“Trust your instincts, dear,” Thalia said. “Find out what you can.”

“Of course. Steps have already been taken.”

“For the moment,” Thalia said. “Is it worth you taking the time to beguile him?”

“It might be worth the effort,” Cassandra said, “but not worth the risk.”

“Oh?” Thalia prompted.

“He treated the full suppression of my aura like it was the pleasant cool of the evening.”

“That’s certainly unusual,” Thalia said. “And you aren’t normally so crude as to use your aura like that.”

“I was trying to throw him off-balance,” Cassandra said, “but there’s something strange about him. It’s like he lives off-balance. Talking with him feels like teetering on the edge of something I don’t understand.”

Thalia glanced at her daughter from under an arched eyebrow.

“What?” Cassandra asked.

“Nothing, dear,” Thalia said, turning her gaze to the stage, a slight smile playing across her lips. They sat in silence for a few moments before Cassandra spoke again.

“Mother?”

“Yes, dear?”

“When does vulnerability become a weapon?”

Thalia chuckled, quietly, prompting an irritated look from Cassandra.

“Vulnerability is a weapon of seduction, dear,” Thalia said. “Tricky to use, but devastating, if wielded well. Perhaps Thadwick isn’t the only one I should keep away from this young man.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mother.”

66. A Stronger Weapon Than the One in Your Hand

66

A Stronger Weapon Than the One in Your Hand

Humphrey was returning to the family estate after completing a contract, muddy and spattered with monster blood. He was met by Phoebe, a distant cousin. Like him, she was iron rank but joined the Adventure Society more than half a year earlier.

The Geller family sprawled across continents. Although they shared a last name, Phoebe and Humphrey were barely related. They didn’t even share an ethnicity, with her skin being darker and hair much lighter than Humphrey’s. As was traditional for the Geller family, Phoebe had been sent to Greenstone for training and experience. Once she reached bronze-rank, she would return to her homeland.

“What is going on with that friend of yours?” Phoebe asked Humphrey.

“You mean, Jason?” Humphrey asked. “I’ve been busy with contracts, so I haven’t seen him. Mother said he was spending a lot of time in the mirage chamber.”

“A lot of time is right,” Phoebe said. “He’s been in there almost all day, every day, for most of a week,” Phoebe said. “He’ll fight anyone who comes in; bronze rank, iron rank, he doesn’t care. Your mother says its good experience for our people to face an affliction specialist.”

“Is he winning?” Humphrey asked.

“Mostly he’s losing,” she said sharply. “People have a habit of dying after he’s already been beaten, though. Those afflictions are nasty.”

“I’ve seen him kill monsters with them,” Humphrey said. “I’m not sure I want to see that on a person.”