The Camp (Chateau 2)

I shook my head. “That’s not true. You asked a woman to marry you because you love her. You would take a knife in the chest for me because I’m your brother. It’s hard to carry the weight of the past on your shoulders, but don’t let it define you. You still have a soul. I know you do.”

His eyes looked empty, like he didn’t believe that. “I’ve already done what I’ve done. If there’s a heaven and hell, you know which one I’m going to. I’m damned, and nothing I do now will change that.”

I could feel the energy of self-loathing around him, feel the emptiness inside his chest just from listening to his words. He thought he was destined to be this villain, and no action would change the fate that had been decided for him. “I believe all people can be redeemed. All people can earn redemption. You just have to try.”

My brother stared at me for a long time, like he was thinking about something else instead of actually looking at my face. His mind was elsewhere. “You can be redeemed, Magnus. Your soul is still whole. You were still innocent. Me… It’s too late for me, and we both know it. May as well make as much money as I can and enjoy spending it all while I’m still here.” He set the glass down on the coffee table and rose to his feet as if this conversation was over.

I got to my feet and faced him. “Fender.”

With a clenched jaw, he looked angry that this conversation was continuing when he wished it would die.

“We need to free those girls. Period.” I pitied my brother because of the weight of his grief, the painfulness of his solitude, but it didn’t change what needed to be done. “We can’t do this anymore.”

He stared me down, hostile.

“You need to stop this. Now.”

“Or what?”

My eyes narrowed at the odd response.

“You going to kill me?” He took a step closer to me, rising to my unspoken challenge.

This entire conversation was offensive. I was pissed off that my brother wouldn’t do the right thing because he thought so little of himself already. But I was also pissed off that he had no faith in me. “No. I’m not our father.”

He was still angry, but slightly less.

“But this will happen whether you like it or not. I know there’s still humanity inside you. I know you still have a chance. I just hope you find the strength to join me…instead of resisting me.”

Thirty

Red Snow

When I returned home, Ramon informed me that Raven was in the stables. She spent a lot of her free time there, taking Rose for a ride or brushing her coat or scrubbing her hooves. There was a caretaker on duty to do all those things, but she took it on as a hobby.

When I walked into the stables, I found her standing in Rose’s stall with the door closed. She had a bucket of oats on the shelf, and she fed Rose handfuls. “A lot better than that hat, huh?” She continued to feed her while she rubbed her other hand down the bridge of the horse’s nose. “I’m gonna spoil you like crazy.”

I came close to the door and watched her for a while, looking at her beautiful face while she had no idea I was there. When she felt threatened, she was so savage.

In her defense, most other times, she was gentle and kind, wearing her heart on her sleeve and filling every room she stepped into with light. I loved those things about her, that she fought like a man but loved like a woman.

Rose must’ve smelled me because she lifted her head and looked at me over the stall door. She let out a loud breath, making her nostrils widen.

Raven followed her look until she saw me. “Looks like we aren’t alone.”

I pressed my body against the stall door and rested my arms on the edge. I looked at Rose for a few seconds, seeing her be protective of Raven, even though I was more protective than she would ever be. I turned my gaze to Raven.

“Do you want to feed her?” She held up the bucket of oats.

I shook my head.

“Come on. I want her to like you.”

“She doesn’t like me?” I asked incredulously. “Who’s the one who has been feeding her for months? Who’s the one who got her out of that camp?” I shifted my gaze back to Rose and gave her a look of accusation. “Who’s the one who let her shit in my house?”

Raven laughed loudly at the memory. “Oh my god, I’ll never forget your face when you walked in there.” She looked at Rose and continued to rub her snout, chuckling to herself.

I looked at Raven again, seeing the color in her cheeks, the light in her eyes, the joy in everything around her.