Bride of Cinders

Every hundred years the valley burns and the village gives a bride to the three who live under the hill. I volunteered because no one would miss me. I was wrong about what waits up here. Kesh, whose hands are always warm. Sable, whose mouth is stitched shut and who still tells me everything. Grey, who watches me with a hundred eyes and never blinks. They don't want a bride. They want a witness. I want answers. The fire is coming, the village is afraid, and the curse they carry was never theirs to begin with. I'm going to break it, even if I have to stand in the middle of it. Especially then.