Free Vulture by Rhiannon Paille

edge of his mouth. She understood why Krishani didn’t tell Elwen anything about him. His ancestor wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t instilled with the kind of honor that existed on Avristar. He manipulated Krishani into agreeing to his birthright and humiliated him in front of the villagers. At least they weren’t paying attention to Krishani anymore. She realized the stories were true. Humans were ignorant, selfish creatures with little respect for anything. Her heart cinched as the longing for home cut into her so strongly that tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. The hall was stifling; she needed to get out of there before she broke down. All of this was wrong. Being alive wasn’t supposed to be like this.
    “Do you want to go back to the room?” she asked, hoping Krishani would come with her.
    “Kaliel?” a voice asked from behind her. Krishani let go and put his hands on her shoulders, looking briefly into her eyes.
    “I’m going to get some air,” he said nodding to the person that approached. He turned on his heel and stalked out of the hall. Her chest fell as he left, coldness pressing into her empty stomach. She glanced at the person who spoke her true name, but she had no idea who he was. He had stunning brown eyes and shorn brown hair. He wore gray trousers and a blue dress shirt with gray sweater vest overtop. She glanced at his shoes—black loafers. Nobody dressed like that, not even on Avristar. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and when he smiled his youthful features turned to a bed of wrinkles. He cocked his head to the side.
    “I take it you don’t recognize me?” He stepped further into the wings. He paused under the rafters and pressed his back to the stone. They were far enough away from the commotion to have a real conversation.
    Kaliel shook her head, perplexed. “Should I know you?” The stranger closed his eyes briefly and opened them again, a blazing azurite blue. Kaliel took a sharp breath. “The Azurite Flame, of course,” she said quietly. She shuffled back and forth, wanting to put distance between them. He closed his eyes again and the Flame’s fire drained away. She felt awkward being so close to her kin; he was the first Flame she had met in person.
    “I prefer the name Clamose,” he said his hands turning to fists in his pockets.
    Kaliel sighed and pushed herself back against the stone, her black hair falling behind her shoulders. She stuck her hands under her arms to keep them warm and to avoid touching him. She wasn’t sure what would happen when two Flames collided and the idea made her queasy. “You shouldn’t be here,” she muttered, stealing a glance at him. They were side by side now, inches of space between them. He looked at the ground. Nervousness flitted through her. There was this dangerous buzz in the air that made it suffocating to be around him. It made her think of heated rocks in the belly of the volcano and explosions. Kaliel wanted to be far away from explosions for as long as possible.
    Clamose scratched his head. “I came to ask what you wanted.” Kaliel frowned; she had no idea what he meant. “I suppose I should apologize first,” he mumbled, glancing at her sheepishly. “I’m not very good with socializing.”
    Kaliel tried to let her unease die down. “What are you sorry for?” she asked through clenched teeth. She sent a sweeping gaze over the crowd like she was checking for danger and turned her attention back to Clamose.
    “I felt them … too. Instead of trying to help you I cowered. I hid until the witches found me,” he said, his eyes on the floor.
    Kaliel let her arms fall to her sides. It pained her to know she wasn’t the only one watching her kind get picked off and trapped one by one. She wanted to ask him what happened to the others. She opened her mouth but closed it again. “It’s okay,” she said after a long pause, her tone flat.
    “You were brave. It was something I could never face,” he said.
    She