Hestian glanced at the sky, frowning as he noticed the dark clouds. A storm was approaching. Usually, he didn’t mind the rain, but the days had gotten colder and the mere thought of being wet in the frigid weather made him shiver.

He was tired and hungry. They both were. Hestian glanced ashamedly at the empty bag of nuts. He had eaten them without a second thought, instead of conserving them and offering Thea some.

Though it had been only a few hours ago, his stomach growled. The nuts weren’t very filling. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how hungry Thea must be.

Hestian glanced at the leaves. They had taken refuge in what seemed to be some sort of cross between an almond and oak tree. They had already eaten most of the nuts in their reach, but he would have to risk the hunters’ arrows if he wanted to climb further down to pick more.

Hestian shifted uneasily on the uncomfortable branch. They had been here long enough to figure out the hunters’ rotations. At least three of them would always be on watch, even during the night. There was no way to escape, especially not with Thea’s ankle, and they wouldn’t last much longer without food.

They needed water too. His canteen was dreadfully empty, and he didn’t think Thea’s bottle was very full either.

They were desperately short on supplies and one of them had to do something about it, even if she was still angry at him. Hestian shifted on the branch before taking a deep breath and nudging the girl’s shoulder. She flinched at his touch and he felt his heart skip a beat as she directed her narrowed, dark eyes at him.

He hesitated, unsure of how to convince her to help him. Though he knew she hadn’t trusted him since the beginning, he felt that things had worsened with the stakes of their dire situation.

“Is there something you need?”

Her tone was sharp and though he had an inkling why she was mad, he couldn’t help but clench his fists in frustration. He knew he had failed, but getting angry about it wouldn’t do anything to help their situation. She needed to move on.

He took a deep breath before summoning the courage to try to talk to her. He didn’t usually have much of a problem talking to people, but Thea was a challenge. He could never tell if he was scared or amused by her.

“We need to figure out something,” Hestian finally whispered. “We’ve run out of food and water. It’ll only take a day or two for our bodies to stop functioning.”

As he predicted, the girl glanced at him with a scowl on her face. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to reply.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Thea muttered. He didn’t miss the glare she sent his way.

“First, you need to stop,” Hestian stated, trying to be as gentle as he could. “I know you’re mad at me, but it’s really not helping anything.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Thea replied, shaking her head. “I’m just angry about this whole situation.”

“I know,” Hestian hissed. “And I’m sorry. I get it, but we’re both stuck in this. I think I’ve gotten a good enough punishment.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. It isn’t all your fault,” Thea whispered.

“What did you do wrong? I’m the one that got us into this,” Hestian replied bitterly.

She glanced at him and sighed. “You have given nothing but kindness to me, and I have given nothing but bad luck to you.”

“Thea-”

“That very name is a lie, Hestian. This is all just proving my point. I don’t even know why you’re still here, you must have known that I wasn’t being honest. I’m a thief and a liar. If you’re going to sacrifice your life for someone, it shouldn’t be me. I don’t deserve it.”

Hestian hesitated. He had suspected that she had lied about her name, but he had thought that she had trusted him. He had let himself believe for a second that they could have been more than strangers. That maybe the Fates had led them to tumble into each other for a reason.

“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Hestian said, choosing his words carefully, “And you haven’t brought just bad luck.”

“Really? Name one thing that I’ve done to help you.”

“You became my friend.”

The anger in Thea’s eyes changed to something he couldn’t decipher. He hoped it wasn’t sympathy. Hestian never had many friends, but he was content with it. He was okay with being alone. It could have been anger, but he doubted it. She seemed in need of a friend just as much as he was.

But, friends didn’t fight this much, did they? His head was starting to hurt from all the petty remarks and insults they had passed.

They had argued for the better part of the day, and now that the sun was setting, he had wanted to climb down under the cover of darkness to see what he could do. He knew it was risky to make a deal with the hunters. Their word meant nothing. But, they were going to die either way, what was the worst that could happen?

Realistically, the girl wouldn’t be able to stop him. She may be able to defeat him in a fight, but she wouldn’t physically battle him over it. But, if he did make a deal and the hunters didn’t keep their word as Thea feared, there would be no point. It would be the same outcome as if they had willingly given themselves up.

“If you won’t let me make the deal, then at least help me fight. We could do it. Two Uniques fighting a dozen hunters? It’ll be easy,” Hestian said, near pleading.

“You can barely produce a flame,” Thea bit back. “And too many bad things have happened when I try to use my abilities. We don’t have any guidance or training. Together, we’ll probably burn the whole forest down, along with ourselves.”

“But, if we at least tried-”

“I can’t, Hestian,” Thea whispered.

He knew better than to probe further, but he couldn’t help himself. “Why? Why can’t you?”

“I-I just don’t want to lose control.”

“How do you know you will?”

