I got barely any sleep before the commander came to wake us up. While everyone put on their shoes and shoved trinkets in their pockets, I stayed still. I had gone to the bed with my shoes on and I hardly needed anything but my picks, which were now uncomfortably poking into my side.

I stayed back to walk with Sunshine on our way down to the kitchen. 

"Can I trust you?" I asked him.

He was surprised I asked. "Yeah, yes of course, Thorne. Why?"

"No reason," I muttered. I only asked, not for an answer, but for the emotion that went with it. I felt he was genuinely curious, which was odd to find in a liar.

I felt the emotions of the people around me during breakfast. There was little fear left. There was some laughter, and I felt the love and happiness and sadness all around me. The lack of fear eased my own worry. 

I still didn't try to eat. The pit in my stomach was growing with every thought. My brother could be dead, or released, or transferred to a different place, or tortured to the point of madness. There might be no reason for me to sneak into the worst and most dangerous place for me to be. Too bad I had to find my brother before the Frostickers learned he was heir.

The woman came in and I almost groaned. I could not sit though another one of her lectures without falling asleep. Sunshine laughed softly at my expression, and returned with a glare.

She made us walk to the room with all of the desks and books. The other people weren't here yet and I sat in the back row without a second thought. Sunshine took the spot in front of me.

The other kids came in a bit more rowdy than we had. Then again, they were the same age in the same city. They, more or less, grew up together. The were happy today. There wasn't too much hate in the room. It was nice.

I found I was wrong. The last person... oh gods, the sadness, the loss. It rushed upon me like a wall of water and I could barely breath. I coughed. Hard. 

I forced myself to get up. Walk, I commanded myself. Walk, walk, walk. 

The woman, I think, asked me what was wrong. I looked sick. I made it out of the room. I made it out of the room. 

Then Sunshine was talking to me. "Look at me. Come on. What's wrong? What's wrong?"

I focused on his concern. I ignored the pain, the hurt, the grief. I sucked in shaky breath. The woman was out here too. 

"No, I'm fine. I'm fine." I was not fine. Not at all. I put on the mask that had fooled people for years. I hadn't been ready. I was ready now.

I brushed past the two of them and went back into the room. They were all watching me, but I was Thorne Jackson. People said my stare could melt steel. When I met their eyes with my own, they looked away. When I walked by them, they turned their heads. My face was cruel.

I sat down in my seat. The sadness was sitting in the seat next to me. I reminded myself to breath. My hand were balled into fists underneath the table. 

Sunshine came back into the room with the woman. The woman locked eyes with me. She was a mess of purple. I didn't want her concern or her sympathy. I wanted her very much to forget I existed. That would not be happening now.

I focused on the woman's words. I focused on Sunshine in front of me. anything except the person next to me.

"Each type has a different color," the woman was saying. "Red is for fire, purple is for ice, blue is for rain, black is for lightening, and green is for wind."

Someone smirked. "Greenies," he muttered. I sucked in a tight breath as the mood next to me shifted. The person sitting in the chair snapped and he stopped sitting. I swore before anybody knew there was something to swear about.

The person that was sitting next to me now had his hands around a throat. There was some screaming, some fear, and still that wave of grief. A guard came in. He pried the fingers off of the throat. More guards.

We were sent back to our rooms, the other group was sent home. The said to be back in an hour.

I ran out of the room as fast as I could. I took the stairs two at a time. I needed to get out. 

I stretched out on my bed. I felt like I had just been in a fight. Without the crushing force of grief, I felt lighter.

I sighed into the pillow at the head of my bed. Sunshine came over. 

"What was that all about?" He asked. He pushed me over on the bed and sat down. 

"Are you taking about me or the boy?"

He laughed. "I guess I'll never figure you out, so the boy."

I thought for a moment. "This is purely a guess, but I think his twin, who might've been able to control wind, died maybe." I said it like I was asking a question.

He grinned. "I'm glad you're so sure, Thorne."

I needed to tell him about myself but not yet. Not yet. 

"Where did you live, you know, before all this?" I asked him.

"Dinala. Where are you from?"

My mouth dropped. "Dinala as well. Did you live in the south?" He nodded. 

"I'm guessing you lived in the north," he said.

I laughed softly. "So it seems were are from the same place." The only thing separating us was a river. The river even had two bridges.

He shook his head, grinning. "Have we met before?"

I shook my head. I would've remembered his awkward limp. "I'm sure you've heard of me though." At his raised eyebrows, I continued. "Have you ever heard of the Obsidian Thief?"

"That wasn't you," he said uncertainly. 

I grinned. "That was me. I'm sure you have heard of one of my best friend as well. He goes by the name of Vetanus." Vetanus was really a musician named Yuilmer that only killed for the money. The man ran away from his family before he was even eighteen.

"The assassin?" Sunshine's eyes were wide. 

"Yes, the assassin," I laughed. "Did you think I hung out with the stuck-up nobles or something like that?" 

He shook his head and whistled. "So you surely were also friends with Uil and Greham?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Not them. They have no morals." 

Sunshine rolled his eyes. "And you do?"

"Yes," I answered. At least, I had more morals than Uli and Greham. The last time I had seen them, they broke Kim's wrist and tried to strangle Jace. One took a knife to the arm and the other a knife to the leg. The knives were thrown by me, of course.

He snorted. "Thieves don't have morals, Thorne."

"Well, why don't I start at the beginning and I'll tell you all about the morals I have."

His eyes narrowed, but he was curious. "Fine. Tell you story."

I drew in a breath. Only what he needed to know, I reminded myself.