Even as I watched she moved with such speed that I could barely follow her movements with her eyes. My heart lurched, and I moved to draw blood from the grunt to prove I wasn’t fucking around. But even with my knife already pressed against his throat, she was quicker. She grabbed my knife hand with both of hers, pulling it away from the man and holding it with a large smile.

  “Simply wonderful!” she exclaimed again.

  I stared at her, my eyes wide enough that they could pop out. She didn’t mind the knife, she didn’t even move to disarm me as her face drew close to mine.

  “I knew from the first second that there was something about you! How did you move like that? Was it an accolade? Another blessing? Is the Kane family actually one of the blessed? Were your parents?”

  Her bombardment of questions blindsided me, and my head raced to keep up. It couldn’t. I stammered out something incomprehensible in response. She was dangerous, this woman. Much more so than anyone I’d ever met. Even the Slitherstitch paled in comparison. And she was blessed. There was no doubt about it. Why then couldn’t I tell, when the grunt made it so obvious? Understanding washed over me like a cold shower. Because her mastery of the veil eclipses mine. Oh if Sera could speak to me now she’d laugh at my arrogance. I just threatened the woman and now she’s made it painfully clear that I am in no way, shape, or form, her match.

  Her smile was enough to tell me she enjoyed my realization. She found it amusing that I’d been thinking I was the lion all along, while in reality I was the mouse.

  The grunt slipped out from under me, rolling his shoulders to escape my grip. He stepped away to pick his weapon back up and glared while massaging his shoulder, the same one I squeezed to show the difference in our strength.

  What a waste that turned out to be.

  The officer raised her eyebrows in question. My mind still reeled from the shock. For months I’d been the strongest, and then suddenly I wasn’t.

  “You alright, Private Daryl?” the officer asked.

  He breathed like a horse after a race, his face reddening with anger. I glanced down to see his knuckles whiten as he gripped the baton. “You can’t let him get away with that. He just attacked an official member of COBA,” he growled.

  If he wasn’t so damn angry I could have kissed him then. I finally knew who they were, even though COBA meant jack-all to me.

  The officer groaned and rubbed her eyes with annoyance. “Private Daryl, did we not agree that we would not speak of the organisation in front of our new friend?”

  His glare stayed on me for a moment more before he realised his error. He snapped upright, right hand slapping against the top of his forehead, palm facing out. A near perfect salute, he must have practiced that a lot.

  “Yes Ma’am, sorry Ma’am.”

  A smile crept onto my face, the officer noticed and turned to me. “However disappointed I may be in his outburst, he is right. You did just strike an official member of a multinational military organisation.”

  “How was I supposed to know? You haven’t presented yourselves even once. I don’t even know your names! For all I know you could be cultists, or even terrorists.”

  She let go of my hands, and I unsummoned the dagger under her watchful gaze. It wouldn’t be much use even if I tried anyway.

  “You’re blessed then?” I asked.

  “We are,” she confirmed for me and dusted off my shirt. “Private Daryl over there is a whisper, as you’ve no doubt figured out by now. He awakened pretty recently and got recruited straight away. His father is one of the higher-ups, you see.”

  “And you?”

  She smiled. “Classified.” And with no preparation she strikes me in the gut.

  I bent forward like a jackknife and coughed, crumbling to my knees while trying to catch my breath. If I had doubts before there certainly weren’t any now. She was not unsung. She was a much higher rank.

  I glanced up at her as she towered above my bent figure with a smug grin. Her subordinate, Daryl, looked like he was enjoying himself too much. The smug look on his face made me want to rip his eyes out.

  I collected myself as a hand reached down, I grabbed it and let it help straighten me out.

  “Now that that’s sorted; I’m Nyla, Nyla Arden,” she says and shakes my hand. Suddenly all our grievances washed away. It was clear as the air we breathed that she didn’t hold the slight against me, nor did I hold the punch against her. Normally I would, but something about her made it hard to hold it against her.

  If she wasn’t so damn strong for that small frame I’d suspect it was a blessing. But the punch from before made it much too obvious that she had a blessing for combat, not politics or craft.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Cal,” I managed through greedy breaths. “Nice to finally make your acquaintance.”

  “Likewise.”

  “And COBA?”

  “Coalition Office of Blessed Affairs,” she explained and gestured me back to the seat. “Please, sit.”

  I nodded in compliance and moved past Daryl even as I felt his eyes burn holes in my neck. He wouldn’t dare strike me, not after I made it clear how much stronger I was. And judging by the sound of his grinding teeth I’d say he hated being aware of the fact just as much as I hated feeling trapped by the woman, Nyla.

  All my plans of escape went down the drain. With her here there wasn’t a chance in hell that I could escape.

  I sat down facing her again, chuckling to myself. “I’ve got to admit, you had me fooled there for a second. The gun was clever.”

