Chapter 10: Abandoned
I’m surrounded by a crowd of strangers and every single one of them is staring.
I reach up to smooth my mask with trembling fingers. It’s not there—I haven’t worn one for ages—but right now, I long for the bland anonymity of Refuge’s uniforms. Every other face in this crowd is uncovered, but exposing my own bare, grimy skin still feels wrong.
Longing to run back inside and hide behind Ash shudders through me. Instead, I straighten my spine and glare back at the unfamiliar faces. I survived Refuge. I fought the Mara and won. What were mere humans going to do?
“This way.” The tall woman with braids—my grandmother—touches my shoulder. She must have followed us out. She curls one arm behind me and nudges me down the path, ignoring the crowd. Most of the people obligin
