Give me everything you have,

  —Octavia Ellis, “Harmony”

  and you will have all I can give.

  —Stratos, “Harmony”

  They didn’t have time to check on Aubrey. The nest was still shaking, and crystal was collapsing all around them. Anyone with a calling was far sturdier than the average person, but no one could shrug off crystal in the same category as them or higher. The screeching filled the air, and Violet had to pull Daniel through the tunnel to keep him from getting crushed as they fled.

  She almost wanted to just let him die. He was obviously more than a little suspicious of her, and that was dangerous. But he knew where to find the heart, and that mattered more, for the time being. She’d find out exactly why he was suspicious of her, and decide how much she valued his talent—and his life—once she knew exactly how dangerous he was. And how much he’d already said to Aubrey before she’d woken up.

  The collapse only lasted maybe ten seconds, but it felt like much longer. Crystal rained on her, decorating her hair and clothes as the tunnel collapsed. But she managed to make it out and into the open before it was completely destroyed. The trembling slowed a moment later as the shriek faded in their ears. Violet finally let go of Daniel as soon as it did, allowing him to slump against the nearest wall. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees and catching her breath. Her lungs may not have been literally tired, but anxiety knew how to make her gasp anyway.

  She allowed a few long seconds to pass before standing and stretching her back out. “Are you alright, Daniel?” Violet finally asked. The boy didn’t respond right away, and she turned to look at him. He was still sitting against the wall, his hood over his hanging head. A shiver was the only thing revealing he was still alive. She walked over and unceremoniously plopped down next to him, wrapping her arms around her folded knees. “Daniel, we can’t freeze up now. People are still counting on us. I know you don’t trust me. I don’t know why. But I know you don’t. And listen. You and I are all we have right now. We’re cut off from Aubrey. From the heart, and Kiera, and everything else. We have to work together if we want to survive.”

  Daniel didn’t answer right away, but he did take a deep breath. Violet put a hand on his shoulder, and he flinched.

  “I know. We have to move. I’m sorry. I just… come on. Let’s go,” he finally agreed. Violet stopped him, pulling him back against the wall gently.

  “We do, but we need to work through some things first,” Violet said. “First of all, is the heart still moving?” Daniel paused. Then, his head moved slightly, as if he were following something with his eyes.

  “Yes, a little. But…” he paused and tilted his head. “It’s too far away. It can’t still be in the nest, not at this distance. And it’s slowing down.”

  “Oh!” Violet exclaimed, “She must have gotten it out! Or, at least, something did. Either way, it’ll be much easier to get to, and Kiera probably survived, right? Finally, some good news!” Daniel paused.

  “What if the hedron took it?” he asked. Violet shook her head.

  “Why would a hedron take the heart of its own nest outside? And it’s slowing down? It has to be Kiera!” Violet insisted. And if it isn’t, we likely can’t chase it down. Either way, the odds of finding it without you are much better now, she thought. A heart out in the open would present itself pretty quickly if left alone. That much unattached clarity would attract hedron on its own. Daniel wouldn’t be needed to find it. The biggest worry was getting to Kiera before she made the right choice and brought it back to the train on her own. At least, in the likely event that she did, in fact, make it out with the heart. But either way, Daniel’s value to Violet plummeted in a moment.

  “I hope you’re right,” Daniel whispered. He was still so nervous. More than she’d seen him so far, in fact. And she had a feeling that was because he was alone with her. It was time to decide. Was she willing to kill him? Could she live with the guilt? If the answer was no, there was no reason to push as much as she needed to. There would be little she could do about it. Her best move would be to undermine him, in that case. Less safe, but it wouldn’t matter much what he believed. She'd have to do it either way. Which meant, to her, asking the question she wanted to ask would essentially be making the decision to kill him. To murder an innocent boy, who had only wronged her by learning the truth. Daniel started to rise again.

  And again, she held him in place.

  “Hey, Daniel, can I ask something?” she said. He paused, then nodded, still not meeting her eyes. “You said something when we were outside the nest. Do you remember?” He froze. Violet enjoyed that. She’d made the decision, and she was now in control. She couldn’t help but enjoy it. And she was a little ashamed of that. But shame alone rarely stops an addict once they’ve chosen a vice, and she didn’t want to be stopped. She wanted control.

  “I… don’t. Not exactly. What do you mean?” he asked.

  “When we wanted to break through the door. You really don’t remember?” Violet pressed. Daniel sat still, but she felt him start to shiver again.

  “Not exactly,” he insisted.

  “Not exactly,” Violet mused. “That’s interesting. How exactly do your talents work? I think if you wouldn’t mind explaining, that might clear things up. I know about “Dowsing”, but you’re a five or six, right? You should have two.”

  “It’s just a bit private, that’s all,” Daniel answered.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude on your privacy. That would be just… unacceptable,” Violet replied with a worried tone in her voice. “It’s just that, you said something that’s been rattling around my head ever since. And if I knew how your talent worked, I might be able to make sense of it, you know?” As she spoke, she ran her right hand through her hair and idly pulled her ribbon out. As her sidetail fell and her hair landed loosely on her shoulders, Daniel dug his fingers into his legs.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “It really is personal. I can’t use it to help us get out of here, I promise. Can we just drop it?” he pleaded. Violet sighed. He was obviously lying, and he wasn’t really trying to hide it.

  “I want to. I really do. I’d like to stand up, climb out of here, and forget the whole thing. It’s just… well, I like my privacy too, you know? And you’ve got this mysterious calling that helps you find things, and an unknown talent. And, well, you said I was stronger than you. Do you see the problem?” Violet said.

