Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

86. Unlucky

Custas shuddered as she placed it around him, a tattered, pale-colored sheet of worn blanket that someone had discarded, probably favoring a better design. However, on cold nights such as these, he knew better than to complain; any warmth he could receive, may it be from someone else's garbage or the nurturing embrace of his mother, he'd be grateful for.

The putrid stench of rotting food and half-eaten leftovers filled the air. Flies buzzed around mounds of half-spilled garbage bags, and the hastened scampering of rodents, splashing through the puddles with their tiny, fleshy feet, could be heard along the wet floor. It was a cloudy night, which meant that most of the Twin Sisters' rays were obscured by the colossal puffs of cotton rolling across the sky along with the breeze.

An itchiness that spread from the back of his nose to his nostrils ushered a sneeze out of him, Custas' body jerking forward, only for him to tug the used cloth tighter around his person. With each breath, he saw a puff of mist flying from his mouth, and his ears stung on the side of his head. Oh, how he wished he could be inside right now, in front of a fire burning at the hearth, perhaps with something warm to drink and a plate of food that hadn't come fresh out of a garbage bin.

But for a lowborn like him, he couldn't afford to be picky. He'd scrounge and consume whatever his parents lay before him, for if he didn't, well, he might have to endure a growling stomach for the next several days. 

Ahead of him, from where he sat with his back against the stone wall of the narrow alleyway, he watched as his mother spoke urgently with his father, pacing back and forth with a hand covering his scowling lips. Custas noticed that they had been arguing a lot recently, far more than they had done when they still lived in Urista.

"I'm telling you, it's a bad idea," his mother said, an angry sharpness in her voice. "Why won't you listen to me? You know those men can't be trusted!"

His father grunted a curse. "What other option do we have? This could be our only chance!"

A spiral gust of wind entered the alleyway and slammed into Custas. The hair on his head whipped wildly and causing his tattered clothing to ripple across his body. Clenching his teeth, feeling the cold claw its way under his skin, Custas huddled deeper into his blanket, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. Stupid wind, Custas thought frustratedly, goosebumps erupting on his skin in uneven clusters. Why can't it just leave me alone?

Apparently taking note of his discomfort, his mother ceased whatever she was shouting at his father and stepped for him, crouching down on her knees so that she could look at him at eye level. Just the touch of her hand atop his head was enough to distract him from how freezing he was. "I'm sorry, my dear," she said softly with a voice that could soothe even a Shadowborn. "I'll make it all better soon. I promise. We'll get out of here, escape these streets for good...and...and I'll buy you your very own room. Wouldn't you like that, Custas? A place to yourself?"

You've been selling me that same lie since we came to this no-good country, is what Custas wanted to scream, but with effort, he kept the sour retort in his mind, sniffing his nose as he plastered on a fake grin. "A big room, with one of those arcanetech devices that store food and keeps them cold. Like the one we had back home."

"Ah, you must mean a cryocube. I've heard that they last twice as long as a normal refrigerator, and they can get so cold they can freeze a man's finger clean off. Just imagine how much food we could stuff in there."

"Just thinking about it is making me even hungrier," Custas said, his stomach churning as a strand of drool dripped out the corner of his lips. The three plain slices of bread, warm berries, and one cup of water were enough to sate his hunger but never satisfy his cravings.