Atreus excused himself from the room, instructing the hospital staff to give Leta and Vigo some privacy.

The fact that a decision needed to be made soon was left unsaid at this point.

Leta knew she was on the clock.

Alone in the room, the pair watched the news recap, drone video flipping between interviews with people who said they had lived on the road and hadn’t heard the crash.

She wondered how much of that was due to the storm or some Arisen intervention.

There had even been some footage captured from the security doorbell of someone who lived on the road that showed Koa’s truck driving by just before the Minotaur hit, but by some miracle, the camera hadn’t captured the monster.

She thought about how the rule that killed Arisen if they exposed themselves to ordinary people worked with security cameras. Did it have the same effect as if someone showed off in front of a human, or, because technically, the camera wasn’t human, it didn’t do anything?

Leta filed that question away for a later date and looked to Vigo, who was still glued to the TV.

“What should we do?”

He turned back to her with a lost and confused expression. “Huh?”

“I’m supposed to decide if they’re going to fake my death or let me go back to Seattle and pretend to be normal.”

Vigo’s lips dropped as he tried to understand the question. “Why wouldn’t you want to go back home?”

“No, no. I want to go home,” She emphasized, “but going home means forgoing any protection for myself. Remember, these Blessed will eat regular people, but they crave other Arisen, and they’ve got beef with this other group, the Chosen, which I’ve inadvertently been added to.”

Thus began a lengthy discussion of what could potentially happen if she were to return home and if she were to stay with the Chosen.

What about her dream of studying ancient Mesopotamian era cultures?

Would she drop out of college without even getting through her introductory courses?

Would her phone call telling her parents she was fine after the last hospital visit be the last time she spoke to them?

The last one tugged on her heart a little too hard.

During all this, Leta took the plunge and replaced her forearms with Atlanite. She decided that she would rather have defensive and offensive options rather than just defensive.

‘I’m gonna regret this.’ Leta sighed internally, ‘Anyway, we can do this without knocking me out?’

[An option is available to block all nerve synapses below the humerus bones temporarily. During this time, the brain will not receive pain signals. However, the Host will experience an itchy, numbing sensation from the elbows down and a severe loss of arm and hand strength until the modifications are complete.]

She leaned back, looking up at the ceiling tiles as if they could give her advice. ‘Let’s just get this over with. Go for it.’.

[Confirmed. Modification process initiated.]

Leta immediately felt a tingling in her forearms as her nanites got to work, blocking all feeling. It started just above her elbows with a sensation similar to when you accidentally hit your funny bone. Like water over rock, it soon flowed over her forearms, down her wrists until everything from her elbow to the tips of her fingers was numb.

She looked down at her hands and pressed her forefingers and thumbs together. In her head, she could almost feel a ghost sensation of touch, but in actuality, she only felt the whisper of pressure. It was like her arms had been dipped in novocaine - sensations perceived but not truly felt.

Vigo’s voice broke through her distraction. “I think you should go home.”

Her head snapped up in surprise. “What?”

Vigo looked nervous after seeing her expression. “I mean, I feel like you’re looking at it in black and white when there’s some very gray wiggle room. Work with me here - do you know if there’s a lot of you Arisen folk, or is it just a handful?”

She frowned, then remembered her discussion with Dr. De Mar just before the dinner. “There’s a lot. Probably upwards of a million.”

He blinked as if shocked by that number but recovered quickly, “Okay. Now, I’m not sure what the census count is, but I think it’s safe to say that not everyone in this country is an Arisen, so they have to be in other places. Now, that bloke Atreus said he was the Sect Leader of the Chosen. It sounds like there are more of them - Sects, I mean. Like, why would you call it a Sect if there was just one? Why not just call it Headquarters or something?”

Leta’s tongue poked at the inside of her cheek as she followed his train of thought. “You think that there’s some of these Sects in the U.S.?

He shrugged. “Maybe? Who knows. But I’d bet money that there are some other locations out there. This then brings me to my other point. You seem like some kind of big shot here-”

“Not by choice.”

“-which means you’ve probably got some sway in what’s about to happen. You’ve got people bowing and scrapping to you.” He pointed out, “I think you need more information to decide. I say, get that nurse back here to give you the straight of it. If you can go home but still get protection, do so. If not? Well, then you think long and hard about it.”

A knock at the door was heard before a soft voice said, “Your Majesty? May I enter?”

