Pyris glanced at her, his expression unreadable behind the mask. "No one you need to worry about," he replied, turning away. He began walking back into the shadows of the Grove, leaving the girl and the bodies behind.
He's only purpose was to save her, that's it.
Or so it seemed.
___
Alera had always been an outcast, even before she could understand why. Born into the slums of a distant human city, she had no knowledge of her parents. She grew up among the forgotten—the orphans, the poor, and the unwanted, living on scraps and the occasional kindness of strangers. Her small, malnourished frame made her appear frail, but even as a child, there was something different about her.
