Page 101 of When the Woods Go Silent

She gulps, her mouth opening then snapping closed as she tries to figure out what to say.

“And I don’t fucking appreciate the fact that mybest friendwas lying to my face, and I had to run to aboyto get the answers. What the hell, Rose?”

She flinches harder with each word as my voice rises. She’s feeling every bit of my hurt now, and I’m glad for it.

“He told me not to tell you,” she blurts, like that’s going to help anything.

“Since when do you listen to him over me? It’s besties before boys, Rose!” I shut my mouth before I say anything else I might regret later. Throwing my hands in the air, I huff and stomp up the staircase.

“Ruby, wait! It’s so much more than that,” Rose calls, though she doesn’t follow me.

Now that I see Rose is perfectly fine, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be anywhere near her. We should be opening the shop now, and I don’t even care anymore.

Grabbing the car keys from the hook in the kitchen, I sling my purse over my shoulder and stalk back downstairs. I don’t stop to look at Rose, and I don’t listen to her frantic pleas to stop or wait.

I just go.

Slamming the car door, I drive without a plan, ignoring every one of the text messages she keeps sending me. Tears blur my vision as I drive neighborhoods I’ve never been in and take turns aimlessly. My mind is split into two halves, one busy withoperating the car and obeying traffic rules, and the other having an existential crisis.

I’ve wished for this day for almost two decades, and it’s nothing like I thought it would be.

I finally pull over when I see a tourist stop marked along the highway for picture-taking. There’s a small staircase leading to a platform, and thank the Goddess it’s empty. I walk down and lean against the railing, looking out at the gorgeous view of the woods and soaking in its calming energy, trying to recenter myself and focus on the good parts of today.

Starting with magic being freakingreal.

Rose and I will heal from this - nothing can break us apart, not really. My heart knows this, and admitting it lets me focus back on the miracle of Torrence creating ice and fire from absolutely nothing. It looked so easy, so natural.

Fae are real - he’s part fae, and Kier is fully fae, and that means there’s a whole hidden world out there I’ve been looking for my whole life. It hasn’t been in vain. I’m not crazy. My mood begins to lift toward excitement as this finally starts to sink in, filtering through the intense hurt of Rose’s secrets.

Magic is real.

I’ve been holding onto that belief my entire life, and now, it’s like I’ve manifested it right into my lap. Excitement floods through my body as I let it all sink in. I was freaking right.

My phone pings again, and I scowl, hoping it isn’t another half-assed apology from Rose. She’s going to have to do better than that.

But it’s an unknown number. I open the text.

It’s Arlo. Sorry to make things weird. I think Torrence could use you now, though. Yeah I fucked up, but I’ve never seen him react like this. He’s worried about you.

I narrow my eyes, trying to read between the lines. I’m not sure how Arlo got my number, and I feel like Torrence would bepretty pissed to find out he was texting me after what happened this morning. It almost sounds like it’s happened before, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less weird.

I read the words again and again, trying to guess his hidden agenda, but it’s the thought of Torrence worrying about me that turns me back to the car. Maybe they’re just friends having a fight, like Rose and me.

By the time I snap on my seatbelt, I’ve gotten another text from him, this time with an address I don’t recognize. I frown, wondering if this is a good idea. Why wouldn’t Torrence just text me? He didn’t want me at his house before.

What’s your angle in all of this?I send back to Arlo.

The typing bubble pops up, then disappears, then pops up again, like he’s trying to decide what to say. I was purposefully vague. He might not even realize Torrence admitted magic to me, if it’s that uncommon.

Just don’t like seeing him pissed and knowing I caused it. He won’t talk to me right now.

Considering what I witnessed in the bathroom, I really don’t blame Torrence for that. Although, maybe I should carry some of the responsibility, since I didn’t exactly run away.

And he’s too proud to text you.

I sigh and plug the address into my maps app, just to see where it is. It’s only a few miles from the restaurant, tucked far off the road in a wooded area. The house looks pretty big on the satellite image, and I wonder how many of theGoblin Marketemployees might live there.

How many of them might also have magic.

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