When She Rose From the Ashes

Chapter 41 A New Face

He remembered how, even in the middle of surgery, Natalie had murmured Jensen’s name over and over again. The thought made his chest blaze with fury, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

Natalie noticed the shift immediately and rushed to explain. “That’s not what I meant. I-”

“Enough,” Baron interrupted. “Whatever you meant to say, whatever you think you’re feeling-let it go. If you want to fully recover, it’ll take a long time. Rest and surgery. I’ve already contacted Witch Doctor. Once your body’s stable, he’ll perform the skin grafts. Your face might not look the same afterward. But if you want it to, Witch Doctor might be able to restore it.”

Natalie paused.

She raised a hand instinctively, trying to touch her face-but she stopped halfway and let it drop again.

Her skin couldn’t handle the pressure. Even a light touch could cause damage.

What is she now, really?

A monster? A child would cry just looking at her.

If she’d survived, it was only because of Baron.

She owed him her life.

But since the fire hadn’t killed her, she wasn’t going to let what Sharon and Jensen did slide.

The old Natalie was gone. Whether her face could be restored or not didn’t matter anymore.

“Baron, I want a new face.”

Before she turned eighteen, she was the misidentified daughter of the Summers family. After that, she was the gilded canary Jensen kept under lock and key.

though she never relied on Jensen for support-and even sacrificed everything

at twenty-three severed her from Jensen forever-and

would belong to no

the determination in her eyes and finally relaxed a

are painful. The process is long and grueling. Are

know you didn’t save me to hear me say that, but right now it’s all I have to offer. Witch Doctor never

the rules Witch Doctor lived

“We’ll deal with that later. First, focus on

“Okay.”

1/3

Natalie nodded.

you need right now. If the pain becomes

She shook her head.

to remember this pain. Every single moment of

lip. Her eyes were steely. But when she looked at Baron again, there was

made you something to thank you. It might be

He froze.

remembered her mentioning a gift last time they’d met-but he had assumed it was just something she’d said in passing. Now it turned out she

did you make

his chest-mixed with a flicker

A gift?

had been years since anyone had given

from the things he demanded

had created

Natalie felt like she was staring

it hurt. There was a warmth in