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“Is he real?”
Skylenna grins. “I always thought he was a figment of my imagination. Now I know he’s been real this entire time. A RottWeilen alpha shares an impenetrable bond with his pack. He’s been saving me from trauma this entire time.”
I rub my hands through his fur, feeling happier than I have in a long time.
“So, what do you say, Ruth? Want to run with us?”
I jump to my feet with a squeal, lurching forward and laughing as DaiSzek slows his pace to run with us through the tall grass.
I realize the depression, the pain, the hopelessness might swallow me whole when we return. But at least I have this.
To run one last time.
40. For Ruth
Skylenna
“Where did you take her?” Warrose asks.
I let go of Ruth’s face, sighing at how peacefully she sleeps in his arms. Her brunette curls are damp with sweat, her face is gray and depleted of color, and the rest of her body seems to shrivel in on itself. I force myself to look at Warrose.
“Ambrose Oasis,” I reply with a long exhale. “She’s running with DaiSzek there.”
Dessin massages my shoulders, planting a slow kiss on the crook of my neck. There’s still tension between us. In a way, I harmed his trust in me, in our communication by going up to the Bird’s Nest. If the roles had been reversed, I would have a hard time forgiving him. But he’s hurting, too, from Ruth’s tragedy. I can see it in his cloudy eyes; he feels responsible for her. For all of us. There’s guilt in his chest the same way it’s sitting in mine. He understands my breakdown and why I felt like I had no way out.
“She’s running?” Warrose eyes become circular and misty.
“Yes.”
He slumps a little against the bars digging into his back.
“I can keep sending her there through the worst of the pain,” I add sleepily, then turn to Dessin. “What’s our main concern with her recovery right now?”
“Blood loss and infection.”
Nervous energy clenches my muscles and curdles my stomach. I open my mouth to respond, but a hunched movement snags my gaze. Small sniffles and something dripping against a puddle on the floor.
Niles does his best to mop up Ruth’s vomit with an old rag. But as he cleans, tears leak from his eyes straight to the floor without making contact with his cheeks.
“Niles.” Marilynn touches the back of his arm.
He shrugs her off.
Sadness swells in my throat like a balloon about to pop. I swallow, commanding myself to be strong for him. “Talk to us, Niles.”
He mumbles something, continuing to scrub.
“What’s that now?” I ask.
“She won’t make it through another Fun House Night!” he howls, his cries rushing through the halls of the prison. “Look at her!”
I look down at the bloody bandages and clothes wrapped around Ruth’s legs. He’s right. They make prisoners participate no matter what state of health they’re in.
“I don’t care what kind of plan you two have to come up with! Make me a fucking decoy to die here, I DON’T CARE! Just get Ruthie out! Please!”
My heart shreds into thin, lifeless strings as I look at Dessin. He’s watching me with a hard, determined stare. Like he’s waiting for me to come to the same conclusion he’s already arrived at.
I have to get out first.
