IT NEVER DOES

CORION POV

"It's the ruby!" Anya suddenly announced immediately Aneesa shut the door, "The power within her has been awakened." She answered with an excited gleam in her gaze.

"Yeah, I figured." I mumbled under my breath, not taking my eyes of the door.

The ruby's power inside of Aneesa had been awakened and she doesn't even know it yet. I found out when she began to heal rapidly from the poison. To be honest I had considered changing her when she had been brought into my room, her body limp in Reagan's arms with barely life in her. I had wanted to change her right there, something I've never done before but I was willing to allow Anya to teach me the process even if I had to force her. Then something strange began to happen, she healed on her own. Her breathing became normal and she was no longer coughing out blood but she still had to be nursed throughout the night. Her healing had left a deeper suspicion gnawing at me, one that now bloomed fully with Anya's confirmation.

The ruby revealed itself when she Anya backed her into a corner and I watched the way her face contorted into that of anger but as she fought to keep herself from lashing out, I'd seen it. A glimmer of red in her eyes, a smoldering ember that burned against the usual soft brown. It was faint, but it was there.

She didn't know but I had seen it, we all have. The ruby had finally awakened, stirring the ancient power within her, ready to surge forward and claim her as its own.

"So what does this mean for her?" Reagan suddenly spoke.

Anya whirled around to look at him, "What do you mean what does this mean for her? No one cares about her!" Anya said with a wave of dismissal, "What does this mean for us and I will tell you exactly what, freedom!" Anya stated bubbling with excitement.

A smile crept on my face as I watched Anya who was practically vibrating with excitement. Freedom. A promise that had lingered on the edges of our lives, just out of reach, something we'd nearly lost hope of ever tasting. But now…it was closer more than ever, almost tangible.

"Am I the only one who is still wondering what it means for Aneesa?" Reagan pressed, his expression darkening with traces of worry evident in his eyes.

Anya let out a groan, clearly not thrilled with the fact that we were getting interrupted. "What is your problem Reagan?"

"You think I have a problem?"

"Of course!" Anya responded, "I mean here we are celebrating our freedom which is closer to us now than ever and all you are worried about is some silly thief?"

Reagan stepped forward, the inked patterns on his arms shifting as his muscles tensed. His voice was low, a hint of something almost protective. "Do not call her that," He said in a tone that there was no mistaking the edge of warning, "Her name's Aneesa, use it!"

Anya scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms in frustration. "I can't believe a day will come when the great shadow fae will be worried about some worthless human!"

The words grated against something deep within me but I knew better than to show my emotions, "Alright that's enough of that now." I said my voice loud, with a hint of authority in it, "We will carry on with the same plan we've always had from the very beginning. We can worry about Aneesa later, besides we still have a long way to go before any crisis ensures and our priority right now is ensuring that we manage to stay alive to the day we can gain our freedom. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Anya answered with a tight smile on her face.

I turned my gaze to Reagan who still held a bit of defiance in his eyes. "Understood?"

"Yes." Reagan answered a bit reluctantly and before anyone could say anything else, he turned and left the room shutting the door with more force than necessary.

"For fuck's sake what crawled in his pant this morning?" Anya asked out loud with a scoff and when I didn't answer she turned to look at me, "Don't tell me you also worry about her?"

Shooting her a bored look, I grabbed my shirt and began to unbutton it. "Don't jump into conclusions," I responded coolly, heading towards the bathroom but Anya still followed me clearly not ready to drop this conversation.

"You can't let yourself get distracted by her!" She pressed, her voice laced with a warning.

Stripping off the rest of my clothing, I entered the bathtub filled with warm water, letting it wash over me. "I am not distracted with her!" I answered without looking at her.

Liar! A voice in my head called me out but even I knew it wasn't entirely true. Aneesa's face lingered in my mind and I still remember the way her body felt pressed against mine, it was warm and felt oddly comforting. Somewhere along the way, I'd started to care, more than I should have.

"I mean it Corion, you are not allowed to get distracted by her. We've come too far to allow this plan to go to waste and there's no sacrifice to great as long as we get our freedom." Anya came to stand in front of me, "So stay away from her, she's not our concern." She stated all traces of amusement gone from her face as she stared at me with a stern look.

Yeah, try convincing my stupid wolf that! I thought but didn't say it out loud.

"Besides, I've seen it!" Anya continued drawing my attention back to her, "It doesn't end well for both of you, especially her." She said with a solemn expression on her face before she eventually left.

"It never does." I mumbled to the silence, nothing ever ends well for people I care about.