THE ALTAR WE BURNED
The cult had retreated, but the fear remained.
Serafina and Benedict walked through the quiet alleys, heading toward the home of a survivor—a girl named Clara. One of the few who had seen the true face of the flame-bearers and lived.
When they arrived, Clara's mother hesitated at the door, blocking their view.
"She doesn't talk anymore," the woman said.
"We don't need her to," Serafina answered. "Just her presence. Her silence speaks more than any sermon."
Inside, Clara sat by a window, staring at the horizon. Her hands moved restlessly over a scrap of cloth, folding, unfolding. She was young, barely fifteen. But her eyes were a void. Serafina recognized that void. She carried it for years.
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