78 Prejudice Is Taught Not Born

All the vampires in the Cromwell coven blended together and were hard to tell apart but he was impossible to miss because of the emotion in his face. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life until she realized her glamour was off.

Her first instinct was to cover her hideous face but she couldn't so much as twitch a finger. The pain had completely wiped her out and she didn't have an ounce of strength left.

Ash was staring at her but wasn't recoiling in disgust. His expression was the same worried one she had seen a dozen times before. If anything, he was more desperate to look at her than usual. He drank in the sight of her like he was dying of thirst and she was the only thing that could save him.

That was puzzling. Why would he react like that? Wasn't he mad at her for running straight into the clutches of his enemy without consulting him?

Then he had to go and confuse her even more by touching her face and kissing her forehead, gazing at her with more tenderness than she had ever seen from him. Like she was his girlfriend or something.

It wasn't like Ruby disliked it but she was too weak to even squeak out a protest that they weren't like that and he shouldn't do things that could be easily misconstrued. He always had a tiny bit of a boundary problem because of his formerly sheltered life and it frequently led to her mortification.

She felt too awful to do anything as he went off to kill Dorian and complete his revenge. She missed part of their conversation because her head was so fuzzy but then Ash came back and said Flora was safe and that they should go home.

That was perhaps the most confusing part of all. Home? What home? She and Flora were currently homeless.

There was no reason for her to continue staying at the castle now that his revenge was complete. She would have to find a place to raise her baby cousin. Flint and Lily's old house was out considering they died there.

Was he going to let her continue staying in the castle until she found a place to go or what? Why would he do that if he was mad at her? None of this made sense. Ruby's head hurt on top of everything else so it was difficult to think straight.

"Would you like to use my lap as a pillow while you regain your strength?" Ash offered.

That would be more comfortable than the ground but it would also be super weird because of his overly affectionate actions earlier that she still didn't understand. But she was in too much pain to argue.

"Sure."

One of his icy hands was resting on her shoulder protectively as well. It was a warm summer night so she didn't mind but was a bit curious why he was doing it.

There were a lot of things Ruby was curious about so she started with the one that weighed on her mind most. It was more of a statement than a question because it was fairly obvious from the look on his face.

"You…don't think I'm disgusting."

Ash frowned and a small divot appeared between his brows. "Why would I think that?"

Because everyone else did? He was the only one who didn't follow convention! "Well, look at me!" she exclaimed weakly.

"I am."

And he was. He was staring at her every bit as intensely as he had earlier but she didn't feel like a freak on display. Somehow she felt wanted. Even cherished, which also did not make a single iota of sense.

"I'm a mutation. A freak! So how can you look at me and not be repulsed by what you see?" Ruby demanded.

"I don't think you're a freak," Ash said softly as he brushed back a strand of hair that was getting into his face. "I think you are rather colorful but that isn't a bad thing. Tell me though…am I crazy or did your blue arm turn pink in the past five minutes?"

She sighed heavily. "You aren't crazy. I'm an ever-changing patchwork of gem and rock patterns. Sometimes most of me is one color or pattern but more often I look like this with scattered bits and pieces everywhere. I don't think I've ever seen my eyes both be the same at once though. My hair can be one color or five. Honestly, I'm kind of a mess."

Ruby had never talked to anyone about her affliction like this. She hid it away and was stuck dealing with it on her own whenever she passed a mirror or reflective surface.

Ash smiled. "I don't that that qualifies you as a mess. You're like one of those roulette wheels in Las Vegas—you never know what you're going to get. You're a surprise."

She actually laughed out loud at his description. It was so random yet fitting. And positive too; surprises were meant to be good things. Nobody had ever described the way she looked like this.

"You're the first to think that way. I have always hid this secret about myself. Even Flora doesn't know what I actually look like so I'm a little worried she'll wake up before I can put my glamour back on."

"You don't need to, you know. She's a baby and prejudice is taught not born. She's young enough that she would be able to accept you as you are, especially since you said she adores you already," Ash pointed out.

Ruby shuddered at the thought. What if he was wrong? What if Flora still rejected her? She wouldn't be able to handle that; she really wouldn't.

That did raise a question though. "If prejudice truly is taught not born then why aren't you? You've been around a long time. Why are you able to accept me when no one else ever has?"