Special — Vanessa Cardui

Dannel doesn't have any reality-breaking powers that he knows of. But he tested fifteen on a Special meter, making him a target for every gang squabbling over the ruins of civilization-and for Pacification, a totalitarian organization dedicated to restoring order at all costs. One wrong step leads to Dannel being given as tribute to Lord Alone, the undisputed leader of Oldcity Core. Alone, in turn, turns Dannel over to his scitech, Sera, with orders to find out what Dannel's special talent is, and to put it to use in service of Alone's dreams of empire. By turns cheerful and cruel, demanding and tender, Sera is unlike any woman Dannel has ever known. She's the master he must obey, the teacher who unlocks his ability to make his dreams real. And she's the only thing that stands between him being spent like a case of ammunition when the guns are firing.