Leta raised a brow when she recognized Afra, the nurse from earlier. “Suddenly, they are so formal.” She muttered under her breath before raising her voice, “Yes, please come in.”

Afra entered, looking contrite before bending at the hips in a low bow. “Your Majesty, I apologize for the way I spoke earlier. I didn’t know-”

“Please, don’t apologize,” Leta shook her head, “It’s fine, you didn’t know. You’ve got great timing.”

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Afra looked up from her bow in confusion. “Pardon?”

Leta smirked and waved her over, “Come over. We’ve got some questions that you can probably answer.”

Afra opened and closed her mouth in shocked surprise. “Oh-oh, you’re Majesty. I-I’m not qualified-”

“Girl, come on.” Leta rolled her eyes, “I’m not royalty. I’m just some college kid from the States. We’ve got some major decisions to make and could use your help.”

The nurse looked nervous but obediently took the chair.

Leta began, “Okay, first question. What are the Chosen Sects?”

Afra looked back and forth between the two archeology students, her eyes pausing over Vigo as if cautious about revealing anything to a Mundane.

Leta noticed the woman’s gaze and smiled. “You’re not going to die, I promise. Hey, Vigo.” She turned and grinned, “What do you think about this whole Arisen thing with the Blessed and the Chosen?”

Vigo shrugged, “Honestly, I could do without the werewolves, shadow hyenas, Minotaurs,” He stopped ticking them off on his fingers and paused, “Actually, I could do without the monsters in general.”

“See?” She turned back to Afra, who looked surprised that nothing had happened, “You’ll be fine. So, please? Your input would help us.”

Afra licked her lips nervously before squeaking, “W-well, Sects are groups of Chosen that work together to protect each other and to fight back against the Blessed. There are Sects worldwide, but most are in the major cities.”

“What about the US?”

“I don’t know where each Sect is, but I’d say there are many in the States as well. I’ve only been to the New York City Sect once when I visited the US for the first time. Besides that, I’ve only been to the Sects in Greece, Turkey, and Albania.”

Vigo and Leta shared a look. While it was interesting information, it didn’t answer their question.

“Do you know anything about Seattle?”

Afra’s eyebrows perked up, “Yeah - I mean, yes, Seattle has a Sect.”

Leta blew a breath, smiling as she leaned back in the bed. Her relief was almost a physical sensation like finally unclenching a sore muscle.

As quickly as that peace of mind came, other questions circled her head like nagging insects.

Leaning back up, Leta questioned, “What about Berkeley? That’s in California.”

Afra winced and shook her head, “I’m sorry, that name doesn’t sound familiar.”

Vigo saw the disappointed look Leta tried to hide and spoke up. “What about in New Zealand?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s one in Auckland, but I’m not positive.”

He nodded, “Okay, if you’re part of the Sect, what does that mean?”

Afra must have gotten over her initial hesitancy with them, judging by the way she seemed to have relaxed and sat in the chair comfortably.

“We live and work near each other to watch each other’s backs. Occasionally, the Combat classes will go out to hunt Blessed, but for the most part, we’re all just living our lives. Dr. Kudela, Adjany, the other nurse, and I do shifts in the hospital - not as a cover or anything, but as our actual jobs. Adjany and I are RNs and Dr. Kudela,” Afra shook her head, “Arisen live a lot longer than the Mundane. That woman has something around seven or eight doctorates degrees, half of which I think she took because she was bored.”

Vigo and Leta stared in shock. “The little old lady?” Vigo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Afra smirked, “Don’t let her find out you called her that. I’m not sure where she’s from, but I do know her native tongue is a dead language. She’s old, but you know the saying about old soldiers.”

Vigo gulped, speechless.

After a moment, Leta cleared her through, “Back to the Sects. So, other than living near each other, there isn’t much difference between this and living a normal life.”

“Basically,” Afra confirmed, “We have a residency outside the city with some shared common areas but it’s still pretty private. I work in the hospital with the Mundanes except on the few occasions where we actually have Arisen that need tending to. My sister, Huda, is a Scribe who works in a law office here in Athens. Kaviah is a Blacksmith who has an online shop and crafts custom metal work. You’ve met Koa. He’s a HEMA instructor and does some reenactment stuff for tourists. When we’re not working, we’re doing other things; sometimes going to concerts or other entertainments, sometimes hunting Blessed.”

Leta pursed her lips.

It sounded oddly…normal.

