“You know, you’ve really put me into a difficult position.”

  Zayne tried not to avert his eyes, despite the powerful presence that lingered in the air like a suffocating smell. The woman’s cold, onyx eyes appeared contemplating as she shrewdly broke him down like some lab experiment. His newfound vision peered into a realm that was previously unseen, revealing the immense churning that wafted from her in a terrifying dark purple blaze.

  He didn’t even get a second of peace to himself, after suffering through that hellish experience, and instead some psycho nabbed him, and now he felt like he was going to be tortured. Then again, if she was going to kill him, she would have probably done it already.

  Within the flash, he had been taken inside what looked like a horribly disorganised office. Books were spilled open from the shelves, entire mounds of paper were scattered across the striped carpet floor, it looked like someone had broken in and trashed the place.

  His kidnapper sat in front of him, watching his observations with her hands gripped in a tight knuckle lock. Other than the power flowing from her, his captive was filled with mysteries. Her black armour had disintegrated, replaced with a shirt that outlined her… shapely form. He tried not to linger on that. Short, black tufts were cut short in rough curls that accentuated her tanned, lightly-coloured face, split by a bridge of scars that trailed like tears down her cheek.

  Now he just felt only a little more intimidated.

  

  “Uh, I’m sorry.” he lamely managed.

  There wasn’t much else that he thought he could ask without getting himself killed.

  Her expression shifted, and he would have breathed a sigh of relief if he had been sure if it wasn’t a fa?ade trying to trick him. She shuffled through the stack of papers on the desk, then haphazardly tossed them behind her.

  “No, I’m sorry, kid. I’m going to have to change my entire plan now. Don’t worry, I don’t blame you.” she said the next sentence, still bewildered, “Who knew that a random homeless teenager from the outskirts would find a way to claim the Inheritance? That is what happened, right?”

  “Yeah.” Zayne replied darkly, “I claimed it alright.”

  A myriad of emotions flashed across her face, until she exhaled sharply. A grin wove its way forward.

  “Congratulations. I don’t know how you did it, but you are the fourth person ever officially known to have completed the Trials and claim a piece of history.”

  He heard the loud, sarcastic clap echo, and tried not to smile, giving into a little of the hubris that had been lost in the hurricane of events engulfing him. Yes, he had done the impossible, hadn’t he? Just this feat alone would be enough to mark Zayne in legends. Not only had he claimed one, he had also done it without any sort of powers and a curse over his head.

  “And you’ve also just destroyed a priceless artefact which every single one of the Great Houses wanted to get their hands on. Every single one of the girl’s movements is being retraced to see if they can find the person responsible, and it won’t be long before they notice the homeless kid that she ran into with full force. In fact, I’m sure the seers have found you already. Your mark makes you pretty recognisable. Soon, you’ll be the one of the most wanted people in not just this city, but probably in the entire nation.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  And there it was. Any trace of the pride he felt was utterly crushed and ruined by the woman’s stark peeling of his situation.

  She held up his Q-card, and Zayne just realised that it was missing, reading the information within with a single twist of her fingers. He was too gloomy to care.

  “Nice to meet you, Zayne Redlock. I’m Charlotte, and if you haven’t guessed it, your only chance at salvation.”

  Charlotte extended a slender hand, and he took it, wincing at the strength of her grip as her nails dug into his skin. She appeared distracted, however, glancing at something still hovering in the air.

  Her cool gaze melted somewhat, “Wait, wait, your mother is !”

  Zayne lost any shred of fear that he might have had at that remark, picking up on the awe and surprise with annoyance gripping his chest.

  “Step-mother. And not anymore.” he hurled out through gritted teeth, “That isn’t important.”

  He barrelled forward, refusing to let her continue that line of questioning.

  “So, you want me to do something for you. But who the hell are you anyways? You’re clearly not part of a Great House, otherwise you would have handed me in. And what do you want?”

  His strategy seemed to have worked, for the twisted grin returned.

  “Two things dominate this world. Lies and power. The Great Houses have both in abundance, and what little is left of the government exists just to do whatever they’re not bothered to take care of. There is no force, other than themselves and the monsters they’ve brought into existence, that stand in their path. But things are about to change. We, the, intend to crush that balance. And now that our plans have been ruined, you’re going to have to help us.”

  Zayne’s bit back the cringe, resisting the urge to facepalm. Some generic rebellion group that thought they could do anything at all. Only then did he realise the stupidity of what he had gotten himself into.

  From the visage that spilled around Charlotte, she was definitely a Scion. The third rank of the Loom, and a powerful one, capable of exerting their presence onto the world around them. But it was also the most forgettable. In most of the comics he’d read, they’d skip over it entirely.

  No matter how strong they were, even a dozen Scions weren’t going to do a thing against Azure.

  “The hell are you thinking, brat?” she looked fed up with waiting, slamming a fist against the table.

  He hid his frustration, “Nothing. Uh, well, sure. What do you want me to do?”

  “That isn’t the most inspiring acceptance speech, but I guess I’ll take it.” Charlotte studied him again, “We’ll have to find a way to cover that. I’ve got nothing against it, but the Brand is going to make you very easy to identify. You’re joining the other Chosen after all.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “The latest batch of Nascent are about to be shipped off to a camp for training. You’ll join them. Use whatever powers that Inheritance gave you to gain trust from within, and then graduate, all while reporting to us behind their backs. That’s the plan.”

  A question escaped from his lips before he could stop himself, “How do you know I’m not just gonna ignore you?”

  “Oh, is that your plan?” a dangerous glaze came over her eyes, and Zayne cursed himself for his idiocy.

  “N-no, just in case, you know.”

  Then a plain shrug caught him off guard again.

  “Do what you want. The Valkyrie probably ruined your life, didn’t she? If you really want to support the system that left you helpless on the street because of a mark you couldn’t control, then be my guest,” that was, admittedly, a good argument.

  There were definitely plenty that she was trying to hide from him, but Zayne felt the exhaustion clamour against his aching forehead, and gave up.

  “Okay. Could I get like a bed, and a shower, and maybe some food, though? I’m kinda hungry.”

  “Wait.” a leer infested her eyes, “Don’t you think I’m at least a little bit curious on what happened inside that inheritance?”

  He felt his headache grow.