The provisional council chamber beneath the rebuilt Apex tower had become a throne room of shadows and uneasy alliances. The clone designated Prime sat at the head of the long table, wearing Damian’s face like a crown he had stolen. The suit was impeccable, black as midnight, open collar revealing the faint scar that mirrored the original. But the eyes were wrong colder, sharper, devoid of the fire that had defined Damian through every hell they had survived. Alex sat to his right, one hand resting on the curve of his still-swollen belly where the hybrid child continued to grow, the leather collar around his throat and the platinum chain beneath it catching the harsh overhead lights. Damian knelt at Prime’s feet, wrists bound behind his back with silken cords, the matching collar locked around his throat, eyes downcast in perfect, enforced submission.The temporary tyranny had begun three weeks ago, when Prime had seized control during the clone coup. The integration program had been
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