The Chateau (Chateau 1)

The fact that he had all those things on him meant he already knew I was the culprit before the executioner had announced anything. He knew it was me without asking, and he knew he had to come prepared. Otherwise, I would be caught.

He saved my ass…again.

He got to his feet and dusted off his hands before he pulled his gloves back on.

Footsteps sounded outside.

He turned at the sound then quickly pulled up his hood to hide his face. “Sit. Now.”

I did as I was told and sat at the edge of the bed.

The front door flew open, and the executioner came in with two guards.

Magnus did a remarkable job of looking innocent. “I checked the lock on her door, and it hasn’t been tampered with. I checked her room but haven’t moved the mattress.”

They didn’t seem suspicious of Magnus at all. One guard moved to look in the tub, while the other opened the drawers in my nightstand and searched there. The executioner came to me. “Move.”

I got off the bed right away.

Magnus silently excused himself.

The men looked through everything in my room, upending the mattress, even moving the nightstand to make sure there was nothing behind it. They looked underneath the tub then undid the piping of my sink, as if I’d shoved some things there. They came up empty-handed.

The guards left without putting my stuff back where it was.

The executioner didn’t walk out. Instead, he came up to me, looking down at me with those furious eyes. He stared for a long time, a minute straight, his look so intense that it terrified me.

I couldn’t be as brave as I was last time. At that moment, I had accepted my death.

But right now, I had no idea what would happen.

Finally, he spoke. “He can’t protect you forever. Next time he’s gone, so are you.”

15

The Storm

Life went on.

There were no other announcements about the stolen items.

The girls knew the stuff hadn’t been recovered because no one had been killed.

It seemed as if the executioner suspected me, but without proof, there was nothing he could do.

But I definitely had to make a run for it before Magnus left again, because once he was gone…I was done for. Every day was sunny and cold, and there was barely a breeze on the wind. We worked day after day, time blending together.

God, I needed that storm.

Melanie was surprised I hadn’t been caught based on her shocked expression, but once the immediate threat passed, she didn’t look so terrified. She actually looked a little hopeful, like we had a chance.

My dinner was delivered that night. It was placed on my bed, a pile of food on the plate, like the girls in the kitchen always made sure to give me extra after I’d been starved last week. There was a mug of hot cocoa too.

Magnus was my guardian angel.

We hadn’t talked about what happened because he’d left my cabin the instant the food was delivered every night. It seemed like he wanted nothing to do with me.

But tonight, he stayed.

He shut the door behind himself, dropped his hood, and then pulled up his chair so he could face me, the way that asshole guard used to. His black gloves were removed, and he started to curl his fingers into his palm, as if working out the aches caused by the cold. “A storm is coming tonight. It’ll be here around three a.m.” He lifted his gaze and looked at me, staring at me with those brown eyes that were uniformly dark but somehow beautiful. He regarded me with suppressed concern, with a hint of annoyance. “If you leave before it hits, you’ll get a lead on them.”

I ignored my food, despite the fact that I was starving. The only thing that mattered was the words he spoke.

“When the winds hit, it’ll cover your tracks.”

My hands started to shake because the moment had arrived. This was really happening.

“But you won’t make it, Raven.”

It was the first time he’d said my name. I liked the way it sounded.

He shook his head slightly. “If you’re lucky enough to evade capture, you’ll get lost and die anyway.”

“Unless you tell me the way.”

He held my gaze, unblinking. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Please…”

“Even if I did, you aren’t going to make it.”

“Stop saying that. It’s not true.”

“Have you ever been out in the wilderness in your entire life?” His voice started to rise, his anger getting to him. “Let alone, in winter? You think those two flashlights are going to be enough to navigate in the pitch-blackness? In a storm? You’re going to get yourselves killed.”

“We’re just going to ride straight through.”

“Ride?” he asked incredulously. “Ride what?”

“A horse.”

“And how do you plan on getting a horse?”

“The same way I got the other stuff.”

He shook his head. “You can’t pick the lock on the stables. They’re bolted. That’s not an option.”