two where the overlap failed. The guards weren’t stupid enough to cross us.
He brought the glass to his lips and took a drink, his tired eyes focused on the fire, heavy with stress.
My chin was propped on my closed knuckles, letting the fire envelop my body with heat Melanie used to give me. When I returned home, I wasn’t sure what I would find. Even if I didn’t kill her sister, she might not want anything to do with me.
What would I do then?
Magnus turned his gaze to me, silently waiting for me to meet his look.
I was still pissed off even though he had nothing to do with it, so it took me a few minutes to reciprocate.
He held up his glass slightly. “It’s Mom’s birthday.”
I stared at his glass for a while, not realizing the date because so many other things had been on my mind. I lifted mine and gave a slight tap against his. “Happy Birthday, Mom…wherever you are.”
Twenty-One
Knife in the Stomach
Melanie
It was like a knife in the stomach.
Raven was dead.
I knew it.
Magnus wouldn’t be able to protect her, not this time.
I sat in the living room in front of the fire, tears coming and going as I looked out the window onto the estate and the landscape that extended for miles. “Why couldn’t you have just waited one more fucking day…” Tissues were balled in my fingers, damp against my skin. There were no smudges of makeup, not when I’d stopped bothering to make myself look nice.
I used to wait on pins and needles for Fender to come home.
Now I couldn’t care less.
Deep in my heart, I knew Fender had a gentle soul and an innate kindness, so there was hope that he wouldn’t go through with it. He might spare her—for me. He might lock her back in her cabin as her punishment.
He did love me…after all.
Gilbert knocked on the door and let himself inside even when there was no response. He moved into the living room and regarded me, with features soft with sympathy. “Melanie, Fender has returned to the palace. Thought you’d like to know…” He gave a slight bow then stepped away.
I stayed in my spot on the couch because I dreaded the answer Fender would give.
If he told me she’d been hung in the Red Snow, I’d throw myself out the window to make the pain stop.
I couldn’t face that reality, so I stayed curled up in the corner of the couch, a box of tissues beside me, a dull headache behind my eyes that had been there for almost a week. My fingers loosened on the tissue in my hand and brought it to my nose to wipe the snot that had dripped through my stressed sinuses.
An hour later, the bedroom door opened.
I knew it was him, and instinctively, I pulled my knees closer to my chest and took deeper breaths, preparing for the hardest moment of my life. The room instantly felt warmer when his presence approached, when his energy rivaled the heat of the fire.
I kept my gaze averted.
He stepped into the living room and stopped near the coffee table.
He stared…and stared.
I kept my eyes down, my breathing becoming a bout of hyperventilation, tears forming in my eyes once more.
“Chérie.”
“Don’t…fucking…call me that.” Tears poured down my cheeks, and I pulled my knees closer. My hair was oily because I hadn’t showered. My skin was dry because I stopped moisturizing. I’d descended into darkness and couldn’t get back up.
He moved to the cushion beside me and took a seat, his eyes on my face like I was in full makeup and a beautiful dress.
“You could have just brought her back like we agreed on. That’s all you had to do.” My words were muffled by the hard tears. “If you think you can kill her and still have me, you’re wrong. She’s all I have…”
“I didn’t kill her.”
The breath died in my throat and never reached my lungs. My face turned to look at him head on, to see those dark eyes regarding me with his eternal affection, like he still saw beauty in my plain face and sorrow. “Did you… Is she here?” My voice cracked with happiness, imagining her downstairs, waiting for me. My hands reached for his, squeezing them in gratitude.
“We never found her.”
My hand immediately loosened on his, my dream shattered. “What…what do you mean?”
“We searched for four days. Never turned up.”
“So…so…she got away?”
His eyes turned sympathetic. “She’s dead. Her body went over a