COLD HEARTS HIDDEN FIRE

ot just in temperatu

ucked deep inside a worn envelope. The place was loud, the streets busy, and

ratched the sky. Everything was unfamiliar,

surviv

ll, dark, and the bathroom door didn't lock. Her roommates were strangers with ti

stack of resumes. No one gave her more tha

we're no

ence re

l if somet

r chest ached. Was this what freedom really felt

forward. She could

-

eeks

small candle shop in a hidden alley downtown. The owner, M

ter watching Avery arrange the new ca

tly. "Thank you.

ting crackers for dinner, skipping rides and walking long distan

e grateful even for

e scent of lavender and vanilla calmed her, t

t gave her something she

-

Year

had ch

ace no longer thin from hunger. She still lived simply, but with

her a chance to cre

Avery. Let's try your ideas," s

shapes, mixing scents, writing little messages for each one l

began t

ders doubled. The shop slowly gained popularity. Even a small inf

n Avery had

en her own s

-

ears

eam ca

med it Kindled Soul. She designed everything-from the soft lights to the war

r story into

t buy candles-the

ss. Enough to give her stabil

ving and fast-paced-

y afternoon, eve

-

Acci

ice uptown. It was raining hard. Avery wore her best coat and

g the street wh

und the corner-too fast, t

her hands. Candles rolled onto the wet

to a stop inch

eath caught i

oor o

stepped o

s voice sharp like a knife. "You

p, soaked in r

aid calmly, trying to pick up h

ng down at her like she was

've scratc

erly-his expensive suit, perfectly s

wrapped

ituation, Avery s

e with your eyes

n stif

ver spoken to

in y

not someon

-

Firs

les. He just stared at her-offended

e back in the box, stood,

he said. "Because if they did, I wou

And what makes you thin

the plate. Damien Wolfe." She pointed to i

ay, leaving him st

ust stared at her

-

en W

ffice that even

He had yelled at many people before. They usu

he di

n look impress

n her eyes-calm, unsh

get her out

didn't beli

eved in

a long time, someone mad

-

ater Tha

very sat by the windo

candles had broken. But the im

an she avoided-loud,

thing ab

m in his eyes. The pain he tried

ook he

no time for

ch to be dragged into s

eady writing the

be sooner tha