Chapter 23 – Smoke And Teeth

• Ariana’s POV
• The morning light in Charleston was merciless. Sunbeams stabbed through her curtains, dragging her from half-remembered dreams and straight into reality. Her phone lay on the nightstand, unlit. Damien’s number still gleamed at the top of her contacts. She resisted the urge to call. Today she needed to stand on her own two feet.
• She dressed deliberately, choosing a soft blue wrap dress that hit just below the knee. She braided her hair neatly. She packed the call phone Damien gave her in her bag. Then she paused.