66 Lonely

Ruby had to wonder if he would still try to enact his plans without her there bankrolling him. He did have a couple million in the bank at this point but would that really be enough? This place was well-fortified and the vampires she had met so far were nothing like him.

They were ice cold and followed Dorian's commands without question. She had a hard time imagining any one of them ever having fun at all, let alone caring about each other. They moved around silently, swiftly, and separately.

Other races of fae tended to compare vampire covens to werewolf packs because of the magical bonds the members shared but this place was nothing like the werewolf packs she had met back home.

Those guys all horsed around with each other, were physically affectionate, and laughed boisterously at jokes only they understood. They were close friends with each other. Their bonds were more similar to those she had seen between the fire fairies in Las Vegas than the Cromwells.

What had Ash's coven been like? Was it as cold and austere as this place? She had a hard time imagining someone as easily amused as him in such an environment but he did say his kin had cared about him in general terms but never bothered to understand him.

He also said she was the kindest fae he ever met and that she was fun to talk to and made him laugh. Maybe that was because laughter wasn't a thing in vampire covens.

What a sad way to live. He did say he never wanted to be coven leader either. If his coven members treated him similarly to the way these vampires treated Dorian—with respect, but distantly—he must have been terribly lonely.

Lonely while surrounded by others. Ruby knew exactly how that felt. Maybe that was part of why the two of them got along so well.

Ash was probably lonely again now. Blair's accusation that he wouldn't be able to handle losing anyone else might have carried more weight than she cared to admit.

She hadn't wanted to leave him either. Of course she hadn't! He was the first fae she ever met that knew something about her powers without wanting something from her since her parents passed away.

Ruby had trusted him with everything except what she actually looked like but that was only because she didn't want the way he saw her to change. To use a human phrase, she had a face not even a mother could love.

From the time she was old enough for her glamour to appear her parents encouraged her to wear it at all times. Even when they were at home.

Ruby hadn't shown her true form to anyone since for fear of what they would say. Even if she had managed to stay with Ash a while longer she never could have stayed by his side permanently.

She wanted to be free. To not have to wear her glamour at all and fly however much she wanted. That simple dream seemed so far away now.

Flying was going to be impossible for the next century due to these ankle weights. Even once she did get out she would be responsible for Flora for at least another twenty years. She would be free to go off on her own after that but what if she didn't want to?

If Flora stayed with her forever she wouldn't be able to be herself that way either. She couldn't bear if the adoration on that little face turned to disgust.

Maybe Ruby simply wasn't meant to be free. Her entire existence had been characterized by hiding.

She sighed heavily and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. It seemed to be mocking her somehow. This was the same moon she had looked at with Ash the nights they spent outside in Las Vegas but her situation was entirely different.

She didn't know what exactly Dorian Cromwell would have her do but she couldn't let him find out about her powers aside from gemstone creation. That could be disastrous.

Ever since she found out she had control over more than rocks alone she had been wary of her own power. Controlling organic minerals could really hurt someone, couldn't it? And how far did that control go? Would she be able to split a tectonic plate and cause earthquakes because those were made of minerals too?

Ruby hadn't even wanted to test the bounds of her imagination because what she already knew she could do was bad enough. Making things worse for herself did not seem wise.

"I trust your accommodations are to your liking?" Dorian's cold voice asked, appearing behind her suddenly.

She didn't even give him the satisfaction of looking up. "Yes, thank you. It will suit Flora's needs."

"Excellent. I am nothing if not a consummate host. Now the time has come for you to fulfill your end of the bargain. Show me what you are capable of."

A shiver ran down Ruby's spine at his words. Even she didn't know that; there was no way she was going to test it around him. She would do gem summoning and make some jewelry. That should be enough for him.

She wasn't even going to use the full extent of that power. She would purposely only summon a small pile to make some earrings and a necklace. That was all Flint and Lily had believed she was capable of anyway.

The last thing she wanted to do was help this monster in any way. She would fulfil her end of the contract but just barely.

She held her hands out and felt many things trying to break the surface of the earth but only allowed a few to come through. A handful of diamonds, emeralds, and amethyst and enough gold and silver to connect the jewelry.

Impressive to someone who had never seen anything like it before but not a fraction of what Ruby could actually do. She ignored the awe of the vampires around her and created an emerald and diamond necklace and some amethyst earrings.

"There," she said flatly. "This is all I can do. I have no control over what comes up and I cannot summon very many things at once. I will not be able to do this again for another few days."

That should be a believable enough lie, right? These fae didn't know anything about her powers.