Aurora’s POV

Ashley sat to my right, Lenora across from me. The food court was busy, voices overlapping, chairs scraping, the smell of fried oil and grilled meat hanging in the air.

I had a white plate in front of me with plain rice and boiled vegetables. The edges of the broccoli were pale green, and steam still rose faintly from the rice.

Ashley was leaning on one elbow, straw between her teeth as she sipped from a paper cup. Lenora had her back straight, a fork in her right hand, her eyes ...