“Because it’s happened before!” Thea seethed. “It’s too risky. Too dangerous.”

“This whole situation is risky and dangerous!”

Thea clenched her jaw and shook her head, resolute. “I’m not doing it.”

“What is your power?”

Thea hesitated and he half-expected her to change the subject. Admitting you were Unique was one thing, telling one’s power was another. It could be used against you. It almost always was.

“Air,” she finally replied, her eyes narrowing as she made eye contact.

He bit his lip as he thought out a plan. “With your air and my flames, we can build a strong enough fire to send them scrambling away like gutter rats.”

“I-I can’t. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, but I can’t use my own power.”

He sighed in exasperation. “Thea, we’re going to die if we stay here. What could be so bad that you refuse to even try?”

She had shot angry replies to him for most of their conversation, but now her eyes lowered to stare at her hands and her voice broke as she pleaded with him. “Hestian, please.”

Guilt flooded him, but he shook his head. “No. I’ve let you get away with this before, but not now. Now while both of our lives are hanging in the balance.”

Thea hesitated for a long moment before replying, “I killed someone.”

He froze.

Her voice shook as she continued. “My brother. I loved him and I never would have hurt him, but it was an accident. Things got out of control.”

He tried to offer some sort of comfort. “It won’t get out of control this time. You won’t hurt me, I promise. I’ll stop you if it gets to that point.”

She shook her head. “I swore to myself that I wouldn’t use my powers again after that. He sacrificed himself for me so many times...and I-I killed him.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You said so yourself, it was an accident.”

She shook her head again. “That’s not for you to decide. I told you why, Hestian, and I’m not doing it. Just please stop.”

“Then the deal, Thea,” Hestian pushed. “If you won’t fight, then that’s our only option.”

“The better option would be for you to go. At least then, one of us is guaranteed to make it out.”

“It’s just a matter of who’s going to survive and who’s going to be captured,” Hestain pointed out. “And I promised you-”

“Will you stop saying that?”

“But, it’s true! I-”

“I don’t care!”

He saw one of the hunters glance up at the commotion and Thea quickly lowered her voice, biting her lip in defeat.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

He hesitated. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

She shrugged. “I think we’ve run out of options.”

“There’s always a way.”

“Then what’s your brilliant way to get out of this?” Thea asked, clearly fighting to keep the anger out of her voice.

“Well-”

“Besides make the deal,” she quickly cut in.

He sighed. “I don’t know. We could surrender.”

Thea arched an eyebrow. “You want us to give up?”

Hestian shook his head. “It pains me to say it, but if they wanted us dead, they would have done it. They want us alive and unharmed.”

Thea bit her lip as she processed his words.“Why?”

“Information? They might think we’re with the rebels.”

“What will they do to us until they find out we don’t know anything?”

A touch of terror touched her voice and Hestian quickly tried to reassure her, despite their grim situation.

“It’s okay. It won’t get to that point. We’ll escape by then.”

He saw doubt flicker in her eyes at the plan, but he felt the same way. How were they supposed to escape from a high-security prison meant to keep people like themselves? Once they were locked in, there would be no chances. They would have to escape while they were being transported, but even that was all but impossible.

“You know what, maybe it isn’t a good idea,” Hestian admitted.

“You think?” Thea chuckled.

The girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger and her brow furrowed as she mulled something over. She had let it out, he noticed. Her dark hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, reaching her hips.

“You know, I don’t completely mind dying with you,” Hestian blurted out.

Thea opened her mouth to reply and then closed it, her eyes widening with fear. He frowned at the strange behavior and drew back as she grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her.

“Who are you?” Thea whispered fearfully, her question directed at someone behind him.

His first thought was that she had gone completely insane. He tried to shrug her hand off, but she had an iron grip on him.

“Thea, what-”

“Quiet. They can’t know I’m here.”

Hestian’s head whirled towards the unfamiliar voice and grabbed the dagger Thea had given to him when they had attempted to set the forest on fire, hiding his hand in his pocket. A girl was crouching on one of the branches of the opposite tree. She swept away one of the auburn locks framing her face and met his eyes, amusement glinting in her dark irises.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

When the girl didn’t answer, Hestian whipped out the dagger and the girl arched an eyebrow. He noted the bow strapped to her back and the pack of arrows slung to her hip. He waited, expecting her to try to reach one, but she merely watched him.

He felt Thea tense next to him and shift uneasily. He put his hand on top of hers, hoping she wouldn’t draw away. To his surprise, her fingers curled into his, squeezing his palm nervously.

Hestian shifted on the branch and glared at the newcomer, brandishing the knife and daring her to make the first move.

“Easy,” the girl said, her voice lowering to a whisper, acting like she was talking to a rabid dog. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Then what are you here for?” Thea breathed.

“Why, to rescue you,” the girl replied, a grin spreading out on her face.