Book 2: Chapter 31 - Best Friends for Life

Violet Asher is more than trustworthy.
She is one of the only people I trust.

And one of the only people who has always trusted me.

The only cruel thing about Violet is
the dogshit family she got stuck with.
—Kiera Mulberry

The blue crystal walls reminded Violet of an aquarium. She'd never actually been to an aquarium, of course. She was fairly certain such places had ceased to exist with the old world, in fact. Very few living people could survive even a brief visit to the ocean, after all. The nests there were largely out of reach, and many of them reached Category Violet as a result. Even if an aquarium had any use in the new world, it would be empty.

But she'd seen them in movies, and the way light reflected off the tower walls looked like water. Violet was mildly entranced by this effect as she climbed the winding stairs. It was eerily quiet, with no other visitors and the blue walls blocking all outside sound. It left her mind prone to wandering, apparently. It was also comforting. Whatever Kiera had to tell her here, no one would hear it. Not unless a violet was on campus and extremely nearby. And the four Category Violets in the city didn't love leaving their too-large district. It would be safe.

Violet finally made it to the top and took a deep breath. A few months before, that climb would have exhausted her. But as a Category Orange, it had been little more than tedious. It hadn’t taken very long, despite the height. In fact, Kiera hadn't even arrived yet. It was just Violet and the impossibly large crystal bell above. It was dark inside, especially since she’d closed the door at the bottom. But not as dark as it should have been. The blue crystal seemed to give off its own light, especially from the bell. It was a strange place. At least to a girl from such a small town. Like smelling seawater for the first time. 

Violet leaned against the railing as she looked down at the bottom of the enclosed tower. Then, she looked up and examined the roof. There were four panels that seemed to retract, presumably so the bell could be heard when it was used. She was glad they were closed, however. An opening would have allowed sound to escape, and she couldn’t be certain of exactly how much the headmaster could hear. This was even safer than the dorms.

The door at the bottom opened, and Violet leaned to see her friend entering below. It was nearly six hundred feet down, but the fox would make quick work of the climb. Violet was preparing a joke to shout down at her tardy friend when she felt a sudden and alarming lurch in her gut. The world turned to blurred color as she started to fall, and adrenaline tore through her veins like fire. Instead of a joke, the only sound that traveled to the girl at the bottom of the tower was a sharp yelp of fear.

She didn’t even realize she’d done anything as she found herself suspended over the edge. Only her feet still touched the ground. The rest of her body hung at a near forty-five degree angle over the drop to the bottom. A thick vine of shadow gripped the wall behind her—a subconscious choice that had saved her life. As she looked down, she made direct eye contact with the girl below. Although the distance meant Kiera likely didn’t realize as much. The railing she was leaning against had apparently buckled under her as she’d leaned too far. It took her a moment to get her bearings before she regained conscious control over her talent. Finally, she pulled herself back up. It would have been humiliating to die to an unsteady railing after everything she’d survived. As Violet shakily regained her footing, she scowled at the still-hanging bar. It was blue crystal, exactly like everything else had been. The material was too strong to collapse under the incredible weight of a teenage girl. Which meant it had been constructed improperly. A theory supported by the fact that it was unbroken, and still connected to the next segment of the railing on one side.

She was idly wondering if she should find and kill whoever had placed it—or perhaps the building inspector, if such a position existed. Then, she heard the sound of Kiera literally bounding up the spiraled stairs that circled the tower. The girl had grown more than a tail and ears. Her hands and feet were entirely covered with red crystal, and sharp fur was starting to disappear down the back of her blouse. She was on all four limbs and ascending at a startling speed. Violet was almost confused at the urgency—until she realized Kiera must have seen her nearly fall. Worse, she realized her friend had likely seen her catch herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bothered to hurry like she was.

