Austin’s POV

I stood there, staring through the glass at her pale face, the steady rhythm of the heart monitor the only sound anchoring me to the moment. Ruby lay completely still, an oxygen mask covering half her face. Bandages wrapped around her arms. Her skin was still smudged from the fire.

She didn’t look like herself.

A doctor finally came over, flipping through her chart, face drawn. I stepped toward him.

“Tell me the truth,” I said. “How is she?”

He glanced at the clipboard, ...