The child arrived at the healing house on a gray morning.
William saw her from the window of his house—a small figure wrapped in a tattered cloak, her steps unsteady, her face pale. She was alone, no parents, no guardians, no one to hold her hand. She walked like someone who had been walking for a very long time.
He climbed down from the roof and walked to the healing house.
Vesper was already there, her white eyes soft, her hands gentle. She knelt beside the child and looked into her face.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Lira," the child whispered. Her voice was hoarse, barely audible.
"How old are you?"
"Seven."
"Where are your parents?"
The child's eyes filled with tears. "They're gone. The Rust took them."
---
William knelt beside the child.
Her veins were black, her eyes c
