We walked in tense, heavy silence for a long time. I didn't even register the noise of hundreds, maybe thousands of centaurs walking by us. All I could hear was the loud clop of each of Ant's footfalls (hooffalls?) on the ground.

"So," Ant finally spoke. "Do you have my key on you or is it in your house somewhere?"

Cutting right to the chase, I guess. "I don't know what you're talking about." Ant huffed out a breath and rolls his exhausted eyes.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but it's not funny. This isn't a fucking joke, okay? It's my life on the line, and I'm not dying because some pint-sized kleptomaniac thinks she can mess with me." He growled, already deep voice sounding almost bass boosted. "So if I were you, I'd give that key back as soon as I could. I don't want to hurt you, but if it comes down to that, it's not like I'll lose sleep over it."

My hands were cold and clammy, and I thought I could feel them shaking. I wanted to run away so bad, but...after everything I'd been through, I couldn't just back down.

So I straightened my spine and crossed my arms, folding my shaky hands out of sight. "Okay, yeah, I took it. But it wasn't for fun or anything-"

"Great, I don't really give a shit, just hand it over," Ant snapped.

I scowled. God, I was tired of people interrupting me. "I'll do that. But first I want you to listen to me."

One of Ant's giant hands slapped his face as he groaned. "I do not have time for this. Either you give me the key or I'll take it."

"By the time you find where I've hidden it, your murder festival will be long over," I said, amazed that my voice didn't shake because of the blatant bluff. "But if you just listen to me, you can have it right away. 5 minutes at the most. I promise."

Ant was quiet for a moment. I tried very hard to keep my expression stony as his scary eyes assessed me. I guess it worked, because he was the one to look away first. "You've got 3 minutes."

I deflated a little in relief. But then I remembered that this was the easy part. Taking a deep breath, I remembered Liam's tips, and began.

"As I was saying, I didn't take the key to mess with you, I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I just wanted to sneak in and talk to my friends last night."

"Again, I don't give a shit why you-"

"I spoke to Ruby." I saw him pause before he could help it, his eyes widening briefly.

"S-so what?" He snapped, and I didn't miss the stutter.

"She was on the ground, curled up into a tiny ball and crying. Like, a lot." Ant doesn't even try to hide his frown as he closes his eyes. I don't know what he's feeling or why, but even knowing as little about Ruby as I did, I could tell that my description of her being like that...mattered, somehow. "I've never seen her act that way before...have you?"

He doesn't answer, so I plow forward. "She did say one thing to me, though. When I asked her how she was feeling, she told me that she was terrified."

Ant let out a shrill laugh. "Of course she's fucking terrified! Of course! I would be too! Why the fuck did you decide to tell me all this, huh?" He was snarling now, and I tried not to let my face show how nervous the display of emotion made me. After being around Liam and his masks for so long, this sincerity was almost scary.

"You misunderstand. She wasn't scared for her own life, but for yours. She knows you've never wanted to hurt anyone, but she thinks it'll be worse this time. She's not sure you can go through with it and come out the same on the other end. She cares about you a lot-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there." I jumped. Ant's voice and face had completely frozen over, his eyes flown back open. They were burning. "Even if, for some reason, I cared what this vampire thought, you expect me believe that the most private person I've ever met told all this to some human with a vampire fetish?"

My cheeks burned bright red, and my mind spun. Liam had told me how to get back on track if something like this happened, but...what had he said exactly? Little bursts of panic exploded in my brain, and I suddenly couldn't recall anything but Ant's question.

"I...uh..." I stammered, uncrossing my arms and picking at the sleeves of my dress as I tried to remember something, anything useful.

But it was too late. Ant scoffed. "Yeah, okay. That's what I thought. It's been over three minutes, by the way." He turned around and started walking to my cabin.

No no no no no. My one chance was falling apart before my eyes, crumbling to tiny pieces and being blown away with the wind. Without thinking, I reached out to grab the pieces.

"WAIT!" I shouted, and it felt like the loudest thing I'd ever said. All around me, centaurs stopped and stared and whispered, but I could only see one. He hadn't turned around, but he had stopped.

"I-I didn't talk to Ruby. But I did talk to Liam. I wasn't lying about her words, either. She said all of it to him, every word. And you know how close they are."

"So what, they were just screaming at each other from complete opposite ends of the prison?"

"It wasn't today. It was sometime before. But she told him that that's why she had to leave, that's why she tried to make you forget about her."

"What, so she could go tell her new boyfriend Liam all her secrets?" Ant said, but his voice wobbled more than before.

"No! Because she cares about you. Ruby wanted to avoid you having to kill her at all costs, but she didn't want you to be forced to leave the for her compound either. She knew that you'd follow her and put yourself and your people in danger, so she lied to you. And ran back to someone who was really, really bad for her." I remember Liam's sad smile as he'd told me that part. "But in the end, I guess it didn't matter. Because now her worst nightmare is coming true."

It's weird, telling a story that I only know the end to. I didn't know how they met, how long they were together, how Ruby ever managed to avoid capture. But, even hearing it from a secondary source, I knew that Ruby, for all her creepy and cryptic behavior, loved him an unfathomable amount.

Ant hadn't moved an inch. It felt like the whole world had stopped breathing.

But then he turned, and I saw his tan face was red, huge tears streaming down from wide eyes and suddenly, the world resumed. Our brief moment in the spotlight was over, and the bustle of centaurs around us started right back up.

Ant wiped them away with the back of his hand, groaning. "Fuck, man," he muttered, still sounding choked up. "You really didn't have to make me cry in front of like, everyone."

I reached up to pat his shoulder. "It's alright. If anyone says anything about it I can kick their asses."

Ant laughed through his tears, and the resulting smile made him look about a thousand times less intimidating. "I just met you like, yesterday, and you're already trying to fight for my honor?"

I shrug. "Yeah, well, we're partners in crime now right? We gotta stick together." I held my breath as I waited for a response. I didn't actually know if this made us partners. What if, despite everything, he decided to just go on with his life?

But for once, I needn't have worried because Ant just gave me an amused smile. "Yeah. I guess we do."

Finally, finally, true relief let me let out a breath. There was still no guarantee I could get everyone out alive, but now I had a chance. And that was good enough for me.