The Imaginators (Of Stardust and Aether Book 1) by M. K. Valley

Author:M. K. Valley [Valley, M. K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M.K. Valley
Published: 2021-05-14T22:00:00+00:00

PHASE EIGHT

THE MASTERS OF

SCORPIO

Sicarius Prima flows dull and muffled around me, my head swimming. Panicked energy drives me forward. I should feel excited. I should be glad I finally found us a solid lead. Instead, my ears are ringing, blood thunders through my veins, and my every instinct screeches to run. Far and away, to some lifeless, forgotten corner of the Infinite Universe. And just hide there.

I pour anger over the crusting fear and bring it to a boil. My fucking, rotten brother. I should’ve seen that coming. We’re twins, just minutes apart, yet, he came into this world roaring, without a shred of talent. Growing up, he became a people pleaser, craving everyone’s approval. But how do you compete with someone who can conjure matter out of thin air?

The Scorpians’ plans revolved around me and my abilities. All they ever cared about was how I could be of use to the planet. Andrus took solace in the fact that one day he’s going to be my emperor. The sole wielder of the tool I was. He didn’t hate me for leaving. He already despised me for having ‘stolen’ abilities that were ‘rightfully’ his. He made sure I knew I’d never be forgiven for the betrayal of leaving. For him, I was no longer a del Scorpio.

I didn’t care. Every fiber of my body wanted out of there. To think Andrus would risk breaking a royal decree...

The Infinite Universe is relatively democratic and open-minded. But it was despots who conquered and bent it to their will. Tyranny carved its mark across the darkness of the Cosmos. It still reigns through the few monarchies’ seats of power spread thin across the Universe. Those dynasties refuse to join the major alliances. They’ve been in power for millennia, and their bloodlines span through eternity. Scorpio is such a seat of power. My dynasty. The planet’s part of a small system revolving around an artificial star. An imagined sun. My father reigns supreme, like his father before, and his before that. And yes, I’m the princess with the worst luck in the Infinite Universe. I was born an Imaginator.

Monarchies wouldn’t have become what they are today if they didn’t cling, with a sick kind of sentimentality, to serfdom. They chain their Imaginators with psychic rings, if not from birth, from the moment their abilities manifest. The monarch owns them, their skills, their creations. They wield them as tools at their own discretion. Imaginators born into monarchies have no concept of freedom and rarely choose to taste it.

But monarchs like to pat themselves on the back and acknowledge Imaginators as sentient beings once in a while. Specifically once. When an Imaginator from their court comes of age. On Scorpio, that was after I had lived through sixteen rotations around our artificial sun. And I got a choice.

I could’ve stayed. I could’ve resigned myself to a life on a leash. My father’s... my monarch’s property. In return, I would’ve received basic financial remuneration, a roof over my head, and a lifetime of protection.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.