Page 84 of Ruby
At Ree.
Ani’s voice is sharp enough to cut shell.
“He was injured,” Ani snaps “And you just sent him out to get me?”
Ree recoils slightly, her face twitching.
“I thought we would have more time to support him, but it has all spun out. I would not have—”
“You thought?” Ani’s eyes flash. “You thought! He could have died.”
“I know.” The words come out strained. “I know.”
Ani doesn’t stop.
“You gambled with him. What, because he was just an alien?”
The beach feels suddenly smaller.
Kira, steps forward sharply and I look away from her wings as soon as they draw my eye, chest tightening. “Okay. That’s enough.”
Ani rounds on her. “Stay out of this.”
“No,” she shoots back. “You don’t know how much it’s been killing her.”
Ani laughs once, harsh and unforgiving. “Killing her?”
“The guilt,” Kira snaps. “You think she hasn’t replayed every decision? You think she hasn’t been calculating alternate outcomes for days? You know nothing about what’s been happening.”
Ani’s jaw tightens.
“Shut up before you make enemies you don’t understand,” Kira adds, voice promising pain.
Ree lifts a hand slightly. “Ani’s anger is justified.”
Ani blinks at that, thrown off for half a breath.
“It is,” Ree continues quietly. “I made a call and the odds of it killing Szhe’ka were high.”
The weight of her words hangs in the air. I step forward before Ani can ignite again.
“It does not matter,” I say, my voice rough in this new, guttural voice. “It was my choice.”
Both of them look at me.
“No one forced me.”
Ani’s expression fractures and she hums, anger warring with annoyance.
I turn to Ree. “What happened?” I ask. “I thought you and Thivoll would find Ani first.”
Ree exhales slowly, some of the tension draining from her shoulders.
“We tried,” she says.
As she talks, Thivoll moves up to her side, a thrumming coming from his chest as he sits back and pulls her close.
“She was hit with venom,” his rough voice grates out, still clearly upset about it, though I am not sure what harmonics tell me.
