Chapter 52
Morgan
Ruby wouldn’t go back to bed. She sat cross-legged on the couch, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands, watching me like I was some stranger she wasn’t sure she could trust.
“You should tell him,” she said finally. Her voice was soft, but it carried like a bell in the quiet cottage.
I sank into the chair opposite her, rubbing my forehead. “Ruby—”
“No, listen.” She pushed her hair behind her ears, eyes fierce in a way that reminded me of Mom when she was set on something. “You always said secrets eat you alive. You’re keeping one from Damian, and it’s going to blow up.”
The truth stung. I wanted to argue, to remind her she was sixteen, that she didn’t understand the kind of war Damian was in. But she wasn’t wrong. She knew better than anyone what evil was out there.
Her voice cracked when she added, “What if he finds out the wrong way? What if he doesn’t forgive you?”
That thought had haunted me for days, and hearing it from her lips made it land heavier. Damian’s eyes had been steady when he told me to wait for him, steady when he’d promised me he’d be back. What would those eyes look like if he thought I’d betrayed his trust?
I leaned forward, clasping Ruby’s hands in mine.
“I need you to understand something. I’m not doing this to hurt him or to hurt us.
I’m doing this because I can’t not. These girls—” My throat tightened.
“They don’t have a voice. But I do. And if it means risking him being angry with me, then I’ll take that risk. ”
Ruby’s chin trembled, but she held my gaze. “Then you’d better make sure it’s worth it. Because I like him, Morgan. He makes you… lighter. Happier. If you lose that because of this—” She shook her head. “I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to lose him either.”
Her words cut deeper than I expected. Because it wasn’t just my heart on the line anymore—it was hers too.
I pulled her into my arms, holding her as tight as I could. “I’ll make it worth it,” I whispered into her hair. “I swear.”
But when she finally drifted off against my shoulder, I stared at the recorder blinking steady on the table and wondered if even I believed that promise.