Free The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan Page A

any use?”
    “It takes a sharp eye,” Bo said. “And practice.”
    “If this is practice, I don’t want to do it anymore.”
    “I’ve always hated practicing,” Bo said, his voice warm in her ear. “But that’s how you get to be better. That’s how you become smarter and tougher than the people who will want to harm you. And when you’re a Privileged… that becomes everyone.”
    Nila felt her insides shift uncomfortably. How could anyone keep this up for any length of time? The mere thought of it made her want to vomit.
    “You remember how much you hated Lord Vetas?”
    Nila nearly lost her grasp of the Else. She didn’t trust herself to answer.
    “You remember how he made you feel so helpless?” Bo whispered. “Take all that hate and anger and ball it up and put it away. Don’t chew on it – that just makes you bitter. Put it aside and use it as a reminder of why you never want to be helpless again. Take your weakness and make it your strength. You’ll be a powerful Privileged, Nila. Stronger than anyone I’ve known. Stronger than me. But you have to work for it.”
    Nila almost lost her focus again as she bit off a laugh. Powerful? Stronger than Bo? That seemed ridiculous. “How strong are you?”
    “Reasonably so. I have my weaknesses, but I make up for them with cunning.”
    “That doesn’t seem honest.”
    “Lying and cheating are all fair game when your life is on the line. And it always is, in a royal cabal. I might have been cabal head someday. Especially after I learned a number of… secrets.”
    “What kind of secrets?”
    “Ancient sorcery. Like folding the Else upon itself so that other Privileged or Knacked can’t see me.”
    “Who taught you that?”
    There was amusement in his voice. “A very old woman. She taught me a lot of things that she probably shouldn’t have. It came back to bite her in the end.” Bo paused. “There’s something else you should know about being a Privileged.”
    “Just one thing?”
    “This is rather… personal.”
    Nila’s heart skipped a beat. She had wondered when this would come up. “Oh?” She kept her third eye on the dark area north of the Adran camp, watching for anything that could be movement, and said a prayer of thanks that Bo couldn’t see her cheeks turning red.
    “You’ll have urges.”
    “What kinds of urges?” It was a stupid question. She knew exactly what he meant.
    Bo went on in a purely businesslike tone. “You’re going to want to take everyone to bed. Constant contact with the Else makes a Privileged like a stag in rut. It affects both men and women, although women have a tendency to control it better.”
    “And if I don’t?”
    “You will.”
    “Do you have any water?”
    “Here.” Bo put a canteen in her hands. “Drop your third eye. You don’t want to pass out.”
    Nila realized that her whole body was shaking from the effort of looking into the Else. She closed her third eye and took the canteen gratefully. When she finished drinking, she turned to Bo. “Have you had many women?”
    “A few.”
    “I’ve heard stories about Privileged…”
    “Most of them are probably true.” A pause. She could feel him watching her. “Nila, if I catch a spy tonight or the night after, I’ll have to torture him.”
    She felt relief at the change of subject, but only for a moment. “Do you have to?”
    “I need information.”
    “You can’t just magic the truth from him?”
    “I wish that were the case.”
    “There is no other choice?”
    “I’m not a good person. No Privileged is.”
    Nila didn’t like the implication. “I’m supposed to become a Privileged.”
    “You
are
a Privileged. Even if you’ve only just begun your training.”
    “And I have to do horrid things to survive in this world?”
    “You already have. And you will again.”
    She remembered the sticky feeling of the blood between her fingers, and the way that assassin’s skull had melted beneath her hand as easily as warm wax.