The contest had ended—laughter, shots, and cheers still echoing in his ears.

Aaron had still lost by a wide margin. On the way back, he found himself reflecting while walking arm-in-arm with Theon and Rhea in the middle of his escort's cordon. I can't forget that they've been trained with firearms and weapons since they were seven years old. Maybe even earlier. Guess there are some perks to being a child soldier. He grimaced.

Rhea poked him in the side, hard enough to make him gape. "Eye's gaze, what's with that face? One could almost think you're not interested in Lenora."

Aaron rolled his eyes at her overly sweet smile. "No, it was fun. But… I've seen how far I am behind the others. My skillguides let me keep up with firearms and close-quarters combat."

Theon hummed and nodded. "Your skillguides are useful. I guess you should focus on what you're good at. Probably melee and magic."

Rhea threw a challenging look over at Theon. "Being bad with guns is no shame. They're for cowards and peasants anyway. Proper warriors fight hand to hand."

"That's just because most people aren't smart enough for abstract magic," Theon replied with a tisk.

Aaron shook his head with a chuckle. "Alright, alright. I get it. I have to become a brute like Rhea."

Rhea's fist flashed and Aaron yelped as his upper arm was hit hard. Rhea was about to say something, but Aaron laughed out loud. "See, that just demonstrates it." She spun, trying to punch him, but Aaron had already jumped back and tilted his elbows, repelling Rhea's assault.

Rhea lowered her center of mass and Aaron's hand-to-hand combat guide activated. She's going for a throw. He clenched his free hand into a fist and tried to loosen the entangled elbow. In vain. She got me. He relaxed, readying himself for the coming fight.

"I see we need to train close-quarters combat today." Bark's voice was jovial yet carried the force of a landslide.

Rhea turned and grinned."That's an amazing idea!"

Theon just groaned and shot Aaron an angry look. Aaron snorted. Guess we'll be messed up by their training tomorrow. I should start a counter for how many days I can make it without getting physically assaulted here.

As they neared the cottages, Aaron felt the heaviness return. He leaned over to Rhea. "Would you mind coming with me to talk to Kendia, my Bonded?"

She nodded, her eyes narrowing—reading the shift in his tone. Rhea smiled suggestively at him but agreed.

Soon, they found themselves in his cottage's main room. Kendia was currently cleaning the floor. Rhea locked the door and assessed the spartan room and its occupants. "How do you want to do this?"

Aaron looked between the two women. I can guess what happens if I give her free reign. But with what Ceiro and the mind-mage told me, I know she is someone's agent. Aaron's face hardened. He tensed. Kendia flinched as his eyes met hers. Enough games. If she's playing me—then I'll play her back. "Let me try talking first."

Rhea nodded.

"Kendia, I talked to Ceiro." She relaxed and got up from the floor like a cat preparing for a fight. Aaron noticed how Rhea readied her shoulders and he did the same, following the close-combat guide.

"You said he threatened to rape you. But he said he is only interested in men."

A silent tension tugged in the air. Aaron's heartbeat sped up.

Slowly, as if testing the ground in a minefield, he continued. "Who do you work for?"

Her eyes darted about the room for a heartbeat. Aaron felt as if he'd been seized up by a predator. Then an innocent expression returned.

"He… he acted in a manner that felt threatening. I just assumed that he would act like the others—"

"Cut the wounded act and talk. Now." Rhea took a step toward Kendia. Aaron swallowed despite the tingle of the social engineering guide. She is weaponizing pity and vulnerability. And she might very well have experienced something like this. Fucking hell.

Aaron gestured Rhea to stop. "The guards know already." Kendia's eyes widened for more than one heartbeat and Rhea chuckled darkly, cracking her fingers.

"Want me to call them in?" he continued.

Kendia sank and sat down on the floor. "I am an Unchained." She looked Aaron in the eyes, accusing and pleading in equal turns. "You told me you despise slavery, so we are allies, Aaron."

Aaron shook his head. "What happened to my previous slave, Kendia?" Aaron tensed up. An accident, she had said. I can guess what those kinds of accidents are like. A cold breath whistled through the room. Aaron didn't speak. He let the silence stretch—until it hurt.

Then she smiled and nodded. "You're not like the others, Aaron. You still see people. He was injured for the cause. He was put elsewhere and healed. Experienced Domestics are always in demand. I won't kill my siblings in chains. No matter the cost. No matter who orders me to."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Aaron's throat tightened. Can I trust her? Well, that should be verifiable. He let out a long breath. If she had had him killed… What would I have done then? Ordered Rhea to kill her?

Rhea's jaw clenched. Her eyes sharpened. Then she moved—three quick steps, something gleaming in her hand. A dagger.

Aaron fell into a combat stance. What—

The tip of her knee smashed into Kendia's temple. Rhea went down on top of her and brought the dagger straight toward her eyes. Aaron screamed and took a step forward.

But Kendia deftly blocked and evaded to the side. The knife only chipped the floor. A heartbeat later, Kendia began to cry. Her hand shot up to her temple and a dark shoe darted toward her groin. Aaron's heart beat violently. "What the hell, Rhea?!"

Rhea tisked and shuffled to a better angle, avoiding the wet tunic. The smell of urine filled the room. "Your little friend had combat and acting training. But the combat training won out when I tried to kill her. She is no harmless little spy."

Aaron grimaced. "Rhea…"

Aaron narrowed his eyes. Victim or not—she crossed a line. What do I actually want from her?

He studied the two women—one prone and crying, the other pressing a dagger casually to the other's throat. Aaron cleared his throat. "Very well. I want to get in contact with the Abolitionists. Hear the perspective of someone who actually matters."

