The exchange was the most she was willing to offer. [♪]

She traded words for action, clutching Stradivaria as she sprinted through whatever flameless paths met her first. It only took mild effort to hunt for cool footing and safe ground upon which to tread. She was lucky Madrigal and Viola had delved as far as they had, offering a silent prayer for a passage devoid of deadly flames. Still, balancing quick glances at her feet and keeping her eyes forward was a challenge.

Her one saving grace was Harper's deliverance on his words, by which he followed her lead effortlessly. She needn't have worried about leaving him behind. He sprinted behind her, so near that she could practically feel him catching her tailwind. It spared her the burden of looking back. She trusted his stamina.

Ivy was motionless, as she'd been all along. Dissonance poured from her body still, erupting in endless plumes from her small shoulders. For all intents and purposes, her soul may as well have been fleeing from her skin. Glazed and hazy eyes hardly processed the scene. If they did, there was little sympathy to be had for the destruction she'd unleashed.

The sight of the girl's empty expression alone gave Octavia chills, marred by venom as it was. Even now, she wondered what memories were in there. They were out here, now, hatred and pain oozing into the open air. That was all that mattered at the moment.

Holly sobbed, trembling on the ground as she pressed herself flat against the alley wall. Even partially obscured in the shadows, her bitter tears were plain to see. She didn't run, nor did she fight back. With certainty, she would never forget what she witnessed today. Octavia doubted she'd forget what she was about to see, too. She gave a silent apology.

"I'll go left, you go right!" Octavia cried.

"Got it!"

Her unspoken assumption had been correct. With an approaching threat, Ivy didn't stay still for long. In motion, at least, the billowing Dissonance born of her body slowed. A dripping trickle took the place of a gushing wave. Grotesque, debilitating violet instead clung to the girl, plaguing her very skin in the most toxic of veils. Her eyes narrowed. The emotion behind them was irrelevant.

Her outfit served as no deterrent for her movement, simple flats doing nothing to slow her rapid steps as she lunged. She wasn't even slightly as fast as a fallen Selena. Still, her sudden increased velocity was concerning. It was an abnormal speed for a girl of her size and build. Octavia made her millionth mental note.

Ivy plunged one hand into the pocket of her skirt. It took a moment for Octavia to identify the switchblade. Relative to how quickly slender fingers found their positioning, she doubted Ivy was clueless as to what to do with it. Octavia resisted the urge to flinch.

It didn't matter. Resistance was expected. Still, she had to consciously shelve whatever sparking connections were growing between Dissonant people and knives. Octavia gritted her teeth, raising Stradivaria to her shoulder as she slowly drifted to the left. That, too, hardly mattered. Apparently, she wasn't Ivy's target at all.

"Hit her from the side! I'll get in close!" Harper shouted.

He never slowed for a moment, setting a full collision course with the Dissonant girl. The moment Octavia saw him lower Royal Orleans, she wondered if he was going insane. She almost asked him.

"Be careful!" Octavia cried instead.

Her fingers moved on instinct. She hadn't even realized she was playing, her sleek notes eluding her own ears. It was the radiant heat around her face that gave her notice, her skin echoing much of the same as her blood pulsed and burned. She embraced the sensation, content to arm herself ever more with a galaxy of vicious light. Wispy, scathing stars ambled above her head, their trailing tails dangerously hot as they grazed her hair. She became the sun of her own solar system, hot and brilliant with the light of the world at her fingers. Even her leveled breaths, she was convinced, were equally ablaze.

It was the most light she could safely maintain at once, distributing her movements evenly along the violin's strings. She wasn't used to clinging to it for so long, and her concentration was threatened somewhat by her concern for Harper. She trailed him with her eyes, studying his every step for whatever openings she could seize.

Stopping Ivy wasn't the hard part at all. Saving her life, if that was the objective, was.

Harper took Royal Orleans in both hands as he drew inches from Ivy's face. He left his flames by the wayside entirely, nearly propelling himself off the ground as he came down hard with the instrument above her. Octavia winced at the sight of Orleanna's body weaponized, shining brass crashing down on a human being.

For that, a tiny, regretful part of her was thankful when Ivy raised one arm in a futile attempt to block. The flat end of her switchblade just barely caught the bottom valves in the process. She stumbled. Harper didn't. His brutal new style of wielding his Harmonial Instrument was far from shelved, and he speared the trumpet into her stomach. His foot followed suit.

It was the Domino situation all over again, albeit with much higher stakes. Harper beat upon Ivy, blow after blow, with his bare hands. He twisted his body with just as much finesse as he had yesterday, slamming the flat end of his shoe directly into her side. With his right hand empty, a newborn fist burrowed into Ivy's cheek with such force that Octavia could hear it from afar.

