Chương 62: 062

The silence stretched, tension hanging thick in the air. Dominicus's gaze moved slowly between each of us. At last, his hand slid from the hilt of his sword.

"There's no need for you to leave," he said. His voice was steadier now, though not without strain.

"I will… adapt to you keeping secrets. You're right, I have my own." He grimaced.

"I'm sorry for my hypocrisy in this matter." He hesitated, shoulders tightening.

"I've been… on edge since Silas took me hostage. I can't trust my own judgment anymore. It's made me…" He trailed off. Dura rolled her eyes.

"Paranoid?" Dominicus exhaled and nodded. With it, some of the tension bled from his posture.

"Yes. Paranoid. I will attempt to do better." Dura relaxed back against the tree, though her hand remained loosely wrapped around her axe.

"Good. Thought I was going to have to kill you for a second there." He shot her an unreadable look, then turned back to me.

"As I said, you have my apologies. I should have remembered that special abilities are common. They do not always align with the spirit who chooses us." I released a quiet breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Bullet dodged.

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," I said. Then, turning to him, "Sorry, Thomas. I know you wanted this kept quiet, but there wasn't really a way around it." Time nodded, lips pressed into a thin line, as though sheer force of will might prevent him from saying anything incriminating.

"Since I nearly revealed it myself, the fault lies with me." Dominicus met his gaze, reluctant but sincere.

"My apologies as well. I understand… difficult abilities better than most." Yeah. Raising corpse minions would be a nightmare to explain, especially with Fate as your patron instead of Death. Time offered a rueful smile and shook his head.

"As I told Nikolas, I need to be more cautious. Still, I appreciate your understanding." Stolen story; please report. Dura tilted her head.

"So what is your special ability that has you so freaked out about people finding out?" Dominicus's jaw tightened as he looked away.

"One that would cause panic if discovered. I prefer not to speak of it." Dura opened her mouth to push back, but I caught her arm and shook my head.

"Everyone's entitled to their secrets." She scowled, but let it drop. Facing Dominicus again, I added, "If you ever want to talk, though, I'm around." Given Time's… standing with him, it was probably better coming from me. Dominicus hesitated, then gave a faint smile.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." He paused, considering something else before adding, "Where did you learn that phrase you used earlier?" I blinked.

"Phrase?" His face was carefully neutral, betrayed only by the slightest twitch at the corner of his mouth." Calm your tits." Ah. That one. I snorted before I could stop myself.

"Picked it up from one of the adults around me. It stuck." I shook my head.

"Knowing me, I'll probably bring a whole catalog of colorful phrases from my childhood to Nexus sooner or later." He hummed, faintly amused.

"I grew up in a small tribe where such language was… discouraged. Fate is not particularly fond of it either."

"She sounds boring," I said before I could filter myself. To my surprise, Dominicus just shrugged.

"She's my patron, not my friend. And frankly, spirits being exciting usually spells disaster for the mortals caught nearby." You know what? Fair. Dura grunted.

"Got that right. Though now I'm curious." She turned to me, eyes bright.

"What did you do to catch Karma's attention? I've heard stories, big, heroic stuff. Standing up for the helpless. Ruining the lives of people who hurt the innocent…" Her voice softened as she studied me.

"So what was it? What ballsy thing did you do?" I shrugged.

"It wasn't that heroic. A patient of mine, a kid, was threatened by a thug. I stepped in, got stabbed, nearly died, and Karma decided that was a good time to step in and kick his ass." I paused, then added, "If she hadn't, the kid and I would both be gone. So if you're looking for the hero in that story, start with her." Dura's expression softened.

"You were there to help. That's more than most people would've done." Hearing my own words echoed back at me, I huffed a quiet laugh.

"Yeah. I guess." Before the conversation could drift back to my almost-death, I turned toward Time, humming thoughtfully.

"What about you?" I asked.

"What made Karma choose you?" Not as her Chosen, obviously. But they didn't need to know that.