Page 46 of Beneath the Cursed Veil

“That still applies after the contract ends?” I asked. She dipped her chin. “Let’s pretend this is the first time you were hired, when whoever it was approached you. I’m assuming they told you all this before you took it?” Shenodded again. “Then tell me how it works. What you were told then, before you ever took a contract.”

She pressed her lips together, tilting her head to the side. “That actually might work. Okay, so you asked why I completed the job. No one comes after me. To my understanding, the client hiring doesn’t even know who I am. Only the broker. Once I accept, I have two choices: complete the job or become an indentured servant. Permanently. Doesn’t matter what job it is, that’s always the stipulation.”

My brows shot for my hairline. “That’s extreme,” I said slowly. “Why would you ever accept one to begin with under those terms?”

Meera released a long breath. “Couple reasons. First, because I was broke, and I didn’t want to borrow more money from my family. They would have done it, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask if I had another option. They already supported my dream of owning an antique store, even though they didn’t think it would support me. I can be stubborn sometimes . . .”

“You don’t say?”

A slight smirk tugged at her lips. “I agreed when I was eighteen that I would give it three years to see if I could make it work. If it didn’t, I’d look at getting another job. Well, at the three-year mark, I was only scraping by, but it was just barely enough to make ends meet, and I wasn’t willing to let go. I didn’t want to admit that ‘enough’ wasn’t actually enough. So I told them everything was fine.”

“But it wasn’t,” I said quietly.

Meera nodded. “I felt . . . feel like a failure.” She lowered her head, picking at a loose thread on the blanket that didn’t exist. Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “My contact heard through the grapevine I had a knack for finding things. Approached me rightbefore I was going to be evicted if I didn’t find money fast. The pay was enough to get me caught up. After that, the cycle just continued.”

“Until Damon?”

“Yeah. After that I wasn’t going to take another contract—even if it meant giving up on my dream. Stealing things from rich assholes is one thing, no offense. I’m not okay with ruining lives.”

I tried to smother the grin on my face but failed miserably. “None taken. You said there were a couple reasons you took it.”

“Right,” she shifted her weight around to sit cross-legged on the bed. “I can find anything, even if it’s in a different realm. I took the jobs because there was no real chance that I couldn’t complete them.”

“You still could have been caught,” I pointed out.

Meera snorted. “I’m too good for that.” She paused at the look on my face. “Or I was. As you experienced, I can usually persuade my way out of any problem.”

“That I believe. I’ve never met a fae with persuasion as strong as yours.”

She made a face. “Yeah right. I’m sure loads of people can.”

I cocked my head. “You really don’t realize how much of an anomaly you are, do you?” She shifted again, looking away. “I’ve only ever met two fae that could persuade me—and many have tried.”

Her head snapped back. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. That you could hold both meandDamon at the same time?” I shook my head. “I don’t know what you are, but I don’t think it’s human.”

“I’ve wondered if I could be part witch. I don’t know of a fae that can find things like I can.”

I sat back in the armchair, liftingone leg to rest my ankle on my knee, still keeping the pillow in place. “Do you have a mark?”

Her brows knit together in confusion. “A mark? Like a birthmark?”

“Sort of. You would know it if you had one. Witches are descendants of gods, or demons if you prefer to call them that. They’re one and the same. Each god has a mark that is specific to them. Any witch born from their line could carry it.”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

I smiled, but this time it was sad. “It’s not common knowledge. If a witch has a mark, they usually have remarkable powers, and they generally hide that brand. It can get them killed.”

Her lips parted. “That’s . . .” She shook her head, swallowing hard. “Why?”

“That mark makes a god vulnerable. If they find out a child has formed one, they put an end to it. If someone wanted to kill a god, they’d need to know their true name. And that’s what that mark is: their true name.”

Meera considered that, chewing on a hangnail. “If it’s not common knowledge, how do you know about it? I mean you’re the king, yeah, but I would think that out of everyone, powerful people like you are who they would especially want to hide it from.”

I took a deep breath. The answer to her question had been a secret for a long time, but if I wanted Meera to trust me, I had to be willing to do the same.

“Because . . . my sister had one.”

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