Half of Ruby

Chapter 41

Worlds away from the girl who laid unmoving upon the ground, legions away from the boy who begged to join her, centuries away from the shattered hopes of a budding future, a young woman's eyes, haunted with horror, flew wide open.

"Very good," said a voice, stabbing through her thoughts. "Very good. Congratulations."

Congratulations? There were a million things she could have said, but congratulations was not one of them.

It seemed as though an eon had passed since she'd fallen into sleep's awaiting arms.

Ruby stared up at the ice-blue eyes before her, blinking as a strand of blond hair so pale it seemed white tickled her cheekbone.

"Ruby," said the owner of those eyes. "How are you feeling?"

A breath rattled her chest as she spoke. "Where...where am I?"

"I said, how are you feeling? Do not make me repeat my words."

The voice, cooler than those freezing cobalt eyes, penetrated the fog blanketing Ruby's mind as she struggled upright on her elbows, hissing as a jolt of pain stabbed through her head.

"No. Do not get up."

"There you go, then," croaked Ruby. Her voice sounded pathetically broken, twisted. It did not sound like hers. "I am not feeling well."

The blue eyes drew away, and Ruby took in a figure lithe and perfect, hourglass figure and womanly curves swathed with deep golden silk. She stood eerily tall, head nearly brushing the roof, heart-shaped face framed with a waterfall of waist-length hair, which rippled under the oily light like a sea of liquid platinum.

But what caught Ruby's attention was not the beauty of the woman before her, but what she twirled on her right wrist—a circlet tiara, slender threads of silver snaking together before dipping down into a glittering sapphire.

"You—" Ruby backed away, staring at the woman. "You are—"

"Hush," said the woman. The circlet stopped twirling with a tinkle of gems and metal as she approached Ruby. "You are unwell."

"Of course I'm unwell," snapped Ruby. "I just..." She trailed off, at a loss for words. What to say? She'd just...she'd just killed someone. Made someone kill herself.

Ember.

The name of her clone echoed through her mind like a curse.

Ember.

Her black hair and chiseled face, so similar to Ruby's...except where Ruby's eyes had burned crimson, Ember's had glowed a warm, beautiful gold....

Ruby closed her eyes, momentarily blocking out the tall woman as guilt swept, thick and suffocating, flooded through her.

Ember, who was timid but brave, who blushed and stammered but tried to protect Ronan up until the very end. Who was infuriatingly naïve, but unflinchingly loyal....

Ronan.

She swallowed, remembering him. Remembering his bold hazel gaze, his quirky habit of raising one eyebrow, the teasing way he grinned whenever he spoke with Ember.

He loved her. He loved her so much.

A scream welled up in the back of her throat as she recalled the way he'd disguised himself as 'Gus,' the way he'd taken Ember into his own home, the way he'd protected her and did everything he could to win her heart. And won it he had....