She was, at least, cognizant of the way Harper staggered backwards with each kick, shifting one ankle awkwardly. She hadn't forgotten about the burn. The lack of sleep, recovering injuries, and switchblade inches from his face didn't help. For lack of better words, he was playing with fire right now.

The blade in question was brushing a bit too close to him for comfort. Ivy didn't tolerate his assault. She, too, fought back, her attempts to block startlingly more accurate when unmarred by surprise. She stabbed and slashed, often colliding with the ringing brass of Royal Orleans. Every clang of the blade against the makeshift shield of Orleanna's body was, too, audible from afar.

Harper's punches and kicks were gradually growing less heavy, and Ivy in turn was adapting at an alarming rate. To his credit, Harper dodged as many of her stunningly-precise swings and slashes as he could. Still, the way by which the tip occasionally snagged the fabric of his sleeves or brushed against his bangs was sickeningly worrying.

Octavia was done waiting. She inhaled deeply before slashing the bow across the strings. Her fingertips touched upon each fret, and her light was finally granted permission to fly. The drifting radiance that had encircled her so dearly stretched and sharpened into the blinding, spearing rays she'd grown so fond of. In careful tandem, she enlisted their aid, setting them free with great force as they sped relentlessly towards Ivy and Harper. She tilted her head, her face pressed painfully hard against Stradivaria's body as she began to sweat.

Of the five she'd chosen to offer up, aiming would leave her threading a needle. She knew he knew, for how his eyes had caught hers at least once. Apparently, he didn't care. Harper's reluctance to retreat, by which he only took three steps backwards, was simultaneously flattering and ignorant. His trust was, in and of itself, dangerous--particularly given that she wasn't sure where she should be aiming. If his hesitation to use Royal Orleans properly was any indication, hurting Ivy was a concern. Octavia chose the gravel.

In a uniform volley, each ray met its ambiguous mark. All five crashed hard into the ground, bursting into luminous golds that left Harper shielding his eyes. Divided between Harper and Ivy, the impact was enough to startle the Dissonant girl. She recoiled, her own arms raised to futilely impede the brilliant light. Octavia wouldn't give her the chance to recover. With her residual light in tow, outburning the sun on every side, she, too, closed the gap.

She aimed again. This time, she opted against the ground. Pulling this off while leaving Ivy utterly unscathed was next to impossible. She'd do what she could to mitigate the damage. Two pulsating stars, morphed with more unforgiving, wavering notes, were made malleable by her song. Once more, they were transfigured and reborn, bent into the same white-hot beams yet again.

Octavia cocked them like the brilliant arrows they were, jerking her bow back against the strings. She sent them sailing, offering another silent apology as she hit her mark. Ivy's feet fell victim to the sting of her light, and the girl screamed in pain as she stumbled backwards. Stifling her luminous prowess had been a futile effort, apparently.

"Leave her alone! Don't hurt her!" Holly cried, her voice wobbling.

"Trust us!" Harper called back. Never once did he tear his eyes from the Dissonant girl. Given who he was talking to, Octavia wondered if he could hear himself right now.

"I'm gonna pin her down," Octavia said, willing her voice to remain steady. Part of her still hadn't fully grown accustomed to her light hurting innocent people--Dissonant or not. She tried not to dwell on it. "Don't let up."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Harper nodded. "Got it."

Ivy recovered quickly, pained or not. She found her footing and her stance in turn, hostile eyes already locked onto Harper once more. Octavia nearly missed her chance to impede the girl's movement, rushing to fire off yet more scorching brilliance in place of stolen steps. She aimed for Ivy's kneecaps this time, and she found them without difficulty.

The sound of her agony was substantially sharper, particularly relative to the blistering that settled in almost immediately. By comparison, that was difficult to ignore. This time, unshielded by any clothed protection, Ivy did scrape the ground when she stumbled. Burnt skin digging deep into the gravel only doubled her distress, and she cried out.

Harper had little empathy. The opportunity was there, and he seized it. With a cry of effort, he twisted his entire body, bringing his foot crashing hard across Ivy's face as she fell. The force of the impact nearly sent her flying, her limp body tumbling in mid-air before she careened to the gravel. She, too, cried out in pain yet again, outright clawing at the ground as she growled. The injuries to her knees were enough. Octavia watched as the girl struggled to push herself to her feet, arms and legs trembling all the while. This was probably the most she could do without causing serious harm. She went with it.

