Aria’s Pov

I didn’t eat much that night because the bread I had bought the night before was already hard, and I forced myself to chew it slowly, stretching every bite. My coins were fewer now, and fear kept poking at me, reminding me I could lose this tiny piece of safety any moment.

But I wasn’t going to sit in that hotel room and wait for hunger to win. If I wanted to survive, I had to play.

I walked back into the streets, my trumpet case tucked under my arm. The city was awake, busier ...