. "The energy output is increasing rather than decreasing with repeated use."

Morelle looked a little uncomfortable. "That's also because I'm not using any of my own power. I'm just channeling what I draw from others. It's easier now that I've got a feel for it."

"Try me now," Syssi said. "I'm more sensitive to energy fluctuations than most, so I might be able to provide better feedback about how it feels."

Kian frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Syssi stepped forward. "Just promise to catch me if I faint."

Brandon retrieved the laundry basket while Morelle turned to face Syssi, and this time, when she channeled the power, the basket barely lifted a few inches off the ground before floating a couple of feet away.

Syssi swayed, and Kian was at her side instantly, propping her up. "I need to sit down," she murmured.

"I told you not to do it," Kian grumbled under his breath. "Why do you need to be so stubborn?"

She chuckled. "If I weren't stubborn, you would put me in bubble wrap before letting me out of the house." She leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Coffee might help, and maybe a cookie or a cracker?"

"Coming right up." Brandon hurried to the kitchen to get the coffee carafe and some energy bars he kept in the pantry. When he returned, Syssi already looked better, though Kian had his arms around her as if they could restore her depleted energy stores.

"That was fascinating," Syssi said between bites. "I could actually feel the energy being drawn out. It wasn't painful. It was just like I was a balloon, and there was a tiny hole through which my energy was draining."

Amanda scribbled on her tablet, her stylus making rather pleasant scratching sounds.

"I want to see what happens when I draw from Ell-rom." Morelle turned to her brother.

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not sure that's wise. We don't know what might happen if you try to channel my ability."

Brandon tensed. He still didn't know exactly what Ell-rom could do, but given everyone's careful handling of the subject, it had to be something either dangerous or very powerful.

Kian glanced his way and let out a sigh. "I guess it doesn't make sense to keep Ell-rom's ability a secret from you any longer, but what I'm about to tell you needs to stay absolutely confidential. I want to wait to inform the council until we understand more about both twins' abilities."

Brandon nodded. "Their secrets are safe with me."

"Ell-rom can kill with a thought," Kian said without much preamble for such a shocking revelation. "We don't know how he does it or what the limitations are in regards to distance, line of sight, and other factors. He just wishes someone dead, and the person drops dead with no apparent clinical cause."

The implications hit Brandon like a physical blow. Morelle could draw and channel power from others. Ell-rom could kill with a thought. Together, they were the perfect killing machines.

A terrible suspicion began forming in his mind. These weren't random abilities. This level of destructive potential couldn't be coincidental.

Had their father and the Kra-ell queen deliberately created living weapons? Ahn had access to the best genetic labs on Anumati. Had he and the Kra-ell's royal heir apparent conspired to create offspring capable of destroying the Eternal King?

Brandon looked at the twins with new eyes.

Morelle, his compassionate mate who had been so worried about accidentally hurting someone with her power. Ell-rom, quiet and thoughtful, carrying the burden of his lethal ability. They seemed so far removed from the weapons they had been designed to be.

And yet.

Morelle could theoretically drain power from an entire army of immortals or gods, channeling that energy into her brother's death-ray thought. Together, they could potentially level cities. Take down kings. Reshape the very power structure of their world.

No wonder their mother had hidden them away. It hadn't been done just to protect their identity as half-gods. She must have known about the abilities they had been genetically engineered with and had anticipated their manifestation.