Read Online The Girl Born of Smoke by Jessica Billings - Free Book Online

replied.
    “Are you alright? I walked in and you were
lying on the floor.” His face was laced with concern.
    She screwed up her face. “I think there's
something wrong with me, Kirian.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She slowly sat up. “I...I think I'm
see-”
    “Don't worry,” he cut her off. “You just
need some rest. You stay up too late and don't get enough sleep.
That's all.” He helped her stand. “I think you should go rest for
the rest of the evening.” Too tired to argue, she shrugged and
trudged toward her bedroom as Kirian watched.
    Falling into bed, she sprawled out, feeling
dirty and bedraggled. Her body ached and her head pounded as she
closed her eyes, shutting out the harsh rays of sunlight bouncing
around the room. With her eyelids shut, all she could see was the
girl from the market. That girl who looked unmistakably
familiar.
     
     

Chapter
4
     
    “Aurora! Hey kid, wake up.” She felt someone
shake her shoulder and awoke to find herself in her small room,
stuffy with the morning sunlight. It had been months since she had
collapsed and to her relief, she hadn’t seen Kalib or the
dark-headed girl again. She spent most days with Djerr and some of
the others her age. They spent many misty, frigid afternoons at
Aurora's house, playing cards, talking, and laughing.
    As the weather grew warmer again, they began
hiking around outside of Kain or poking around in the tidepools by
the ocean. Trying to feel as carefree as the others acted, Aurora
instead felt nervous, as though she should try to enjoy these days
before they ended.
    The sun was already streaming through the
window, highlighting half of Roxanne's body as she shook Aurora
awake. Groaning, she turned away and swatted Roxanne's hand off her
shoulder.
    “Whaddya want?” she asked sleepily.
    Roxanne rolled her eyes. “It's practically
midday. Get your lazy butt out of bed. We're going to the
cliffs.”
    Opening her eyes, she turned back over.
“What for?”
    Already on her way out of the room, Roxanne
waved a hand dismissively. “Just get dressed. We'll leave
soon.”
    Scrambling out of bed, she shuffled across
the sun-warmed floorboards as she threw on her clothes. Hurriedly
running her fingers through her tangled hair, she yelled, “Is
Kirian coming?” When she heard no reply, she peered out the window
and saw Roxanne waiting outside. Bending to retrieve her shoes from
under the bed, she slipped them on and dashed outside. Roxanne
turned when she heard the front door open. “Ready?” she
grinned.
    Aurora pulled the door closed behind her and
nodded. “Yeah. Is Kirian coming?”
    Roxanne's smile dropped. “No, he's not
invited. This is a girl's day out.”
    “Alright.” Aurora shrugged, following
Roxanne down the road. Puzzled, she looked around. “Where is
everyone?”
    Roxanne scowled at her. “Already at the
docks, I assume!”
    “Oh.” The two hurried through town. As they
grew closer to the cliffs overlooking the docks, they could hear
the combined voices of a huge crowd. Soon, they ran into the frays
of the crowd, even before they could spot the sparkling sea.
    Roxanne sighed. “Ugh, this is what we get
for showing up so late.” Grabbing Aurora's wrist, she slid through
the crowded street, slipping in between groups of people. Others
turned to glare and Aurora smiled apologetically at them as Roxanne
drew her deeper into the crowd.
    “What’s everyone doing here?” she yelled
over the drone of the people.
    Using her free hand to push people out of
the way, Roxanne didn't answer. A few people angrily protested at
being pushed, but Roxanne quickly moved on without giving them an
opportunity to retaliate. Aurora nervously stumbled after her.
Finally, they broke out of the crowd, standing on the brink of the
small cliff overlooking the docks.
    Roxanne yanked Aurora forward, so that they
were side-by-side. “Fantastic! Looks like we made it in time.”
Roxanne smiled broadly and pointed out to the sea, ignoring