Chapter 52

• A sharp pulse of worry rushes through me at the thought of Ruth, the memory of her struggling for breath searing into my mind. I can still see the way her body trembled, the desperate rise and fall of her chest as she fought for air after the Beast released her.
• I cling to the hope that she managed to escape my room in time—that she returned to the servants’ quarters before Lucas arrived. Bringing her with me had been a mistake, a reckless decision made in the heat of fear and desperation.
• “Quiet. Catherine’s awake,” Lucas murmurs, his voice dangerously close.