Kendia rapidly shook her head. "I don't know any higher-ups. I get my orders and do my reports via a dead drop. It would be too dangerous, I can't do—"

Rhea growled and leaned over her, the two girls' noses almost touching. "Stop trying to manipulate the Champion. You aren't a poor little victim. You are a traitor." She got up and yanked Kendia up by one arm. With a clean shove, she got to her feet and set her down at the table.

Aaron felt a dreadful tension growing. Then Rhea spoke. "Aaron, I want you to break her fingers until she stops spinning the Weaver's Tale."

Aaron's stomach twisted. For a moment, he thought he'd misheard. But Rhea's calm expression froze him mid-breath. His fists clenched. Still, he didn't move. Rage battled helplessness inside him."You want me to do what?"

Kendia looked at him like prey caught in a hunter's scope.

Rhea sighed. "Break her fingers. You'll have to do worse in interrogation class in third year. It's easy. Just like—"

Anger boiled up in Aaron. "Stop this. That is an order!" Heart pounding, he took a step forward. I guess it's simple for her. She never tried to consider the world in any frame but friends and enemies. And she wants to destroy her enemies. Because they're not really human to her. But Kendia… He recalled her pleading eyes. Her tears. Her terrified expression. But… was any of that real?

He set his jaw. "I will not hurt you, Kendia. But I need to speak to someone who—"

Rhea sighed again. "Aaron, if you need to cause trouble for yourself and the abolitionists, do it under the aegis of the High Priestess. Ask Theon or your girlfriend how to do it, but clandestine meetings with a traitorous cabal will get you into trouble."

Aaron tilted his head and took a few deep breaths. Is she right? Maybe being too hasty is dangerous. Or maybe this will destroy my best chance.

"Very well. I will talk to the Priestess." Aaron looked at Rhea. "Let her go."

Rhea sighed and looked meaningfully at Kendia's hand, which she kept pressed onto the tabletop. She can be so kind, but she turns into this cold executioner on a dime. Am I rationalizing her bad tendencies away, because I don't want to see them? Food for thought.

Rhea let go of Kendia's hand. Kendia let out a sigh and leaned back. She closed her eyes, gathering herself.

Rhea's eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a cold smile—and then she struck like a snake. Her palm crushed Kendia's nose in a spurt of blood. Kendia yelped and stumbled backward.

Aaron screamed and took a few quick steps toward Rhea. "What the fuck?!"

White-hot anger boiled through his veins. "I told you to stop it!"

Just before Aaron reached Rhea, Rhea twisted her leg, letting Kendia's head crash into it instead of the floor. Kendia crumpled as Aaron flung a strike at Rhea's face. She swiped his arm away, but was already off balance. This had never been anything but a distraction. He pulled his knee up into her groin. She hissed, but blocked the knee with a twist of her hips.

Shouts cracked the air. Boots thundered outside—then the door slammed open.

His knee shot up again, but she twisted and he got her solar plexus instead. She stumbled back with two quick steps. Aaron took a step forward, white-hot with fury. "You will listen to my orders! How dare you hurt someone when I tell you not to?!"

Rhea dropped her hand and massaged her abdomen. "You told me not to break anything. I followed orders. But she pissed on me. I'm entitled to my own satisfaction." She pointed to a wet spot on the side of her red tunic.

Aaron wrinkled his nose in disgust.

The red door burst open and Bug stormed in. Rhea put her hands up in the air and was quickly subdued. Bug walked over and checked up on Aaron. He glared at Rhea as she was carried out. A guard dragged an unconscious Kendia out of the room. I need to check on her later.

Bug touched Aaron and sent a telepathic message.

'You—Espionage—Need—Work.' No grin. Just a quiet truth.

Aaron stared at the floor. The piss. The blood. The silence. He had no idea who the hell he was anymore.

Somewhere far away, Kendia screamed. With a pounding head, she awoke floating in a well-lit grey void. Before her floated a blue-white sphere of indeterminate size. Blue beams of light shot from the sphere's poles into infinity.

"I know who you truly work for." The voice from behind her back was bored, almost casual. "Have some wine. The roasted quinces are truly excellent in my mind."

Horror let Kendia forget her drenched clothing and shattered nose. And her embarrassing failure before the Champion. Edict's wrath, I'm facing a mind mage. She squeezed her eyes shut. An ox. The one unshakable image she'd carved into her mind, hoof by hoof.

'Ox. Ox. Ox. Ox,' she chanted like a lifeline made of prayer beads.

The man just laughed." Do take a look at this."

An image of Shes'nil, the father of her dead child, flashed before her eyes. She screamed as she saw that the only skin left on his naked body was his face. It was framed by his torn-out nails and teeth, which had been jammed into his flesh.

"As you can see, we know everything." The man sighed and took a long sip of wine. He exhaled in satisfaction as she fell to her knees.

"How... how long?" she stammered between sobs that shook her body. "Will he revive without...?"

"Who knows," the man shrugged, chewing on a piece of aromatic fruit. "I delegate such matters. I'm quite a busy man."

She tried to bring her mind back to the ox. This isn't real. This is a bad dream, this—

The image of her mutilated lover burned itself into her mind.

"You hurt him. Used his body as cover. That makes you mine."

The man—why can't I notice any distinguishing detail about him at all?—took another drink.

"Therefore, you will stay by his side. But the rules have changed now. Tell me, do you know what a geas is?" He inquired idly.

Kendia shook in terror. I need to kill myself. I can't fall into this. If I am—

"See, that's why I need to put that spell on you. Don't worry, my cognitive limiters are masterworks. Not some blu

nt, brutish butchery." He smiled and let out a satisfied breath.

"Let us begin."

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