Page 45 of Veiled

“I don’t understand,” I admit.

Major Halden chuckles, “I’m not surprised. Go ahead and take a seat. There are only twenty-three minutes left until the deadline. We’ll explain everything then.”

Two more teams and a couple of solo students arrive shortly after, bringing our total to eighteen. Halden claps his hands once, sharp and echoing, and strides to the front of the room.

“Welcome to Ghost Walking,” he announces. “The only class at Scion where you can be dismissed at any moment. We don’t waste time here; we’re only looking for the best of the best.”

“Does anyone here know what Ghost Walkers do?” Captain Lin asks, stepping forward.

We all look around for someone to raise their hand, but no one does.

“Exactly my point,” she says. “What we do is top secret. So, if you don’t think you can lie to your friends and family about what you do on a daily basis, leave. Now.”

The room stays still. No one moves.

She smiles, “Good. Then class has officially begun.”

“First things first, if anyone from class asks if you solved the riddle, you didn’t.” Major Halden instructs

“Over the next month, we will be watching and evaluating you, not only while you’re in this class, but everywhere you go. Sometimes you will see us, most of the time you won’t. We will not interact with you, so we suggest you pretend not to know who we are either.” He continues.

A ripple of unease passes through the room.

“Here in class, you will learn what it means to be a Ghost Walker. We will teach you how to move undetected, find the secrets no one wants you to find, and send you on missions—some of which, you’ll plan yourselves.” Lin tells us.

“You will meet here for class at one in the afternoon every Thursday for the next two weeks, unless told otherwise. We don’t care how you get here, but make sure you are not followed. Once your track orientations are complete, our lessons will change.”

“If you earn the title of Ghost Walker,” she continues, “we will teach you to become invisible. Most people don’t know we exist, and it will stay that way.”

Her gaze sweeps across us. “To be a Ghost Walker means becoming a chameleon. The elite teams you’ll be assigned to after graduation will be made up of fighters, alchemists, and healers, all while blending in like civilians. Any questions?”

“What exactly do you mean by blending in?” Matt asks, his voice hesitant but curious.

Captain Lin turns toward him, her eyes sharp. “Good question.” She pauses, letting the tension build before answering. “It means that, on the outside, no one should know you’re anything but a regular person. You’ll be living in plain sight: on the streets, in a crowd, at your job. But when we need you to, you’ll disappear. Quiet. Unseen.”

Sasha shifts in her seat, arms wrapped tightly around herself again—a nervous tell of hers. “So, we’re spies? Or assassins?” The words are almost a whisper, but they feel too loud in the sudden stillness.

Lin’s smile tightens, just barely. “You’ll be trained to do everything a Ghost Walker does: gather intel, move unseen, eliminate threats when necessary.” Her gaze moves over us. “We operate in the shadows, where no one knows we exist. And when the mission’s over, we walk away—disappearing just like ghosts.”

Well, that didn’t answer the question at all—or maybe it did? I glance around the room at the other students; a few seem to be paler than when they walked in, but most seem to be lost in the idea of becoming something they can’t even imagine yet.

“But we’re still students,” I finally speak up, my voice quieter than I intend. “How do we, how do you, train us for this?”

Major Halden steps forward, crossing his arms as his eyes lock on mine. “You’ll be put through practical exercises. Things that will test your skills, your endurance, your ability to adapt. We’ll see who can make it through the first two weeks, then we’ll see who’s cut out for the rest.”

There’s a finality to his words. While every track at Scion carries its own risks, this one feels different. We have no idea what we’re truly signing up for, and we won’t unless we agree to stay. It doesn’t make sense, but for some reason, I can’t imagine walking away.

The silence stretches. I can hear my own heartbeat, and the shallow breaths of the others as we try to absorb the gravity of what we’ve just heard.

I raise my hand again, a thought tugging at the back of my mind. “What do we mark for this class when we submit our track choices?” The question earns a few nervous looks from the others as they realize that choosing this track would expose anyone who wasn’t dismissed.

Captain Lin nods, clearly pleased. “Excellent question. You will not mark this class. You’ll choose two other tracks and attend those classes as if nothing has changed.”

Matt’s hand shoots up again.

“Go ahead, Recruit Reyes.”

“You mentioned three of the tracks, but what about dragon riding? Is that a track we can pursue?”