Violet was already forming a lie. She didn’t consider killing Kiera this time, as she had when the police had arrived in the dorms. Not necessarily because she was unwilling, but because she’d gone through so much effort to free the other girl. The only thing worse than finding herself entirely subordinate to Cyan Asher would be if she’d gotten nothing out of it. That meant keeping Kiera alive. The distance between them had been significant, and perception wasn’t Kiera’s forte. It wouldn’t be difficult to convince her friend that she’d been mistaken. In the meantime, Violet was impressed by the urgent speed of the ascent. And by the interesting additions to the animalistic appearance. She wondered what the true extent of Kiera’s fox-like features was when she was using all of her abilities.

This was distracting enough that Violet actually failed to put together a plausible lie in the minutes before Kiera all but jumped her. The near-feral girl had made it to the top with alarming efficiency, and Violet was worried she’d hit the same broken railing if she didn’t slow her momentum. But, to the reaper’s surprise, the fox stopped abruptly at the top, eyes scanning the scene for a few moments. A panicked realization strangled Kiera’s gaze for only a second before suddenly dulling to an empty stare. The excess crystal receded, and Kiera stood still in a confused haze for several seconds. Finally, she shook her head, then smiled at Violet.

“Hiya!” she greeted. “Sorry about that, I’m not sure why I was in such a fucking hurry. But shit. I'm glad you came.”

Violet found herself robbed of words for a moment. Kiera had seen her start to fall; she was certain of it. It was the only explanation for the desperately fast climb her friend had made. Yet, as the other girl stood before her, all Violet could perceive was the shine of sweat and an air of embarrassment. Violet abandoned her worries over her potentially revealed talent—and all that would entail. She was too fascinated by what she was looking at to be anxious. 

There had been a moment of understanding. More than Violet had thought Kiera could reach with such limited context. It was a fearful, horrified understanding. Like the fox had pieced together that Violet had a higher category than her empathy ring displayed. But not only that. Also, how many lies that would allow, and even which ones were likely. In the worst case scenario, even which events could be explained by it. Violet had perhaps let paranoia project more deductions onto Kiera’s expression than it actually carried. But at least a couple of pieces had fallen into place.

And then, they’d vanished. Like Kiera hadn’t seen anything at all. It didn't feel like a trick or a deception. Kiera’s relief was too real for that. Her total lack of fear was too thorough. It was like nothing strange had happened to begin with. Of course, Kiera responded to everything with a certain lack of serious concern. But… this felt like more than that. Or perhaps that had been more than it seemed. Violet wasn’t sure what to make of it either way. She would have to figure it out as they spoke.

So she smiled.

“Of course! We’re friends, right?” Violet answered.

Kiera sighed in relief. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess we are. Still…” she trailed off, then looked around. In lieu of proper seating, she walked to the wall and sat on the ground. She extended her legs to one side and rested her shoulder against the wall. It was a more… feminine posture than Violet expected from the crass girl, but the irritated tail revealed the true purpose for it. Kiera just couldn’t sit with her back against the wall. 

That must be irritating, Violet thought. But she accepted the implicit invitation and joined the other girl. Violet did sit with her back to the wall, turning her head just in time to catch a mildly jealous pout leaving the fox's face.

“Seriously. Thanks for showing. I was gonna look like a bit of a dumb bitch if I climbed up here and you didn't come. Which would, you know. Be fair. Considering everyone thinks I’m a murderer, and all that. And we did just meet,” Kiera said again. She looked Violet in the eyes, then bit her lip nervously. “Shit, I’m fucking rambling, aren’t I? Look. The point is, thanks for coming.”

“Like I said. Of course,” Violet repeated. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Kiera lifted an eyebrow. “That kind of is what I wanted to talk about, actually. At least, to start with. I have to ask. Why? Why ‘of course?’ We just fucking met! And I hear you stuck your neck out for me? Kassie said she healed broken ribs, just to get your family to help me make bail. I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, but still. You refused to leave me back at the nest. You saved my life when you could have run. And now you've gotten yourself hurt trying to help me. After you were given every reason not to trust me. You watched me get carried off in handcuffs, for Christ’s sake!” Kiera interrogated.

