Chapter 55

Ten years ago.

Lilith’s POV

TEN YEARS AGO—AND EVERYTHING SINCE

It was on a cold winter night. The kind of night that crept under your skin and made your bones ache. I was squatting behind a wrecked, rusting car, trying to hide from other rogues.

My fingers trembled as I held the crust of stale bread I had fought with other rogues for earlier that night. It had been tossed out behind a diner, hard as stone and bitter from the exposure, but to me, it was gold. I shoved the piece into my mouth, trying to ignore how dry it was and how it scraped down my throat like sandpaper.

My pack had been slaughtered when I was just a teen. I had been living as a rogue ever since, scavenging, stealing, fighting for crumbs every single day, and praying to the goddess or whoever not to freeze to death in the middle of the night.

I curled up on the cold ground beside the car, hugging my knees tight. My stomach growled, unsatisfied by the tiny piece of bread, l