My talent wasn't natural. It was taken, given to my mother and I inherited it. The thought that I took someone's talent made my sick to my stomach. Someone trained all their youth only to give it up unknowingly. Somone like Eydis. My fingernails dug into my hands as I walked down the road. I was just as much a monster as these capital people.

I was a fraud. A sham. Talent wasn't mine to perfect. 

I had to get out of here. I didn't belong here. This was not my home. 

"Telvi!" Kol shouted after me. 

I didn't stop as I walked down the sidewalk. Emotions were getting the better of me as I bit back tears. 

If I didn't have skating, what was I? Did I have any worth? 

"Telvi, wait!"

"You should wait for him," Ezra said, reminding me that he was still following. 

I glared at him. I asked him if he wanted to come find my bother. I never thought he would come this far. If fact, I didn't want him to be here anymore. His use was complete.

"Walter, can't you leave me alone?" I snapped at him. 

He flinched back, stopping in his tracks. 

"You did what you promised you would do. Why are you still here? I don't want you around, Ezra."

As far as I was concerned, he was just as part of this messed up system as I was. I couldn't have two of us. That was too much. 

He frowned as Kol caught up to us with a huff. 

He opened his mouth then shut it, waiting for me to say something, anything back. "Fine. If you don't want me around, you could have just said." He lifted his hands. "Good luck getting back home, Telvi." 

I frowned as I watched him walk down a road with his hands in his pockets. I made no attempt to call him back. I didn't need him. He didn't belong in the Commonwealth anyhow. He belonged here. 

"What did you do, Telvi?" Kol accused me of like I was a child.

I shrugged, looking him straight in the eye. "I didn't need him."

"Maybe that is the case, but Telvi, that was just rude. You know better."

"I don't need a lecture," I hissed. I had enough on my mind. I didn't need Kol to add to it. 

He took a step back. "Alright. Have it your way. But where are you going?" 

"Home. This place is not for me. We don't belong here, Kol." 

He frowned. "But maybe we do. Maybe we could make this place better." 

How could he think such a thing? My eye widened in shock. 

"I think I'm going to stay. This is our birth right and I want to know more about it," Kol said.

His words knocked the breath out of me. Was he saine? What happened to the time he begged me not to come here. Now he was choosing to stay willingly. "What about our home?"

"I think it can wait for us a little longer."

"But there is a war going on," I stressed as smoke rose above the buildings. "It is not safe here." 

"I honestly don't think Hell is any better. Food shortages, electricity cuts, people vanishing. You don't know what you left." 

My eyes welled with tears. "I can't go back without you." 

"Then stay, our grandmother offered us to stay with her." 

"She is a stranger. A Motherwealth snob."

"But she doesn't have to be." 

Tears were falling down my cheeks. I couldn't stay here in the place where I knew what my parents did. The damage and lies that they caused. This place was a reminder of what they took. The thoughts would crush me eventually. I couldn't have that. "I can't stay," I whispered. 

He placed his hand on my shoulder then brought me into a tight hug. "Then go." 

My fingers curled around his shirt, gripping onto any bit of him I could. "Please come with me," I begged as I choked back a sob.

"I will return, but not yet. I need to learn more about this place. For so long I hated this because everyone hated it. Our parents hated it. But why? I need to find out for myself." He let go from the embrace and wiped a tear from my cheek. 

My lower lip quivered as I stared at my brother. The one that taught me how to hate the Motherwealth and now he wanted to stay? "Please."

"You can't convince me otherwise. I'll be back. I promise. But for now, I need to stay."

There was no use convincing him. He made up his mind. He was stubborn, like myself.

He brought me into an embrace one more time. It was short but meaningful. It was full of unspoken words and love. He let go and gave a nod. "Alright. I'll see you soon." 

I nodded, although I didn't believe him. "See you soon." 

Without saying another word, he turned on his heals then walked back towards the house that he came from. 

I stood on the sidewalk, waiting for him to turn back or change his mind. He never did. He didn't even look back. The last I saw was his backside was he walked into the house.

He was gone from me, once again. And the Motherwealth was to blame. He didn't need to stay. I could have told him all he needed to know about the Motherwealth. I had lived here for a few months after all. I could have said the people were ignorant, clueless, vain, beautiful, charming, and complex. Maybe he needed to see it with his own eyes. 

A siren rang out, as gun fire filled the air. I heard screams from a few roads away. My heart raced so quickly that I thought it was in my throat. 

I didn't waste any time as I ducked and hid in a nearby alley. In the emptiness of the alley, I brought my knees to my chest as tears welled in my eyes. No one was beside me, providing comfort in a time like this. I wished Ezra was here. I wished I didn't chase him off. 

The gun fire continued until the sun set.  

I did not see a single soul as time passed. Kol never returned and Ezra was never seen. I was alone and now Hell didn't seem so great of a place to return. Hell was home because of Kol. But if Kol was not coming with me, was it really home? 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the gun fire stopped. Probably because it was hard to see the enemy when there was no light. 

Carefully, I got up from my hiding spot and peered out into the main road. It was empty. Quiet. 

Unsure how to get out of the capital, I wondered to the place were I was first dropped off at. It didn't take long to get to the tents and hovercrafts. They were still working, busily, under flood lights. I wondered if they took a break to sleep. 

"I recognize you. You're Ezra's friend," a voice rang out. 

I turned to face the man who broke up the fight in Hell. He looked tired. I probably looked the same. 

With the distant bombs and gun fire going off, it was eating into my sanity. My heart jumped every time I heard something. It was exhausting. I am sure he felt the same. If not more.

"What brings you back here?" 

"Are you going back to Commonwealths to pick up drafters still?" I asked. I knew that this was a long shot, but without Ezra, I didn't know what else to do. 

He nodded. "We are running daily at this point."

"Can I come with you?" 

He scratched his neck in silence for a second. I bit my lip, wondering if I asked too much of him. "I don't see why not," he said finally. "We don't have any need to small girls to fight our wars anyhow." 

I gave a sad smile and a sigh of relief. 

"Have any place in mind?"

I nodded. I knew exactly where I would go.