  “W–What?” he asked. Violet leaned against him in a gentle bump like an affectionate friend.

  “You know. We were looking for the person with the best strength attribute, and you said I was stronger than you. Remember? How did you know that?” Violet asked. Daniel’s breathing started to speed up. He knew exactly how much danger he was in. Which only confirmed Violet’s suspicion.

  “You… you told me, before we left. When everyone was sharing their classes,” he answered. Violet put one finger on her lips.

  “Hmmm. I’m pretty sure I didn’t, actually. I told you my calling. A Storm Scout, remember? I told you my degree. I even told you my attributes favored perception. But I never said anything about strength. How do you know mine is higher?” Violet pushed.

  Daniel didn’t answer.

  “How does your second talent work?” Violet asked again.

  Still, Daniel didn’t answer.

  “You know, someone interrupted me, back on the train. When I was… practicing my calling. Was that you?” Violet asked.

  “That was—” Daniel started, then stopped himself and changed course. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Daaanieeel,” Violet sang at him. “How does your second talent work?”

  “Violet, please,” Daniel whispered.

  “Did you see something you shouldn’t have?” Violet asked again. Her fingers, still holding him in place, started to dig into his shoulder. “Did you learn something… personal? Something private?” She could feel his fear. The answer was obvious. She drank his panic in like milk and honey. She was starting to truly love her calling.

  Violet was in control.

  “No. No, I swear to God, Violet, I saw nothing. I don’t know what you mean!” he begged. Violet immediately let go of him.

  “Oh, okay. Thanks!” she replied cheerfully. “Glad we cleared that up!” Daniel was still trembling, and the sudden change clearly confused him. Violet stood up and walked in front of him, offering her hand to help him stand up.

  “Th–That’s it?” he asked.

  “Sure! You wouldn’t lie to me, right? Besides, I owe you one!” Violet replied. She held her hand out still, but shrugged and withdrew it as he failed to accept it.

  “F–For what?” Daniel asked.

  “I’ve been working through some things, you know? My calling is a tricky one. It's hard to decide what lines are okay to cross to feed it. But this talk with you… well, it didn’t clear it up entirely, but it helped. Let me see further through the mist, if that makes sense?” she explained.

  “Um, sure, I guess so,” Daniel replied. Violet smiled, a more genuine smile than Daniel had ever seen on her. It was far too wide to look natural, and her pupils grew far too narrow, like pinpricks.

  “Do you really?” Violet asked.

  “Y–Yes,” Daniel agreed.

  “Really, really?” Violet pressed. Daniel tried to back away, but found red crystal in his way. Violet leaned in closer. Close enough to be exciting. Were it a different pretty girl so close to a different boy in a different place. Daniel started to cry.

  “I’m sorry,” he begged. “I shouldn’t have looked. I’m not supposed to use my talent without a good reason, I know that! I just… I just thought you were pretty, and I was nervous, and I thought it would help me break the ice! I didn’t know! I didn’t know you were…”

  Violet’s smile vanished, turning immediately to a pout. “Did you see something you shouldn’t have?” she repeated in a childish, disappointed voice.

  “I didn’t know!” Daniel insisted. “But I won’t tell anyone! I swear to God, I won’t tell anyone!”

  “Tell anyone what? About my Reaper calling?” Violet asked. “That I can hide my actual attributes?” she leaned in, her lips nearly brushing against Daniel’s ear. “That I murdered the lancer who was supposed to protect us?” Water ran down Daniel’s cheeks, and his voice wavered as he responded.

  “I won’t tell anyone anything!” he swore.

  “Tell me, how does your talent work?” Violet insisted. Finally, Daniel nodded.

  “I–It’s just… it just lets me evaluate people and hedron. It lets me see your calling and attributes. I’m… not supposed to use it on other people. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” Daniel whimpered. Violet hummed. She hadn’t heard of such a talent before. That could get dicey, if enough people had it.

  “Is that so? Why don’t you try it now?” she asked. Daniel looked at her with wide eyes. He obviously wanted to ask why, but fear overtook curiosity, and his eyes glazed a bit as he looked at her.

  “I don’t understand…” he whispered. His eyes widened even further, and confusion mixed in with the fear. Violet smiled. “It… it says you have no calling now. A category white…” Then, a moment later, he understood. “Oh. Your talent…”

  “So, it does work on yours, it just has to be active. Interesting. Thank you, Daniel, that is good to know,” Violet answered sweetly. That was far more valuable information than the location of the heart, at least to Violet. She couldn’t keep her talent active all the time, or she would exhaust herself. But it was good to know she could at least hide her calling from such talents when she had reason to worry about their use. She was glad she’d asked.

  “Please, just let me go,” Daniel whispered.

  “Swear you won’t tell anyone what you saw the first time?” Violet pressed.

  “I swear!” Daniel answered immediately.

  “But didn’t you already try?” Violet whispered. Daniel’s breathing started to lurch as he panicked.

  “She wouldn’t listen! I didn’t tell her anything, I promise! You have to believe me!” he shouted. Violet finally rolled back on her feet, allowing a little more space between her face and his. She reached one hand to his cheek and patted it twice.

  “Daniel, you are perhaps the worst liar I’ve ever met. And you did not just lie. I believe you,” she answered. She allowed that to settle for just a few moments. Enough time for him to process her words and release a little tension before she spoke again. “But you were lying when you said you wouldn’t tell anyone else, I’m afraid.”

  Daniel didn’t get a chance to respond. The red crystal hammer was already in Violet’s hand, and he was right. As it crashed into his skull the first time, it was painfully clear that he’d been right.

  Violet was stronger than him.