"I already got sight of the Motherwealth employees," Ezra said as soon as he walked out of the bakery. He pointed towards the town hall.

Memories flood my mind from when I was last there. I was signing an agreement to go to the capital. It was clean, neat, perfect. I thought all of the Motherwealth was like that. 

"They are all there. I've thought about what I'll say to them and I'm just going to say I brought you home to pick up some herbs that only grow here that you need for your training." He pulled out a small bottle of dried leaves that I recognized as kannabis. 

"Do you know what that is?" I asked cautiously. I knew a lot of towns, Hell included, did not take kindly to that kind of leaf.

He shrugged and placed it back in his pocket. "It looked important. Found it deep under the sink in your house. So I thought why not?" 

"I don't know if your plan will work. That stuff is illegal in Hell."

His eyes widened in shock. "Then why do you have it?"

"Kol used it more than me. He said it was to loosen up." 

He looked back towards the direction of my home. I knew what he was thinking. But I didn't want to waste any more time. 

"If you didn't recognize it, other Capital folk won't. We should be fine," I said in the most confident voice I could muster. With my head held high, I continued my path towards the town hall. After a moment, I turned to see if Ezra was following me. He wasn't. He was frozen in place with a look of distraught on his face. 

"Come on, Ezra." 

"What other things do you participate in that are illegal?"

I rolled my eyes. Out of all the things he could be hung up, that was it? "You really think this is the time for that?" 

He nodded.

"Walter, Ezra. You lost your mind," I scoffed. "You want to talk about illegal? You broke me out of the capital and ran away with me."

He frowned then kicked a rock with his leather brown shoes. "I didn't think about that."

"Of course you didn't. Now, come, we have to continue on." I glanced at the town hall, hoping that the small scene wasn't as dramatic as I thought it was. Hopefully no one noticed us just in the middle of the street. It was one of the small times when I was glad there were few cars in Hell. We weren't going to get hit just standing here.

"It's just- I never broke the law before." 

"That's obvious," I said a little too quickly. 

"You clearly have."

I nodded. "I live in Hell. We need to break laws to survive." There were so many times that I stole or worked a shift unregistered just to get a little bit more. The laws for the Motherwealth were not sustainable for the Commonwealth. "But Ezra, can we talk about this another time? We need to get back." 

He sighed as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Do you think the people will know what the bottle of leaves are?" 

I shrugged. "Don't know. Probably not." 

"Alright. Let's go." He started forward again. Thank goodness. 

As we got closer, one of the Motherwealth officials stopped and smirked as we approached. 

"Now what are you doing here, Ezra? Your daddy isn't here to protect you," he said with a chuckle.

The corners of Ezra's mouth turned downward. 

"What brings you here to Hell?" the man asked, crossing his hands over his chest, showing his round biceps. 

Ezra swallowed loudly. "She needed some herbs for training, and I accompanied her to make sure she didn't run," he said confidently, although I saw a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. 

"What are these herbs she needs?" 

Ezra fished the bottle from his pocket and showed it quickly before wrapping his fingers around the container, hiding it from view.

I bit my tongue, unsure what to do but I couldn't tear my eyes away. I had to watch the events unfold. Clearly, they knew each other. And clearly the man in front of us had some kind of beef with Ezra. Ezra looked uncomfortable. Maybe he could sense that this man had the upper hand. Maybe this was the first time. Maybe he held our fate in his hands. 

The air was thick with tension. Seconds passed in silence and my heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears. 

Ezra's posture turned more rigid with every second. 

The man in front of us had his dark eyes blazing with fury. "Oh, go to the Commonwealth will be good for you, Alex. I don't think you'll do anything grand in the capital." 

Ezra's jaw tightened. 

"Well, looks like I'm about to do something grand here." His lips curling into a mocking smile.

Ezra clenched his fists. 

The tension snapped like a taut wire. Ezra lunged forward, his fist swinging towards Alex. The blow connected with a sickening thud, and Alex staggered back, clutching his jaw. 

A yelp escaped my mouth which I quickly covered as I stepped back. 

