You can’t escape fate, no matter how fast you run. That was a lesson hard learned for me. I spent years trying to bury my past, but my future held skeletons bleaker than the ones I'd left behind. Darkness follows me everywhere I go, hanging over my shoulders like a scythe. A byproduct of my bad karma. For so long, I refused to even look at my hometown on a postcard. That is until trouble comes knocking at my door, and I’m forced to move to the one place I’ve been avoiding like the plague. Ares Alsford, my deepest regret, and most painful memory is the one I need to stay away from at all costs. But I’d be naive to think old wounds stay closed when you scratch them, and I fear my presence back in the city he ran me out of is going to cause more shock waves than I can handle. One thing’s for sure, though… I might be broken, but I refuse to bend, regardless of how hard he tries to hurt me. Lick of Fire is a complete standalone and a part of the City of Stars series.