Furthermore

He grabbed her arms and set her with a look so strong she couldn't remember enough words to speak.

Did you never think of that? That maybe kindness would work better than cruelty?

"I am sorry," she whispered. "I don't mean to be cruel. It's just that my heart is so thoroughly broken I fear I am beyond repair".

–"Everyone is born with color, [...] mine is simply contained on the inside. That is not a talent, it is biology"
–"That is biology the rest of us don't have".

She thought never being bothered was a very lazy way to love someone.

There were a great many talents in display that day, and hers, as it turned out, was the strength to keep from bursting into tears in front of everyone.

At twelve they surrendered themselves and their gifts and, in return, took on a task —the purpose of which was always to help someone or someplace in need. They gave back to the world and, in the process, they grew up.
This was when their lives truly began.

And so, as the story goes [...] folk were born from the tears that watered the earth and grew them into being.

Rain meant renewal, and the people [...] welcome it. It was their souls were made of.

It made perfect sense. His heart and bones —the beauty she'd heard before. She understood then, right then, that it was because he'd been collecting the secret songs and whispers of every soul he'd met.