Once, Ki could remember a time when there was never anything to do. When the Vault and the Chamber were silent, and when she had to fill the quiet, tension-filled air with her comments to get Na and Ti to respond.

  Now, there was never a long enough moment for conversation.

  When the Master left, Na grew more and more fidgety. Like his shoulder constantly itched and bothered him, he kept scratching it. Several times, Ki had crossed to his post and forcefully pulled his hands away from the wound. His gaze would then snap to hers, dark with an expression she couldn’t read. 

  “Sorry,” she murmured, giving his hands a quick squeeze before letting go. “It’s just… if you want it to heal, you really have to leave it alone, okay?”

  He blinked, his face relaxing and the light returning to his deep brown eyes. “Was I messing with it again?”

  Ki nodded, her gut twisting. She glanced back to Ti, feeling the older girl’s stare boring into her back. Swallowing, she straightened her shoulders and stood up tall. “Yes,” she said in a low voice to keep Ti from overhearing. “You’ve been acting rather strange lately, ever since the Master came by--actually, ever since that thief hurt your shoulder. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  Na hesitated for several seconds, averting his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, exhaling a long sigh. “No,” he finally said, “No, I don’t think I am. Something’s bothering me, and it’s like… like nothing feels right anymore. Like I’m stuck in a dream or something, and I can’t wake up. But every time I think about it, it makes my shoulder hurt more.”

  Puzzled, Ki nodded slowly to feign understanding. None of it made sense to her, and she tried to fit the pieces together, but they didn’t click. She had experienced the dreamlike sensation a couple of times, but it never came with any pain. Maybe because she had never been injured while guarding the Vault, or maybe because she never thought as hard as Na.

  But the disconnect was worrisome, and her pity reached out to Na when he raised his hand to touch his wounded shoulder again. She searched for something to say, anything to comfort or console him, but her mind remained disdainfully blank. 

  Before she could answer him, the sound of footsteps echoed through the Chamber. Her issue forgotten, Ki’s head shot up in alarm. The darkness pressed closer against her than before, and she had to narrow her eyes to see far enough, but she caught sight of a figure emerging from the back of the Chamber.

 “A thief,” Ki called, turning to Ti. By the time she faced her post, Ti had already sped off to meet the sound of the footsteps. Ki gripped her spear, hesitating. The last time she had charged off senselessly, Na had been hurt. This time, she hung back to avoid getting in Ti’s way--and to avoid putting Na in further danger.

  She wondered why the Vault needed three Guards if Ti was perfectly capable of handling it all on her own. All Ki ever seemed to do was screw things up.

  There came a shout from the distance, and a loud thud as the thief’s body crashed into the floor. Ki and Na shared a look, his eyes just as wide as she imagined hers were. Leaving his spear behind, Na dashed off in the direction of the sound.

  “Na!” Ki called.

  He didn’t stop.

  Holding tight to her spear, Ki shoved down the nagging voice in her head and ran after him.

  Ti had the thief pinned against the dark Chamber floors, his hands pressed against his back. Black hair fell in the thief’s face as he thrashed under Ti’s grip, hissing and shouting. His clothes were the same as all the others that had come: ragged, torn, and loose-fitting. 

  He was the same as all the others. 

  “Let go!” he spat, attempting to wriggle free. “You don’t know what you’re doing! None of you know anything!”

  “Keep quiet,” Ti bit back. She hauled him to his feet and shoved him forward, pressing the tip of her spear into his back. Her eyes flashed as she shot a glance back over her shoulder at Ki and Na. “Go back to the Vault. I can take care of this.”

  Ki inhaled sharply, watching them go. The thief kicked and fought against Ti, thrashing and twisting as he tried to free himself of her grip. The sight of it wasn’t new, but it made her heart twist. She stood rooted to her spot, hands trembling as her fingers curled tighter and tighter around the shaft of her spear. Na tugged at her arm, and finally, she moved to follow him. 

  “Don’t you ever wonder what you’re guarding?” the thief shouted, his voice breaking in desperation. His words echoed hauntingly in the still Chamber, ringing in Ki’s mind. “Hasn’t your Master told you? Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

  This time, it was Na who came to a sudden stop. He whipped around to face the thief, his grip on Ki’s arm tightening. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words ever came out. Before he or Ki could form a response, Ti had dragged the thief out of earshot. The darkness swallowed both of their forms, obscuring them from Ki’s vision.

  “Na?” Ki asked.

  His fists clenched at his sides.

  “It’s just what we were saying, Ki,” he finally said, keeping his voice barely above a whisper. Turning to face her, she saw bewilderment in his dark eyes, his brow furrowed and his lips pursed. “It’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

  She blinked. “What the thief said, you mean?”

  Na looked back at the way Ti had gone. Even without seeing his expression, Ki could feel the confusion and frustration swirling around him. The air grew thick with tension as silence stretched between them.

  “It’s not right,” Na murmured. “None of it is.”

  Ki caught his hand before he could scratch at the wound again. He shot her a glare, but it softened just as quickly as it had come. She shook her head, squeezing his hand.

  “I know it isn’t, but we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” she said. Then, inhaling, she added, “Just… please promise me that we’ll do it together. Okay?”

  Na nodded, taking her hand in both of his. “I promise.”