TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains non-graphic references to child neglect, starvation, trauma, cult abuse, psychological manipulation, and cannibalism.
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[Lucien]
I woke up on a rooftop.
My throat was dry and my limbs ached from the aftermath of the shift. I didn't recognise the building, but I knew I was somewhere deep in the city—too high for humans to bother checking, too far from home to be at ease.
The sky above was grey. Clouded over like it might rain. It was almost peaceful—if you ignored the distant traffic and bustle of busy streets.
I lay there a while. Breathing. Letting the cold soothe the parts of me still burning from the night before.
The night itself was still a blur, but...
I remembered.
Not just a piece like other times. Not a single blu
