Free Bitter Ashes (Bitter Ashes Book 1) by Sara C. Roethle Page A

want it to be.
    No one said a word as Alaric helped me to my feet, then guided me around the carnage. Those who watched, looked at me with wide eyes, like they didn't quite know what I was. Alaric continued to smile, paying them no heed.
    I met Estus' gaze just before we left the room, and he gave me a small nod of recognition. I didn't like the nod. I wanted as little of Estus' attention as possible, and I had a feeling that I'd just gained his undivided interest.
    I shivered as we walked out of sight. “Why do I get the feeling that I did something highly out of the ordinary?” I whispered, my voice sounding distant to my own ears. 
    Alaric glanced down at me in surprise. “Should we not be amazed that you just brought my sister back to life?”
    Hearing him say it out loud made things seem all too real. I was just coming to terms with the idea that I could kill with a touch, but people killed things all the time. Bringing someone back to life was a little more difficult to digest.
    “I mean, can't you all do things like that?” I asked, knowing it sounded dumb.
    “No, Madeline,” he said softly as we neared my room. “I've never even seen an executioner perform such a feat.”
    “Maybe it was just a fluke?” I suggested. “Like some sort of miracle?”
    “Miracles don't happen in our world,” he stated as the smile finally slipped from his face.
    I shook my head and looked down at the ground. “They don't happen in my world either.”
    We reached my room and kept walking, though since I really didn't want to be left in my room alone, I didn't question it.
    “Why didn't you run?” he asked suddenly as we took another turn in the hall. He still huddled close to me, as if he was afraid I might disappear.
    “What?” I asked, startled because my mind had began to wander.
    “Why didn't you run when we were attacked?” he clarified. “We were all distracted. You'd think it would have been the perfect opportunity to escape.”
    I shrugged, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. “I thought about it.”
    “But?” he prompted when I didn't elaborate further.
    I sighed. “I don't know how I can go back, knowing what I know now. If there's some way to control my gifts . . . ” I trailed off.
    “You would regret not staying to find out,” he finished for me.
    I nodded as we stopped beside a closed door that looked like all the others. Alaric opened it to reveal a bedroom that looked much more modern than mine. The bed was simple, with a deep blue bedspread and several fluffy pillows. The rest of the room was taken up by a large dresser, a desk, and a bookshelf whose contents had overflowed onto the floor.
    As we walked inside, I crouched down and picked up one of the books, but it was in a different language. I put the book back down quickly as I noticed the blood on my hands. It was probably on my face as well. I felt sick and dizzy enough that I had to sit on the edge of the bed before I lost my feet. Alaric shut and locked the door, then came to sit beside me.
    “Is this your room?” I asked numbly.
    “I figured you might want some space,” he explained. “If I had put you in your own room, you would have been bombarded with visitors and questions soon enough.”
    I took a shaky breath. “Good thinking.”
    I laid back on the bed, my thoughts a jumbled mess. I was beginning to question everything I knew, and everything I thought I was. Alaric sat beside me, watching me quietly and not complaining that I was getting blood on his bed.
    I met his eyes as the gears slowly clicked in my mind. I was no longer a part of my old world, and I wasn't sure I really ever had been. I knew with a surety that I was going remain among the Vaettir to learn more about my gifts, even if it meant I had to kill a few people. Did that make me a monster, or did it just make me practical? Who knew.
    My name is Madeline Ville, and I'm a human being.
    ––––––––

Part Two

Chapter Six
    Three Days Later
    “I t's