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It’s late. We stayed at Birdies until she kept yawning. She wanted us to spend the night, but Ruby insisted she wanted to sleep in her own bed. In all honesty, I think she could tell I was feeling overwhelmed. Not that Birdie wasn’t lovely and warm, but what she told us was a lot to absorb. Everything is already unfamiliar to me here on Wild Haven Island and even though living at Ruby’s is relatively new, it’s still the closest to a real home I’ve ever had.
“It’s not like what she said only affects me. She was talking about your mother.”
“And how she likely went nuts because someone stole her baby, aka you.” Ruby raises her eyebrows.
“Fine, I think we can agree that it was information that impacts us both.”
Ruby laughs, but it quickly peters out and the smile on her face turns into a frown. “She wasn’t a good mom. I can’t rewrite that history.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“But maybe, maybe, it helps a little to know that there was a reason she was messed up.”
“Should I feel bad that I’m the reason?” Ruby and I are both whispering, as if this is a conversation that can’t be held at regular volume. I’m almost tempted to pull the covers over our heads so we can pretend the world around us doesn’t exist for a little while.
“That’s dumb. No. You were an infant. Barely born if Birdie didn’t even know you were alive.”
I huff out a laugh at Ruby’s raw honestly. I love it. It’s refreshing that someone says what they feel without hiding behind nuanced words. The High Fae love to cloak their criticism, their barbs, behind pretty words.
“I’m kind of bummed we’re not twins, though. I seriously thought we might be,” Ruby says, then her voice grows dramatic, “Torn apart at birth, two souls reunited.”
My laughter is deep and unabashed this time. “Despite the loss of that excellent story, I’m really glad you’re my sister. Because you are, right? We’re sisters?” I shake my head, not quite believing it myself.
Ruby’s smile slowly grows. “Actually, I’m your older sister. That means I get to boss you around and tell you what to do.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing all along?”
Ruby’s jaw drops with a shocked sound. She whips a pillow out from behind her head and whacks me in my face.
“Where’d you get that smart mouth all of a sudden?”
I yank the pillow from her hand and then throw it back at her. “From my older sister.”
Our laughter fades, and Ruby reaches out to touch the scar near my temple.
“What happened here?”
I trace the long-healed injury with my fingers when her hand drops. It’s not my only scar, just the most visible one. “I was in the room when the Duke was rebuffed by some Fae woman. He didn’t appreciate that someone saw the slight. He hit me and my head connected with the edge of a table.”
“Cocksucker. He’s lucky he’s still in Fairy or I would cut his dick off and force feed it to him.” Ruby’s hands are under her cheek, but her fingers are clenched into fists. I reach out and uncurl her fingers. She grabs hold of my hand and squeezes.
“Thanks, Ruby.” I can’t find adequate words to tell her how much it means to me that she wants to protect me.
“What are big sisters for? Plus, I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet, but you’ve been adopted into the most dysfunctional family ever. Blood or not, we watch each other’s backs.”