Alex recovered quickly, his eyes narrowing as he launched himself at Ezra.

The fight was brutal and chaotic, a flurry of punches and kicks. I could see the raw hatred in their eyes, each strike fueled by resentment. Blood splattered the ground, and I winced at the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

I wanted to scream, to run and get help, but my feet felt rooted to the spot. I could only watch, helpless, as the two of them tore into each other. The world around me seemed to fade away, leaving only the violent dance of their struggle.

"Son of a twister. What is going on here?" A voice roared. 

My eyes snapped to a tall figure approaching. He wore a frown as he rushed closer. 

"Walter, is that Ezra Deam?" 

Ezra scrambled to his feet then wiped the blood from his mouth. His chest heaving, his face a mask of exhaustion and concern. 

"What brings you here, son?" 

Ezra placed his hands on his knees as he struggled to calm his breathing. "She needed some herbs to help her training." He thumbed to me. 

He frowned. "You haven't heard have you..." his voice trailing off. 

"What?" 

"The neighboring country bombed the campus. There isn't much of a talent program now." 

My stomach twisted in knots. I wasn't sure if I was grateful or terrified for all the people left behind. What about Ari? What about all the others?

"If you want to take her back, you can catch a ride with the next draft wave." He pointed towards a hovercraft. "We will be leaving shortly."

"Thank you so much."

He nodded. "Just be safe out there." He turned his attention to Alex. "Now, get yourself together. Wash up and return to your post."

Alex gave a sharp nod but not before glaring at Ezra. 

Ezra gave little attention to Alex as we walked past them towards the hovercraft. But I turned back to see Alex staring us down. There was hatred in his eyes, and I couldn't shake the questions swarming in my mind. Ezra looked completely unbothered by the scuffle, as if it had happened before. Maybe it had.

"Who was that?"

Ezra frowned as he touched his bloody nose. "It was an old acquaintance."

"Looks like enemy would be a better word," I quipped. 

His face twisted up as if eating something sour. "It was an old rivalry. Someone that didn't see eye to eye with. Telvi, I don't want to talk about it." 

I nodded as we got onto the hovercraft. "Alright." Although the pit in my stomach grew. Maybe I was right to begin with, Ezra wasn't to be trusted. 

There was so much I didn't know about him. But then again, there was so much he didn't know about me. We were two strangers on this journey together. Two different souls from two different lives. I never could be interested in him. I don't know why I even thought we could be something. We were complex and there wasn't much to salvage. 

I didn't understand why I was getting hung up on the fight. I had seen Kol fight hundreds of times. There were so many other things to worry about. Why did this matter to me?

"The ride is going to be bumpy. Fair warning. The attacks haven't stopped, and it makes the trek difficult," the pilot said to Ezra. 

"Thanks for the warning." He sat down in an empty seat, and I followed right beside him. 

I looked around at the people sitting on the craft. A lot of them I recognized. I think they would have recognized me too if they actually looked up to meet my eyes. They all wore tired faces as they quietly looked at the ground. I couldn't help but wonder if I looked like this when I first went to the capital. 

We waited a few moments in silence. Not one person said a word. It filled the space with an uncomfortable feeling. I wondered if they were worried about the impending danger, they would be involved in. Did they get drafted against their will? Were they getting compensation like Kol was when I agreed to go to the capital?

"What is the Motherwealth giving you for going?" I asked before I realized I said it.

A few looked up at me with a frown. "Money for my family," one said. "I need it to pay for food which only gets more expensive." 

I didn't recognize the man who spoke up. He looked young, maybe no older than 18. His worn-out jeans were slightly too large on him. They were held up with a shoelace tied around his waist. I wondered if they ever fit him. 

"Were you drafted then?" I asked.

He nodded. "But I'll go. It's either this or the mines and I don't want to go there."

My stomach sank. I understood what he meant. That was why I went. I didn't want Kol to go there.

"I think we got everyone. Let's take off," the man who broke up the fight said as he got onto the craft, closing the door behind him.

"Rodger that." With that, the hovercraft was thrusted into the air and once again I was heading to the capital.