CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

RUBY

“Pull over,” I order as we turn the corner, my heart already beating faster at what I’ve decided to ask.

Torrence glances suspiciously at me, but he pulls into the empty parking lot of a bank. “Everything okay?”

“No, Tor. I really can’t say that it is. I need some answers - and I want them before you take me to your house.” I repress a shudder at the idea that his house might even still be covered with blood and... and body parts.

Torrence nods, resting his hands on his knees instead of the steering wheel. I take a deep breath.

“You’re a gobbelin, or at least part, right? So you drink blood?”

He nods again, his lips tightening. “Human blood gives us power. Makes our magic more potent.”

“So the restaurant...” I trail off, not knowing where to begin after that. Part of me is screaming that I should be terrified, that I should run. He’s a natural predator for me. Yet. My gut is stubbornly saying he won’t hurt me, and I’m determined to figure out why.

After all, if there’s a war, and if it involves Rose, why wouldn’t I want scary dog privilege from Torrence?

If I can’t have magic to protect myself, maybe I can have a beast with magic to protect me.

“The restaurant helps me find willing, susceptible humans to donate their blood. Now that I’m in charge here, they aren’t kidnapped, and they rarely die.”

I wince at the caveat, but keep silent. I’m in the car, so I’ve obviously committed to trusting him for now.

“Humans that fit with our needs are kept at the lodge for a short time to acclimate to the stress of donating blood, then eventually they’re moved to a different place where it’s easier to send the blood home to Haret, for the army. Under my direction, gobbelins aren’t allowed to drink straight from a human anymore.”

“Why not?” I ask, needing to hear him say it, whatever it is.

He sighs, but holds my gaze. “Full-blooded gobbelins used to do more than just drink blood. They used to eat the flesh, and they didn’t stop at humans. My gobbelin ancestors were cannibals, and everything I do helps the living ones keep that in the past.”

My breathing is shallow as I process the information.

Of course, I wasn’t dumb enough to think magic would only be pretty and light. Of course, I expected that if fae were real, other creatures would be, too. But this is a lot.

“My mother is cruel and vicious. She’s at the heart of this war, and her methods will destroy everything I want. I know you have such little information, Ruby, and such little reason to trust me. But I’m workingaroundmy mother, not with her. Gobbelins aren’t evil any more than a pack of wolves is evil. Neither are fae. But both of us have been ruled for so long by cruelty that it seems like the only way, to so many.”

“And you’re trying to change that?” I ask, my voice small in the enclosed car.

“Gobbelins are warrior people, but they’ve been forced into that role. I want to believe they can enjoy a life without war, too. And I’ve seen them do it here, at the restaurant.”

“Everyone deserves that,” I murmur, thinking of all the times in human history where a particular group of people was forced into the role of warrior, simply to continue existing. So much unnecessary killing and hatred. If Torrence is telling me his truth, then how could I not support him?

He may have been born a beast, but it doesn’t define who he really is.

“I can show you more, if you’re willing to come to the lodge. The house,” he amends, and the silence stretches as I debate. Really, though, I already know my answer.

The true debate is how will I convince Rose that I’m doing the right thing.

“Show me,” I finally whisper, my fingers curling against my palm as he pulls back onto the road.

“Everything is clean,” he says as we come to a stop inside the garage. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “I should have seen Arlo for what he was sooner, and I’m sorry he got to you, even a little.”