Page 83 of Storm of Summer (Wild Haven 3)

“Then what?”

“Anthony left your pathetic, squalling, ball of flesh to rot, right there. Only somehow, after he left, the veil opened. You were beyond lucky to be found by the Fae. They tossed you in with the other drudges who kept you alive. Really, you should be thanking the Fae for not leaving the mewling feeble thing there to die.

Hundreds of candles light the room, just like when there’s a ball at the manor. The three enormous chandeliers, decorated with glass flowers and leaves, twinkle at me with an abundance of cheer and suddenly it’s too much. All the abuse I suffered at the hands of Fae like Colton, the degradation, the cutting words, the fists, it’s all too much.

With a wave of my hand, the chandeliers snap from their tethers, falling to the ground and shattering into a million pieces. Glass flies across the room, but it doesn’t touch me. It moves straight through me like I’m a ghost.

Colton isn’t so lucky. It slices through his skin, littering his body with hundreds of tiny cuts. He deserves so much worse, especially because when he wakes up all of the damage will disappear. I wish I could be so lucky, but my scars are too deeply entrenched to ever go away. They’re a part of my internal landscape forever.

“Fuck you, Colton.” I give him the middle finger, knowing Ruby would be so proud, and leave the dream.

I’m out of the dream, but I don’t want to open my eyes. Is there some measure of relief knowing that I wasn’t abandoned or given over in some kind of Fae offering? A little. I’m not sure it outweighs the pain of knowing that our mother was broken because Anthony stole me away.

Rhys squeezes my shin and I open my eyes to look at him. He searches my face and the sad smile he gives me tells me he understands the sorrow in finding answers. There’s no closure. I don’t feel any better about any of it. It’s just a new piece of information that I’ve learned that makes me want to shove Anthony and all his little minions back into Fairy.

Still, the hand on my leg, the warm, calloused palm rubbing gently back and forth, lets me know that no matter what, I won’t have to do any of this alone.

All I really want to do is curl up against Rhys and fall asleep with his arms around me. Tonight, that’s not the most important thing, though. Being there for my sister while I tell her what I found out is.

“Ruby. We should talk.”

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