Elara’s first day at Dominion was filled with training. There was no special treatment. Quite the opposite. The trainer assigned to her treated her just like every other new recruit. “Again.” Elara struck the punching bag in front of her. Once. Twice. Three times. Until her palms began to hurt. “Harder.” Elara drew a breath and struck again. Several Dominion members watched from a distance. “Is she really Theodore’s daughter?” “Yeah.” “She doesn’t look like someone who’s ever lived far outside this world.” “She doesn’t know anything yet.” Elara could hear the whispers. But she chose not to care. Until someone spoke louder. “She was only accepted because of her father’s name.” Elara stopped moving. She turned around. A man stood not far from her. His gaze was unfriendly. Elara walked closer. “What’s your name?” “Marcus.” “Marcus.” Elara gave a small nod. “If you have a problem with me, say it to my face.” Marcus gave her a crooked smile. “I don’t have a problem.” “Good.” “But I’m not sure you’ll last long.” Elara stared at him. “We’ll see.” Marcus was about to respond, but Adrian’s voice came from behind them. “Enough.” Everyone fell silent at once. Adrian walked closer. His gaze swept across the entire room. “She is Theodore’s daughter.” Adrian then looked at Elara. “But her family name won’t earn her a place here.” Elara nodded. “Good.” Adrian studied her for a few moments. “If you want to be in Dominion, prove for yourself that you’re worthy.” Elara turned back to the punching bag. She clenched her hands. Then struck it again.
Toward evening, Elara was summoned to Adrian’s office. Nolan was already there. The moment he saw Elara’s reddened hands, his expression changed. His gaze dropped briefly to Elara’s fingers before returning to her face. “You trained until your hands looked like that?” Elara looked at her own hands. The skin over her knuckles was still red, but she didn’t seem particularly bothered by it. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” “That’s not what I meant.” Nolan’s tone made Elara look at him again. But he didn’t explain. Elara simply walked to the desk and sat in the chair across from Adrian. “What is it?” Adrian didn’t answer right away. His gaze lingered on Elara’s hands before he took a folder from the side of the desk and placed it in front of her. Elara looked at the folder. “Your first assignment.” Nolan immediately turned to Adrian. “Are you sure, Papa?” Adrian looked at him calmly. “She has to start somewhere.” “She just joined.” “Exactly because of that.” Elara picked up the folder and opened it. Inside was an address and some information about a building. Elara read everything without rushing. “What am I supposed to do?” “Retrieve a box.” Elara looked up. “What’s inside?” “Documents.” “That’s it?” Adrian nodded. Elara raised an eyebrow. “I’m not supposed to kill someone?” “No.” Nolan let out a quiet sigh, as if he had expected that question. Elara paid him no attention. She went back to reading the documents in her hands. There was no target’s name, no guards, not even a deadline. That very absence made her even more suspicious. “Too simple.” Adrian looked at her seriously. “Nothing is simple in Dominion.” The words brought Elara’s wandering gaze to a halt. “What does that mean?” “Do your job. Don’t make trouble. Don’t take anything besides what you were instructed to retrieve.” Elara looked at Adrian for several seconds. She chose not to press him any further. Elara nodded. “Fine.” Her mind began piecing together other possibilities hidden behind the order. She looked over the contents of the folder again. She memorized the address, along with the information about the building that was her destination. After that, Elara was about to close the folder. But as she did, her eyes caught something. A code written at the bottom of the document. She stared at the code a little longer. The arrangement of the symbols felt familiar. “What’s this?” Adrian’s hand moved faster than before. He immediately snatched the folder from her hands. “It’s not important.” Adrian said it flatly. Elara looked at Adrian. “You look nervous, Uncle.” “I’m not nervous.” The answer came too quickly. Nolan, who had remained silent until then, simply watched the two of them. The room fell silent again. Adrian then handed the folder back to her. “Don’t ask too many questions.” Elara took the folder and looked at Adrian’s face. Elara smiled faintly. The smile showed no trust. “You know I can’t do that, Uncle.” Elara kept smiling. Adrian didn’t return her smile.