Zack nudged her in the side when she stopped speaking. “What do you mean, is that abnormal or something?”

“Well, I wasn’t kidding earlier when I mentioned that I had heard their information gathering on targets was better. It needs to be for them to make sure they operate within what the crown allows.”

He felt his head beginning to hurt and wondered how they had managed to find themselves in this situation. Zack had only wanted to protect his little sister while providing a decent life for them both. It was what had prompted him to take the compatibility test, despite any lingering fear of the portals. Then everything had snowballed and run out of their control.

Who would have guessed that mere weeks after taking that test, they would be caught up in the intrigue of nobles? Not him, that was for sure. Then there was the military and Tessa’s mom.

It was a mess.

“So, what are the odds of this ending soon, and without-“ He stopped, it was pointless to continue with that question. No matter what, he and Zara were expendable to their captors. It was just a matter of time before they learned the truth. Once they did, then he was sure the gloves would come off. “Just, protect Zara, please?”

Tessa nodded as the younger girl whimpered against his side. “I’ll do my best, and I would say the odds are not in our favor. Mother may have already discovered our disappearance, and she may have even notified your Major right away. Putting together a rescue force of any size would take time, not a lot, but every bit adds up.”

She sighed, and let her head hit the wall again. “Really, it is just a matter of who moves faster…”

“The ones who paid to have you captured or your mother.” He finished for her. “I would think that the ones behind this would react faster.”

“Yup, that it was I think as well. Even if mom and the military are only an hour or two away, a lot can happen in that amount of time.”

Zack swallowed and glanced at the door. He knew exactly how much could happen in that time frame.

“What’s wrong with her?” Tessa asked, making an effort to take their mind off the impending situation.

“Zelda and George aren’t here.” He answered simply. “Those two bears, especially Zelda, are a sort of safety blanket for her. When they are nearby, or in her arms, she can act in a mostly normal fashion. Take them away, however, and she becomes paralyzed with the memories and fear of what happened in the institute.” He hugged his sister close, feeling her trembles lessen ever so slightly. “That’s the simple, and uncomplicated version in any case.”

“What happened back then?” Tessa asked hesitantly.

The flooring outside the door creaked as he opened his mouth to answer with the usual response. The door being thrown open kept him from saying anything. Light flooded in for the second time, their eyes watering as they were forced to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Standing in the doorway was Dorn Albright. “I thought I told you to stay away from her, peasant?” He sneered and stepped fully into the room. “They weren’t able to get your father, but I consider getting this particular eyesore a decent bonus.” He frowned. “Who is that in your arms?”

“My sister.” Zack tightened his grip on her.

A variety of emotions flashed across the other boy’s face, none of them pleasant. “I’m sure I’ll find a use for her later.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Dorn!” Tessa warned in a grave tone. “My mother will-“

“Your mother is dead!” Dorn sneered again, looking down on her.

Tessa stilled in fear, afraid that they had done something to her already.

“Everyone knows that she died years ago!” Dorn continued. “Any power and authority she may have once had disappeared with her death.”

She exhaled in relief and sagged weakly against Zack’s side.

“Dude,” Zack shook his head, the word feeling unfamiliar on his tongue. It was a term that he had heard some of the other male students say in class. “You and your family have gone full idiot; you never go full idiot. Do you actually believe that the king, queen, and all the rest of the hoity-toity nobles will let your family go after stealing her father’s research? Not to mention after you force her to what, marry you?”

Dorn glared at him. “They can’t say anything after we are married. The union will be binding, and her father won’t dare to go against us then! Besides,” The ever-present sneer on his face grew ugly. “Only a few of them even have the power to go against my family. Once we use her father’s research to gain control of the portals, that number will shrink even more!”

Zara stilled, her trembles disappearing in a second. They had been taken by people who wanted to control the portals in their own way.

“Do you know what her father is researching? I wonder if the rumors I’ve been hearing about you are true?” Dorn’s eyes gained a sly gleam. “That you have a perfect compatibility rating with the portals.”

Zack remembered the odd look in her father’s eye when he had mentioned that very thing at their first meeting. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Tessa looked away, refusing to look at him.

Meanwhile, Dorn smiled in triumph. “Oh, it has everything to do with it.” He burst out laughing; his cackles echoed loudly in the small room. “I finally understand why she approached you. This is rich. I never needed to be worried in the slightest! It was her father that was interested in you, not her.”

Zara pulled back from Zack, her weak arms containing a sudden steel-like strength. “Explain, NOW!” She growled, grabbing hold of Tessa’s arm, and squeezing.

The red-haired girl winced and tried to pull away. “I don’t know. He doesn’t talk about his research with me! I have no idea what his current or even past projects are.”

Zara reluctantly released her, collapsing back against her brother as the sudden burst of anger-induced strength fled as quickly as it had appeared.

Dorn watched the show in boredom. “I was about to tell you myself; you know?”

“Quit monologuing and just tell us already!” Tessa snapped, rubbing her arm and scooting away from Zack.

“Fine.” He folded his arms and looked away from them petulantly. The act ruining the sense of foreboding doom he had built up to that point. The crowd of people gathered behind him in the hallway, all shook their heads in concealed disgust. “Her father, Mathew Ricerca, has been researching ways to increase a person’s compatibility rating with the portals.”

“Is that it?” Zack wondered in disbelief. “You are doing all of this because some crazy crackpot has been working towards increasing the experience you get on the other side?”

“Hey!” Tessa protested.

Dorn ignored her outburst and replied. “No, while valuable in the long run, it wouldn’t be enough for us to do any of this. That is just going to be the public reason for our actions.” The sly gleam from before crept back into his eyes. “Do you understand what would go into a project like his? What side-effects or accidental discoveries might be learned while they are pursuing their ultimate goal?”

That sense of foreboding doom came back stronger than ever, as the noble-born teen stood straight.

Zack found himself struggling to swallow around a suddenly dry mouth. “I don’t know.”

Tessa shrugged. “I wouldn’t know either. Like I said, he doesn’t discuss his projects with me.”

Dorn stepped back into the hallway. “It’s interesting, really. I can imagine how you must view me, Tessa, knowing that I will soon be your husband. A choice made against your will, and the wishes of your father and late mother. I’ve heard about how he promised her, on her deathbed no less, that the choice of your future husband would be up to you alone. And yet, the thought of how you will soon be viewing your own father as something even less than myself is…” His eyes fluttered in feigned ecstasy. “Almost enough to make up for it.”

“Just say it already.” Zack’s voice sounded wooden and distant to his own ears.

“Fine, in order for his little team of psychopaths to have enough subjects to experiment on,” Zara jerked in her brothers’ arms, twisting around to fully face the much larger boy just outside the room. “They had to find a way to awaken them early, or at least create a facsimile of a proper awakening.”

Zara jumped from Zack’s lap with a scream and rushed to the door. Bouncing off the metal surface as it closed with a bang in front of her face. She continued to scream and pound against the door. Paying no mind to the blood flowing from a busted lip and crooked nose.

“Shhh,” Zack whispered to her, wrapping his arms around her gently from behind. “They can’t hurt you, not again.”

He continued to hold her as she worked out her frustration, anger, and fear against the door. Every few seconds, he would whisper something new to her that Tessa couldn’t hear.

The young girl was a mess of blood, with the skin scraped from her hands, when she finally calmed a few minutes later.