The Chateau (Chateau 1)

Then the screams started.

Doors burst open, and women sprinted into the snow.

“Follow the torches!”

I moved to the cabin Magnus had entered countless times and watched it turn into an inferno instantly.

When every building was on fire, I moved to the clearing and threw the torch at the wooden post that held the noose. The woman was still there, hanging, swaying left to right in the light breeze.

The post caught on fire instantly.

I pulled out my knife and cut her down, dragging her bloody corpse across the snow and away from the fire. She was already dead, so there was nothing I could do to save her…but she didn’t deserve to become ash.

Her family would want her body.

The screams turned into a cacophony, an echo of horror. Women ran out in their undergarments, panicking as the camp burned in an inferno. Cabins crumbled as they were dissolved by the heat.

“Follow the torches!” I pointed to the line of torches outside the plains. “Follow the torches!”

Some of the women recognized me and halted to stare in disbelief. Others didn’t care at all and just sprinted to safety. It was chaos, women trying to find their friends, looking over their shoulders for the guards.

Then the guards came.

“What the fuck is this?” One of the guards screamed, giving orders to his comrades. “Get the guns! Move! Whoever fucking did this is gonna die!”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.

I jogged over the snow, moving past the women who came my way. Shadows of men moved around the camp, trying to grab the women and stop them from escaping. I searched for Melanie, unsure if she’d run for it or if she was waiting for me. “Melanie!” I looked around, only catching glimpses of faces in the light of the fires.

The door to the guard cabin burst open, and a man ran out.

One with brown hair and brown eyes.

He was barefoot, in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He looked around at the camp, the flames reflecting in his dark eyes. He didn’t round up the women like the others. He just stood there, like he knew it was futile to try anything at all.

I knew I should turn away, but I couldn’t.

Then the cabin collapsed, the roof caving in, and it fell right on top of him. He collapsed underneath it, the wood and flames covering him completely.

“Noooo!” I sprinted at full speed to get him as quickly as I could.

But my path was blocked.

By the executioner.

Shirtless, he stood in front of me, staring at me with eyes that showed the underworld in his soul.

I fell back, hitting the snow.

I should run at a dead sprint in the other direction and disappear into the crowd. It was dark outside the camp, and it would be hard to find me.

But my eyes moved to where Magnus lay.

“Look who it is!” He raised his voice so the other guards could hear. “That cunt couldn’t get enough of us.”

I stumbled back and got to my feet.

There was still time to run.

But I couldn’t.

My eyes kept moving behind him, the fire growing over where Magnus was hidden.

Then he charged me.

I quickly dodged out of the way and reached for the blade in my pocket, the five-inch knife Magnus had given me. I fell into the snow and quickly got to my feet, knowing there was no chance I would win this fight—even if he was unarmed.

He faced me, grinning like this was amusing. “You think your little knife is going to stop me?”

I gripped it the way Magnus told me to.

He charged at me again.

I slammed my knife into his body.

But he steadied my wrist and stopped it from piercing his flesh. He slammed me down hard into the snow and gripped me by the throat, choking me so hard he was about to break my neck. His nostrils flared with rage as his eyes gleamed with revenge.

My life faded, but all I could think about was Magnus.

I didn’t save him.

Then his body stiffened and his eyes widened. His hand slackened on my neck.

“Get.” Melanie stabbed the knife into his back. “Off.” She stabbed him again. “Her.” She dug the knife all the way through, piercing him through the chest.

Before he collapsed on top of me, I rolled him off, getting free.

It wasn’t just Melanie. Bethany was there too, stabbing him in the legs.

Angry tears streaked down Bethany’s face. “Die, you fucking piece of shit!” She stabbed him again and again.

I stumbled to my feet again and headed to the cabin, which was burning more than before. “Magnus!” I ignored the burns on my hands from the flames and pulled the wood off his body. “Help!” I kept pulling everything off, screaming in pain every time I touched the white-hot wood. I pushed everything off until I got to the last piece.