“Done. Good job, kid.” Carl’s voice came through my wrist unit. He kept a database of all the crystals tested. There hadn’t been a miner down here in weeks, so every crystal here was neutral until I hit them, but there were still some he didn’t want me testing. He said the crystals sometimes changed, but if it was marked unsafe on three different mining trips, he labeled it as dangerous for good.

“This one?” I asked, just in case I could avoid hitting it. There were no marks on it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to hurt.

“Hit it.”

Not the answer I wanted.

If the past few hours told me anything, it was that I hated mining. Each time I tested a crystal, it felt like messing with a live bomb. The desperation I’d felt while icing down Abaddon’s surface made me forget that only someone seriously dumb or desperate would sign up for this job.

My hands were shaking as I held the hammer. I’d tried to control my fear, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep going. The next crystal might blow up in my face, and if it did I’d left a trail of active ones ready to go off all over the mine. Luckily, none of the explosive ones were double-tapped, but there had to be a hundred single-tapped and surely that couldn’t be safe. I’d essentially rigged Apollyon to blow up at any second. One wrong move and my flesh would be red mist.

I tried to tell myself I didn’t need to make a full load today. I just needed to give Declan enough time to get here, but the longer the day wore on, the more I realized mining wasn’t any different than icing down the surface of Abaddon. Switching jobs hadn’t changed anything, and that left me with a feeling of hopelessness. Enough of it to drown in.

I was exhausted—mentally and physically—and I wanted to give up. I wanted to get back in that ship and say I was done for the day, but I wasn’t sure what would happen if I came back before Carl gave me the okay. Only two things kept me going—Declan’s voice telling me not to give up, that he was on his way, that everything would be okay—and repeating my mantra.

I’m a di Aetes. I don’t quit. Not ever.

I reached for the next crystal and gave it a gentle tap. The tone was a soft, medium-pitched hum like small flutters against my mind. None of the neutral ones hurt. I hit it again and heard the same smooth sound, only a little softer.

Harmless.

I quickly gave it one more tap to neutralize it, and I turned the hammer around to the pickaxe side.