Tragic King (The Dominant Bastard Duology 2)

“Right.” Severin sighed. “Sounds like she was quite the humanitarian.”

“Her awards lined our mantle,” Loïc said with airy sarcasm. “You really wanted your exile to be your fault somehow. It wasn’t. You were like Aurelie and Camille – innocent pawns. You just found your way out faster than they did.”

“And you.”

Loïc gave a short, bitter laugh. “No. I cooperated. I helped her. By the time I was eighteen, I was helping her run her empire. I could have turned her in to police, but I...I thought I was in love with her. There were parts I didn’t know, but I knew the worst of it and didn’t argue. The problem is that loving an evil person doesn’t make them good. Every bit of the wickedness you chose to ignore pierces into your soul. It takes root.”

“You were raised to be helpful and not to question.”

“But even sheltered in the strange way I was, I still knew better.”

“Name one evil thing you’ve done.”

“Work for her willingly, knowing what she was selling. Burning our house to the ground.” He chewed his lip. “Murder.”

“Murder?” Severin arched a skeptical brow.

Loïc acted as if he hadn’t heard him, and dove down into the water, surfacing a few moments later and floating on his back until the bugs started to bother him again.

“Who did you murder?”

Loïc sighed. “Martine’s death wasn’t from natural causes, no matter what I paid the coroner to say.”

“You dropped a house on her?” Severin asked, tone impassive. Asking felt like an invasion of privacy. Hell, they both had reasons for wanting her dead. It wasn’t a shock that Loïc had done it. The day Loïc had arrived on his doorstep, Severin had wondered if that had been the case.

“No. Nothing that satisfying. I got her very drunk on sleeping-pill-laced Pinot Noir.”

Severin nodded, not sure what to say. It would probably be wrong to thank him.

“What finally made you do it?”

Loïc’s face reddened, and he averted his pale gaze. “She’d hired a landscaper to redesign the gardens. Christian. He was from Germany. He was handsome, funny. I asked for permission to entertain him. I’d never asked before, to be with someone I wanted.” He gave a small laugh, as though it had been stupid of him to make such an outrageous request. “She had her guards beat me and take me hard. She watched.”

He looked out at the sun skimming the horizon, casting the evening in mellow blues and purples.

“Until then I’d thought someday, maybe, I’d be free. That if I was a good son, a hard worker, a satisfying lover, that she’d let me decide some things for myself. To have things that were mine.” He flicked at a bug floating on the water. “Like a person.”

“You were living in a mansion and peddling your ass, and nothing was yours?”

He shrugged. “No. Everything in the house was hers, including the clothes on my back. I had to ask to use things. To watch the television. To use the shower. To eat.”

“You were a slave.”

“Oui, but what does a slave know about being free, mon frère? Nothing. My freedom terrifies me. I’m like a dog raised in a cage. One day the cage door is left open and the dog isn’t overjoyed. He’s afraid and confused, and wishes there was another owner, who maybe wasn’t so cruel.”

Severin clapped him on the shoulder, not sure what to say. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Peut-être. I wish I could find someone to care for me the way you care for your slaves.”

“You should try being free first, and see if you like it.” Severin tried to give his brother a reassuring smile, but he wasn’t sure it came out right. “It’s time, though. You need to get your own place and figure out what to do with your life. I’m glad we’ve gotten to know each other, but I have to get on with my life too. Things with Minnow and Rodrigo are new, and I don’t want to ruin things by keeping them away.”

Loïc’s eyes widened. “Where will I go?”

“We can find you a place close by. We can hang out all the time, but you should have your own space and your own life.” Was this how Church had felt about Severin when he’d left? Suddenly it all made sense.

“My own house?” He stared at Severin. “I have no one to put in a house. I have nothing.”

“We can help you get furniture and meet people. Rodrigo knows a lot of people. Maybe you’ll meet someone you like.”