Violet sighed. “I really wish you would try to keep your language at least a little clean,” she responded. 

Kiera started to form an incredulous look, but managed to wrestle it away. Instead, she let out a hot breath and nodded. “Yeah, fine. I guess you deserve a little fucking effort on my part. I’ll try,” she responded. Violet gave the girl a flat look. “Shit, sorry. Starting now. Err… fuck. Now. Goddamnit. Look. I’m doing my best.”

Violet sighed. “It takes time to break habits, it’s fine,” she replied.

“Still, though. Why?” Kiera pushed.

Violet rested her cheek in one hand, supported by her elbow on one knee. “The answer to that is… a bit embarrassing,” Violet admitted. “But, uh. You know how I was a Category White until recently?”

“Sure,” Kiera confirmed. “It’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard, so that made it slightly memorable.”

Violet chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is. But that’s beside the point,” she replied. “You focused on how quickly I advanced once I got my calling. But what you missed was how long I spent without one. And… how I was treated…”

Kiera was silent for a long moment. When she spoke, she could only offer one word. But it was a word that offered novels of understanding. “Oh.”

Violet nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t amazing, all things considered. I had Alex, but… he never really cared about me, you know. He was just too meek to hit on anyone he couldn't look down on. But he was nice, at least. So I had that. But that wasn’t a real connection. Gosh. I probably sound awful, talking about Alex like that. Don’t I?” Violet said.

Kiera shook her head. “No. No, I understand. Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes, someone hurts you, and then something horrible happens to them. But they still hurt you,” Kiera whispered with a resigned look in her eyes.

Violet nodded. “Well. This is a lot of words to say, uh… you’re the first friend I’ve ever had, Kiera. And the best. It’s stupid. And it’s fast. But that’s just how it is. You’re my best friend. And honestly? It pisses me off when someone tries to hurt you. So of course I did everything I could to help. And of course I will again, as long as you need me to,” Violet explained. She let a blush touch her cheeks at the humiliating admission, but Kiera didn’t laugh. 

“That… shit. You might be my best friend, too, if that helps. I actually didn’t get out much as a kid. And the only other contender for the role is, uh…” Kiera trailed off.

“Hopefully not just a friend?” Violet asked.

Kiera flushed in turn. “Um. Yeah. Although I guess that’ll be hard to pursue from prison, huh? Unless they decide to use me as a lancer anyway. That’s the most likely way this plays out. Prison or nests, for the rest of my life. I may be a shitty option for romance or friendship when that happens,” Kiera lamented. “I do appreciate the last few weeks of freedom you bought me, though. They are the only freedom I’ll ever have again, I suspect.”

Violet shook her head. “You won’t be convicted. You may not even make it to trial,” she dismissed with absolute confidence.

Kiera offered a sympathetic look and sighed. “You seem pretty convinced I'm innocent, don’t you?” she asked.

To Kiera’s surprise, Violet shook her head twice. “Honestly? No. I spent a long time thinking about it. About the way you showed up on the train. No luggage. No plan. A single outfit and a single book. Headphones, a CD player, and nothing else. And I could only come to one conclusion,” Violet answered.

Kiera crossed her arms. “Oh? And what is that?” she asked.

“Knowing all of that, and having met you, well. Honestly? I think you’re guilty. But I’d bet everything I am that you are also justified,” Violet answered.

Kiera gave her a long stare, her mouth partially open. But Violet didn’t waver in the slightest. Years of tension left Kiera’s face; her tail rested still on the ground, and her ears drooped. 

“Well. Shit. That makes this easy, then. The real reason I asked you to come here. I’ve been afraid to tell you this story, because I didn’t know how you’d react. But… well. Do you want to hear the story of how I tried to kill my father?”