Ruby POV
I had been so careful.
So quiet.
So aware of every sound, every breath, every movement.
And yet
"Ruby."
The sound of my name was like a blade against my spine.
I froze.
My fingers clenched around the cloak I had just tucked into my secret stash beneath the floorboards.
Too late.
I turned slowly.
Jake stood in the doorway.
Watching.
Waiting.
A storm barely restrained.
The room was too quiet.
So was Jake.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
His silver-blue eyes flicked downward.
To the floorboards.
To the loose edge I hadn’t tucked back into place.
To the small sliver of fabric peeking out
the cloak I hadn’t hidden fast enough.
To my trembling hands.
And then, finally
To me.
I felt it the second his attention settled.
The shift in the air.
The
