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emblems,” she continued. “If they make us feel better, what’s the harm?”
    I stared at her. What’s the harm? She sounds like Rose, I thought, remembering the pages I’d read from her book last night. Chalice met my gaze, and there was something hard in hers. Defiance?
    “How can you say that?” I asked. “Religion used to incite wars. People killed each other over those myths. We’ve been taught that in class.”
    Chalice’s eyes darkened to indigo, and her trembling hands clamped together. “Why would someone kill another person over a myth? How could a myth start a war?” She shook her head. “Maybe religious beliefs aren’t myths.”
    “You shouldn’t say that.” My head started to pound. This was a dangerous conversation. “People are Banished for joining a religious cult.” I imagined Chalice’s thin form standing in the middle of a barge as it floated on the ocean farther and farther away from our city, until she was too small to see. Where would she end up? One of those barbarous Lake Towns?
    “I’m not joining anything.” Her voice was dead calm. “I just have a lot of questions about the prophets in the Before and the different Deities people used to believe in.” She ran her fingers along the red marks on her arm.
    I have a lot of questions, too, I wanted to say, like what really happened to you in Detention . Yet I didn’t speak the words. My throat felt thick, and for a moment I wanted to hug her and tell her that I understood. But Naomi had told me not to hug people and not to be curious, so I just stood there.
    While I focused on getting ready for the day, I wondered if the Examiner had any idea what had been inside the locked jewelry box. Would he have given it to me if he had? Maybe I should have asked him why David was Taken so early. I turned on my tablet to check the daily news report. It listed the names of those who were born, those who moved levels, those who were charged with crimes, and those who were Taken.
    I found his name immediately: David James. Taken. My eyes stayed dry this time, but something squeezed my heart. The news report made it official, just another societal record, but it was personal to me.
    When Chalice was in the latrine, I hid the satchel under my mattress, knowing it was a weak hiding place, but my options were limited. Although reading the first couple of pages had made me sick with apprehension, I knew I needed to finish it. I couldn’t risk any notice by the government—something about the Examiner made me uneasy—but I did need answers. I knew that Rose refused to reveal where she kept the Carrier key, and that’s why she died, and how I got it. But who gave her the key in the first place? Where had it all started? As soon as I finished reading the book and got my answers, I promised myself that I’d get rid of it as Naomi had instructed—and the sooner the better.

Seven
    Sol was waiting for me when I stepped out of the dorm building. He tipped his umbrella up with one hand as if inviting me to join him, while the other hand stayed buried in his pocket. His eyes studied me, questioning. The sight of him nearly made me turn around and claim a sick day. How could I face him after reading my grandmother’s confession about falling in love? It was my absolute worst fear to have those feelings about him, and being around him wasn’t helping.
    “How are you?” he said, his question simple, yet perfect.
    I couldn’t sleep. I can’t think. And I only want to be with you today. “Tired,” I said, the finality in my voice putting a stop to further questions.
    One of his eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t press for more information.
    We only had a few more days left together. At one point I had dreaded the Separation, but now I welcomed it. It would be freeing not to have to battle against myself during every moment. Stop it, I chastised myself. This was exactly what Naomi warned me about when she risked passing on an illegal book. I had to