Thunder

My feet stand still as stone on a rooftop in Calloh. Calloh is a small town east of the Royal Districts. The buildings and people are poor, but all are part of a close-knit structure. It won't be easy to blend in here, but it's my only shot.

I hope my clothes blend into the night well enough not to be spotted. If I'm seen, it was all for nothing. I risked my life. But it's not like I had anything to lose.

"Where is she?" one of the guards says aggressively.

"The sooner we find her, the sooner we get to go home," the other agrees. My breathing becomes heavier, my black mask hanging loose.

I have a whole lie portfolio planned so if anyone questions me, I'll be prepared. But they're not going to take the time to listen. They'll just arrest me.

Lunatics. These are the people that made it necessary for me to kill.

The men travel father and father away, attempting to find Seraphina Taurus, the rogue magic-user slave girl to the Emperor.

But that's not who they'll find. They'll find Sky Aure, normal woman running a bakery, not a runaway with the Emperor's entire army searching for her.

Hidden in plain sight.

"Oh, hello! You scared me."

I bump into a woman's chest. She nearly towers over me. I look up, and look her over. Her hair is so blond it's almost white, in two long braids down her back. Her eyes are blue, considering and thinking constantly. She seems bright and happy, and I remember someone once said to me that all the happiest people have the deepest trauma.

"Hello?" My voice is quizzical. "Sorry…"

"For what?" The lady asks me as if I were a child.

She knows what.

"You know what I'm sorry for."

"Tell me," she demands.

"No."

I sit down at a table and wait for a waitress, pointedly pretending the woman isn't there.

She sits down next to me, and I'd like to have been annoyed, but I relish the company.

"What's your name?" she asks me.

I hesitate, flushing, my telltale sign when I'm lying, and then say, "Sky."

I will the flush to leave. I'm not lying. Sky is my name now.

I'm not a liar.

I'm not a monster.

"Sky what?" she demands, raising an eyebrow.

"Sky.. Sky Aure."

I struggle to remember my bullshit story. Something about this woman puts my guard down too far.

"You?" I ask. Fuck. I should've ended this conversation when I had the chance.

"I'm Luna. Luna Aikers."

I sigh and review Cafe Arboreal's menu.

A waitress comes over and asks us what we want.

"We're not toge-" I start to say, but Luna interrupts me.

"We'll have two mango smoothies, please!" Her bright smile fades into the back of my head as a memory I know I'll never lose.

The waitress nods perceptively and leaves.

"So…Sky. Where are you from?" She's grinning like she knows she's aggravating me.

You shouldn't make a monster mad.

I am not a monster.

"I-I'm from Rixes…"

"Oh! That's nice! What brings you to Calloh?"

"I moved," I state plainly.

"Well, obviously!" She shifts so that her bright blue eyes are staring directly into mine, making it seem like she's searching my soul. "But why?"

I am not a monster.

I'm not lying.

Right?

"I got tired of the scenery. Wanted to change things up." My voice is steadier now, more confident in

I am not a liar.

"You must have known Calloh would be hard to adjust to. Everyone knows each other here." I can taste her breath.

"I like a challenge." I lean backwards, and she retracts.

The waitress sets down our smoothies without a word. Her nametag reads "Kiara". I look around us, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of eyes on me. Every single person in the cafe had their heads turned to look at me. And Luna. But mostly me. "Luna turns with a strange look in her eyes. "Bahaha!" she bursts out laughing. At me?

Not a liar.

Luna's a liar.

No one's a liar.

Everyone's lying.

Why would you lie?

Tears come to my eyes. I rush out the door, unwilling to let anyone see my face. What if they see Seraphina underneath the cracks?

She isn't here.

She's dead.

Sky Aure is here.

That's who we'll be.