Ruby’s POV
“Formal dinner,” Lily says when she pokes her head into my room an hour earlier. “Wear something that doesn’t look like you wrestled it out of the laundry basket.”
So I do. A dark dress that fits my shoulders, boots that don’t scream warrior even with scuffs, my hair braided back from my face.
Now I stand just inside the main hall, palms flat to my sides, trying not to stare at the long table.
Tyler sits halfway down on the right, close enough to advise Cindy’s father without pretending to be at the head. Candlelight catches on his hair and jaw. The bandage is hidden under a clean shirt, but I can still see it in the way he holds himself.
I bite down on the feeling in my stomach and make my way to my seat between Tyler and Roger. Roger sits stiff in a borrowed jacket, my fa