Whatever light she'd had left over went upwards instead. Sailing high into the hazy sky, every vivid note from careful fingers sent radiant spears raining to the earth. They outdid her brilliant arrows in thickness and sheen, glowing almost intolerably as they stretched in turn. Each luminous pillar punched deep into the gravel, encircling the Dissonant girl in a blinding prison.

Unrelenting heat and burning radiance caged her without reprieve. Ivy squeezed her eyes shut. A biting blade had long since surrendered to distant gravel, languishing beyond her brilliant enclosure. Desperate hands clawed at her scalp, her fingernails digging sharply into fraying hair. The oppressive heat alone should've been paralyzing, if the luminosity didn't stun her in full. Octavia still felt bad about it.

"Octavia," Harper began.

Her concentration with multitasking took priority over acknowledging his words, as rude as she knew it to be. She'd already confirmed her ability to balance multiple applications of her light. It took effort to steady her heart and song with conscious care, granted. By comparison, she hadn't confirmed her ability to offer up her light and purify all at once. She still hadn't confirmed that she could do the latter at all. Even now, with Stradivaria upon her shoulder and Ivy awaiting her radiant salvation, Octavia hesitated. Her fingers trembled. The rest of her followed soon after.

Once upon a time, her inexperience had led to two precious lives lost too soon. Yet another, her perversion of an act meant to heal had reduced a sinner's soul to ash. Twice, she'd done a disservice to Stradivaria's light. For the sake of a girl who'd seen such suffering, she couldn't afford to fail a third time. She was well aware. Even so, Octavia was more than conscious of the way her breath fled her throat with every desperate gasp. Her hands had surpassed trembling, shaking violently as she struggled to consider the deed alone.

She couldn't fail. She couldn't fail. She couldn't fail again.

No amount of internal repetition was erasing the visages of two forsaken girls who'd torn each other to pieces. It wasn't removing the face of the man who'd razed her heart to its core. She could still remember the exact manner by which her hands had burned, the exceedingly specific radiance that had coursed through her blood and spilled onto the strings. It was unique. It was tailored, special in the sickest way. It came with sights. It came with sounds, scents, experiences that dragged her soul to dark places. She couldn't breathe.

She would fail.

Should she still try?

As Ivy was now, would it not be better to grant her a swift death?

She was going to fail.

She was going to fail.

She was going to fail.

Ivy was going to die.

"Octavia."

It took her a moment to even register Harper's voice, let alone recall his existence. He'd traded parallel companionship for a blocked path, severing her line of sight with Ivy. With his back to her eyes, he barred her way, unmoving. He spoke nothing more, content only with her name on his lips.

"H-Harper?" she tried, cognizant of the way her voice trembled with every word.

No amount of mental scolding was enough to stem the shaking, radiating through her blood until every inch of her vibrated in fear. It took all she had to cast her eyes onto his back instead.

"Let me do it."

Octavia's eyes widened, her heart sinking into her stomach. She'd already felt sick, and her nausea worsened twofold. It left her clutching at Stradivaria's body in a panic as she struggled to maintain what was left of her song. "What?"

"I want to…be the one to do it," he said. Even now, with his attention offered to the Dissonant girl alone, she could see Royal Orleans rising to his face.

"Harper!" she cried. For what, she wasn't sure. "You…you don't--"

With the mouthpiece inches from his lips, he hesitated. Instead, he turned his head, and she caught a hint of the softest smile cast over his shoulder.

"You're supposed to make the good decisions," he said gently. "My job is to look cool in front of you."

She found no words to gift him in response. In their place, she stole what warmth she could find in his voice. It was all that battled her tremors, racing thoughts be damned. She could do nothing but stare, holding her breath as he hunted for his.

"All I need to hear is that you think I can do it, okay?"

Octavia found her voice, feeble as it was. "I…you can do it. You can do this."

His gaze wasn't meant for her, locked onto Ivy instead. Once again, Royal Orleans brushed against his lips.

"Orleanna," he spoke, firm and confident as she'd learned him to be.

I hear your words.

The Muse's own weren't meant for her. Octavia couldn't help it.

"Show me what the hell I'm doing!"

It will be done.

When he finally exhaled, raised brass valiantly capturing the sunlight of morning, the differences were striking. Harper's song was not his own, vastly unlike anything Octavia had ever heard from the instrument. Vibrant and powerful, the ballad he wove resonated through her skin in a way that warmed her inside. Far, far more notable was the rich shift in color upon every ember, sparking into wild flames in their own right. Of all things, they were blue.