  “Why thank you!” she exclaimed with a wide gesture and leaned forward to the table, clasping her hands to one another. “Daryl here doesn’t understand the power of theatrics. Sure made you underestimate us, didn’t it?”

  I nodded. It did, but if I didn’t have the thimbles I’d likely have been sweating bullets, unable to deal with the weapon. I needed more defensive options.

  “And you’re not too bad yourself. I was actually starting to believe the whole crafting persona you’ve got going on.”

  “It’s not a persona,” I said stiffly.

  She stared at me. “You mean to say you’re a crafter, still? After what you just did?”

  “Yes. It’s a bound accolade. It boosts my physicality in short bursts.”

  She whistled. “Those are rare! But still far from enough to kill a Scourge beast like the Slitherstitch. If our estimations are to be believed then it was an unsung beast, and you were a whispered blessed. You winning is not a very likely outcome. So let’s just cut the shit, shall we?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not kidding. I’ve got more accolades that helped in the fight, defensive options, offensive. But I won’t be telling you about that, nor will I be telling you more about my blessing. And you won’t ask, because you can’t. Can you?” Daryl adam’s apple bobbed visibly. Bingo.

  She leaned back in her chair and tied her hands behind her head. “What makes you think I can’t?”

  “Your subordinate is like an open book. How come you asked me before? I thought it was considered rude.”

  “Well asking never hurts. And COBA doesn’t mind being perceived as rude if it means we can get a better grasp on someone’s abilities. How come you answered?”

  I smiled and she raised a finger. “Hold on, let me guess.” She drummed the finger against her lower lip. “You think you’re clever enough to fool us with half-truths. Isn’t that right?”

  I scoffed.

  “See, that’s where you’re mistaken. You’re not the smartest person in this room, or the most experienced. I am. I’ve dealt with more whelps like you than you can count. And I’ve seen more blessings than you can ever imagine. What I still don’t understand is how.” Contrary to the content of her words, her tone didn’t hold any spite. She leaned to the side and grabbed a piece of candy from the bed, carefully unwrapping it and shoving the paper into her pocket before popping it in her mouth. “All the information I’ve gathered points to the same conclusion. That your tales are indeed true. Even that Solburne girl seemed impressed with your exploits, although she did try to downplay them.”

  She eyed me while chewing then stood up with a clap of her hands.

  “No matter! I don’t need to know how, you’ll likely show me soon enough.” I tried to retort but she spoke over me and cupped a hand over her ear theatrically. “Hear that? That’s the sound of battle. You must be used to it by now, and I am sorry that you will be left without a say in the matter. But seeing as our only transport capable of holding unsung blessed got blasted to bits, we will need to find a creative solution. You are the last of the returnees to be transported—for safety reasons of course—and we are a part of the only remaining military squad. We will need to evacuate by foot, and I need assurance that you won’t be killing off my team as soon as we turn our back to you.”

  I had a bad feeling about this. The conversation slipped into areas I was much more familiar with than I wanted to let on.

  “I propose a contract of the veil.” Her words echoed in my mind.

  If she wasn’t already pissing herself with laughter, Sera surely was now. In my short eighteen years of life I’ve been granted two second chances. Both of which tied me to a contract.

  I groaned and rubbed my neck. “Fine.”

  To my knowledge, it had been part of Sera’s blessing that formed the contract. But since receiving mine I still hadn’t unlocked any such functions. I’d been wondering how it worked all this time, maybe now I’d finally get the chance to find out.

  She narrowed her eyes with skepticism. “You seem familiar with the term?”

  And I realised I messed up. I shrugged, feeling the sweat bead down my back. “Simple deduction. Doesn’t have to be deeper than that, does it?”

  She exhaled sharply, not buying my answer, but not pushing the question further either. Judging by the approaching sound of violence, our time is running out.

  She summoned a blade from her core, a razor by the looks of it, and cut a thin line into her hand. Blood seeped out the wound and she balled her fist to smear it across her palm. With a satisfied grunt she handed me the razer and began to speak under her breath, as if speaking words to a spell. Just like Sera did once before.

  I grabbed the razor with a grateful nod and did as she did.

  Nyla locked her eyes to mine. “Alright, here’s how this works. You don’t harm my people, no scratches, no misunderstandings, no accidents. In return, I won’t hurt you. You will bear no cuffs, no constraints, nothing. We cooperate until we reach the safety of the next FOB, once there the terms of our contract ends. That fair enough for you, Cal?” she asked and reached her bloodied hand forward.

  “Yes,” I said and grabbed her bloody palm in mine.

  The veil shuddered, just like it did back then. The terms of the contract painted themselves into crimson runes before flowing into us. And once more I felt the shackles of a contract constrict around my heart, not quite complete yet.

  Her eyes grew cold. “Fail to comply with the terms, and the veil will invert your intent. Lashing you with punishment greater than your intended harm.”

  I nodded again. “I agree.”

  And the loose noose around my heart tightened until my breath grew short. A new contract had been formed.