Page 5 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“So, what did you do to wind up here?” Elodie asked.
Alaire’s fingers worked through her light brown tresses, weaving them into a braid as she considered whether honesty served her better than a convenient lie.
“Apart from also being human,” Elodie added.
Alaire opened her mouth to explain, then hesitated. Trust was something she gave sparingly. Still, allies were useful—especially in a place like this.
She recounted how she ended up here while moving closer to the bars separating their cells, leaving theYogurt Surprisehalf-eaten in the corner.
“Assholes,” Elodie swore.
A grin spread across Alaire’s face. In all Elodie’s chatter, she’d never cursed. The crude word came out sounding squeaky and unnatural.
“Unfeeling assholes, more like it,” Alaire agreed. “What brought you here?”
“Got caught on the wrong side of the border doing something I shouldn’t have.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“It wasn’t,” Elodie assured her.
“Did you encounter any vampires?” The question escaped before Alaire could reconsider, sending goosebumps cascading across her skin.
Years earlier, vampires had emerged as Elithian’s apex predator. Bloodthirsty and unified under a single ruler, they’d formed an unparalleled force that consumed all life in their path. Their armies had been decimated once, but with their numbers replenished, war had reignited.
The mere thought of those creatures sent ice through her veins.
“No. Thank Lysia. I’d have been torn apart—or worse, turned into one of them.” Elodie added, “As much as I despise this place, even Grimstone is better than that fate.”
Alaire gave her a faint smile.Silver-lining optimist, indeed.
“Cassiopeia Forest was traumatizing enough. Beings neither fully dead nor alive haunt the forest. Their cries lure prey into the darkness, never to be seen again.”
Alaire shook off the chill that trickled down her spine. “And you went there voluntarily?”
“Not exactly.” Elodie didn’t elaborate.
“How long have you been here?” Alaire asked, trying to change the subject.
“Three years, two months, and approximately sixteen days. But who’s counting?”
Alaire rubbed her palm over her breastbone.Three years…She’d only been here a few days. That length of time would drive anyone mad. Yet Elodie had managed to maintain a cheery disposition that had initially grated on Alaire’s nerves, but now seemed like an impossible feat of strength.
“I don’t know how you do it.”
Living on the streets of Starling Gate after leaving the orphanage had been brutal. She’d lived in squalor like the boy behind the market, eating what others discarded as garbage, stealing to survive.
Alaire’s parents had died when she was ten in a fire that consumed their home. They’d sacrificed themselves so she could escape—or so she’d been told. The trauma had left her with long-term amnesia. Sometimes, there were glimpses, but nothing tangible she could grasp before she arrived at the orphanage. It was like trying to trap the wind. Impossible.
It took Alaire a long time to realize that there was nothing in the past but broken dreams and foggy memories. The epiphany of that realization marked the end of her youth.
No adult would ever comfort her, feed her, or ensure she had a roof over her head.
If not for her shrewd intellect and Blake’s training, she wouldn’t have survived. Shame still clung to her for what she’d done to survive, but those choices had eventually led to clean clothes, food, and occasionally a warm bed. Most importantly, they culminated in an internship across the bridge. The first steptoward a future that vanished the moment she stepped into that alley.
She’d done what was necessary to live, even if the cost was pieces of her soul.
I refuse to let Grimstone be what finally breaks me.