The mesmerizing fires that erupted from the bell came splashed with a stark, incredible sapphire, stealing every ounce of oxygen in the air. Octavia had never once seen blue fire in her life--born of a Maestro's song or otherwise. Every steady movement of Harper's fingers against the keys breathed life into a spiraling trail of vividly azure flames. Much like her own light, it called him home, encircling him in full with great precision and balance.

Octavia watched the way he spread his feet apart, tilting his head slightly higher. With forceful notes of a scorching song, his carefully-crafted cerulean blaze escaped him. Instead, its flight was rapid, barreling forward at speeds that Octavia struggled to follow. Without mercy, Ivy fell into its path.

His beautiful inferno left speckled embers behind, audibly crackling as it bore down on the Dissonant girl. With incredible care, the rushing flames wove between the pillars of Octavia's radiant prison. The resulting display as they hugged the circumference of the trap was almost beautiful, wavering cyans and sapphires entangling with blinding golds. The thought of the scorching heat that surrounded Ivy at every conceivable angle was the one downside that threatened Octavia's satisfaction. The manner by which the girl was, again, scraping her fingernails against her own scalp was supporting the theory of discomfort splendidly.

Harper found his opportunity in the split second Ivy fought to breathe. Where she searched for oxygen, she would find nothing--and, Octavia prayed, no pain in its place. To swallow wind was one thing. To be besieged from the inside out by light was a question of incredible risk. There was no uncertainty to be had with the concept of fire licking at a human soul.

She'd promised that she believed in him. It was all she could do, yet again, to pray.

The spinning flames were unfathomably fast, diving deep past Ivy's lips and writhing down into her body. They burned with such vivid luminosity that Octavia could physically see the royal blues glowing through her chest. In stark contrast with the thin veil of putrid violet clinging to her skin, this, too, was somewhat lovely in its own horrifying way.

There Ivy remained, fire swirling down her throat as she was bound to the gravel below. She resisted, scratching desperately at her own neck and clutching at her chest. No amount of shaking her head or battling to pull away was enough to deter Harper's flames. To his immense credit, they remained steadfast and fueled.

Whatever was going on mentally was between him and Orleanna. It took conscious effort for Octavia to tune out that interaction. She couldn't ignore the way his hands trembled violently with effort, nor how he'd been forced to brace harder against the ground. She assumed he'd reached the difficult part.

"You can do it, Harper," Octavia whispered to herself alone.

Harper's notes rose ever higher. With the slightest turn of his body, she could see his reddened cheeks and the sweat dripping in earnest down his face. He played with everything he had, the flames inside of Ivy glimmering brilliantly as she squirmed against their assault. Octavia nearly forgot to continue her own song, and what little light she contributed was threatened by her wandering eyes. Drowned out by the volume of his desperate melody, it hardly mattered. She, too, was desperate. Her heart threatened to explode, and she filled it with faith instead.

And when the flames burst, at last, they birthed a spectacular display of cerulean and poisoned indigo. From beyond Ivy's lips erupted a plume of smoky violet, tinted by fantastic blues that incinerated the smog to a crisp. For what seemed like far too long, Ivy's mouth remained parted, her small body betraying the brutal volume of evacuating Dissonance.

Up and into the hazy sky above came thick, unforgiving clouds of purple that danced with the conquering fires. Ivy nearly collapsed, heaving silently and uselessly as tears streamed in excess down her cheeks. Even doubled over, hands wrapped around her stomach, each cough only served to expel more of the same.

A rough estimate led Octavia to guess approximately one minute's worth of Dissonance. It was continuous, escaping the girl before succumbing in full to raging flames high aloft. Ivy, at last, did crumple to the ground, her scorched knees failing as she collapsed onto her side. Tiny, shallow breaths were Octavia's only indicator that she'd survived the ordeal. Only now did she release the breath she'd been holding all along.

Harper, too, fought for his own breath, tearing Royal Orleans from his lips with a gasp. He panted heavily, his entire body shaking as he staggered backwards. Several steps were too many, and he doubled over. Octavia ceased her song instantly, the fizzling radiance of her luminous prison utterly unimportant. She nearly dropped Stradivaria with how quickly she rushed to Harper, poised to catch him if he stumbled in full.

To her surprise, he didn't. With one hand on his knee and the other still choking Royal Orleans, he hunted for his breath forever. Somehow, even now, he squeezed out words in between his desperate pleas for air.

"Did you…watch me?"

Octavia forewent a response, embracing him as she nestled her face into his shoulder. "Yeah. You were amazing."

Flames still lingered and scorched around them. Residual Dissonance still screeched and writhed in the vicinity. Chaos still reigned, audible on every side. For a moment, it didn't matter. It was one victory, and Octavia indulged in it with her entire heart.

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