Renlo reached the young girl, splitting his bread in two and stretching out one half towards her. She was about to start picking up the scraps when she saw him.
The girl was petite, barely eight years by Renlo's guess. Her body was marred by dirt and grime, and from the gloom around her, she had lost the light in her eyes.
Her large black eyes stared at his hand holding the bread, then flicked up to meet his. She suddenly took a step back, glancing towards the others as though to ask for help.
"You can have it," Renlo spoke softly, smiling. "I'm not trying to hurt you. You'll starve if you don't eat."
He raised his other hand as if to show her he meant no harm. The girl's stomach growled just then, and she bit her fingers, clearly nervous. All eyes were on them.
Renlo sighed. All his life, he had lived at the bottom of the ladder, and now… people were scared of him. Of him.
If Malakai were here, they might have actually entered those walls. That was the true monster.