Like a superhero, they had their day jobs and their off duty jobs. It was surprising how balanced it all seemed.

“Is faking your death common practice for becoming part of the Chosen?”

Afra was quiet, her face contrite as if she were about to give someone terminal news.

“It’s… not uncommon. Mostly it happens when there’s a family that may come looking for someone. Honestly, it’s just been safer to join a Sect then go it alone. I’ve heard stories of Arisen who went solo.” She shuddered, “It isn’t pretty. Whole families down to third and fourth cousins getting ripped apart, and that’s when only one of them was an Arisen.”

“Jezzus…” Vigo looked absolutely horrified at the mental image.

“Not to say it’s impossible.” Afra quickly reassured them, “I’ve heard stories of some very powerful Arisen that just go out into super isolated areas and thrive.”

“Have you ever met one?”

Afra opened her mouth to answer, closed it, then quickly replied, “No.”

Leta sighed. “Awesome.”

Afra tucked a loose hair behind her ear, “In your case, though? I think you’ll be fine.”

Leta raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“You’re a Crown.” Afra made a face as if that explained everything, then blushed, “Sorry, I just remembered you’re new. I think this will make a little more sense if you understand Chosen hierarchy. So, there are a lot of Sects all over the world. Each Sect is part of a network of Sects that report to a single Governor. Like most of the civil service classes, the Governor class is rare, so maybe ten or so Sects report to each Governor-”

“Hold up.” Vigo put his hands together in a ‘time out’ gesture, ‘There’s a Governor class? Seriously?”

Afra shrugged, “Think Roman era occupations. Every job you can think of that existed in ancient Roman has an equivalent class for Arisen, and that includes jobs like Governor and Senators. Governors oversee a handful of Sects and basically negotiate supplies and personnel between the Sects. They are also in charge of creating military organization between the Sects. To be totally honest, I don’t think the Sects ever had to have muster call since the 1600s, but if something were to happen, they would be in charge of getting people together to have a military force.

“Overseeing the Governors are the Senators. These guys are even more rare - I think there’s maybe twelve in the world. These twelve Senators basically do the exact same thing as the Governors but on an even larger scale. If a legitimate war were to break out against the Blessed, the Senators would consolidate and coordinate the Generals under their command to execute attacks.

“At the very top of the food chain are the Crowns. This is the King and Queen classes that everyone, and I mean everyone, swears fealty to. Each Senator has a King or Queen they directly report to based on their region. There are four of them, three Kings and a Queen. Supposedly they meet up every few years and they determine the fate of the world’s nations, but they’re so secretive that no one knows for sure.”

Afra pointed a finger at Leta, “You are a Crown. A baby Crown, but a Crown nevertheless. Even in your proverbial infancy, you still have a higher rank than anyone else. I mean, I wasn’t alive the last time a Crown showed up, but from what I remember there was a big reshuffling after they got them up to speed, so if you want a Sect somewhere, there’s very, very few people who could tell you no.”

Afra’s phone went off and she turned to look at it, her eyes going wide as she read the message.

“Um… you’ve got less than ten minutes to make a decision I’m afraid. Ismene says your parent’s taxi just got into the city proper.”

Leta could feel the blood draining from her face as panic began to set in. “My parents are here?”

“Not yet. They know you were brought to this hospital but everyone’s been keeping, well, everyone in the dark about your condition.”

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. “We’re not faking my death.” She met Afra’s eyes and tried to convey how serious she was in this. “I’m alive, okay? I’m alive. The story is going to be that I was in a coma and lost a lot of blood but I’m okay.”

Afra held her gave a moment, nodding at the conviction that she saw. “Understood. You’re alive. I’ll let Dr. Kudela and Atreus know about your decision. You.” She pointed at Vigo, “Need to go back to your room. You’re supposed to be resting.”

“How am I going to rest when there’s people with magic roaming the halls.” He grumbled but trudged to the door dutifully, smiling as he gave her a wave, “I’ll see you later, Leta.”

Afra turned to follow but stopped as she remembered something, “Do you need anything before I go?”

“Not sure if it’s in police custody or not, but do you guys know what happened to my phone?”

Afra shook her head. “No, sorry. If you need to make a call, we have a telephone.”

“That’s okay, I was just wondering, thanks. And Afra, please no more bowing. Can you let everyone else know?”

Once more alone as the afternoon sun shone through, Leta felt her heart pounding in her chest at the absolute madness that was about to befall this building because of Naomi Black.