Page 57

T he moment the door clicked behind us, Charles came around the desk, swept his arm across his chest, and then let it fly, backhanding Wes with a sharp, loud smack that caused me to yelp. Wes’s face turned violently with the force of the hit, his whole body staggering back.

“Wes!” I screamed just as Marissa yelled, “Charles!”

“Never defy me again, boy. Never . Consider this your final warning,” Charles sneered.

I stepped toward Wes, grabbing his arm and turning him so I could look at his face. A small trickle of blood dripped from a cut on his bottom lip. I cupped his cheeks, but Wes shook me off, wiping off the blood with the back of his hand.

Both Calvernon men stared at one another, venomous glares that spoke more than words could ever say. Charles broke the silence first. “Leave my office.” Wes narrowed his eyes at his father before facing me and taking my hand. “She stays,” Charles ordered.

“Fuck no,” Wes spat out.

“Watch it, boy,” Charles snapped, “or you’ll regret it.”

“I’m not leaving without her.”

“Wes, please ,” Marissa begged, coming around the desk to grip her son’s arm. “Please…for me?”

I remembered in that moment what Wes had shared with me before, that the more he disobeyed his father, the more Charles hurt Marissa.

She was a weapon against him—a noose that kept Wes chained to obedience.

Wes opened his mouth to protest, pulling his arm out of his mother’s grasp.

But I couldn’t bear to see his father hit him again.

Not because of me. And even though Marissa didn’t like me, I felt bad for her.

I knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of someone’s abuse, and I didn’t want Wes to have to choose between us.

I reached out to him, grabbing his shirt in one hand while cupping his cheek in the other, bringing his eyes to mine. “Hey,” I whispered, “it’s okay. I’ll be fine. Just go with your mom outside. I’ll be right there.”

“Whatever he has to say to you, he can say to me,” he argued.

“Please,” I said. “ Please go outside.”

“Listen to Mara,” his mother coaxed, grabbing his arm again.

“I’ll be right there,” I assured him.

Wes searched my eyes, weighing my request.

“Please,” I pleaded. I dropped my voice low so that only he could hear. “Remember your mom, Wes. Please .” I watched as he broke, his shoulders slumping. “Thank you,” I whispered.

He took in a deep breath, glaring at his father one last time before looking at me again. “I’ll be outside.”

I nodded.

Wes turned away, Marissa taking his arm again, touching his face, trying to tend to him as they walked out of the room. When the door clicked closed, the room sat in silence, and instantly, my heart pounded as I heard a languid clap behind me. With one deep breath, I slowly faced Charles.

“Well, you’ve certainly fucked that boy up. He was a pain in the ass to begin with, but now…” Charles let his sentence trail off.

“What do you want?” My voice came out tart, clearly displaying that there was no love lost between us.

“Watch it, girl. Mind your tone, or I’ll remind you in ways you’ll never forget.” Ice. His words felt like piercing ice. And suddenly, I felt like a child back in Telvia. Charles paced in front of me, arms behind his back. “You’re going to sign over Telvia to me.”

What? That made no sense. What the hell was he talking about?

“When you return from the tower, you and your brother will both sign a treaty that relinquishes your claim to Raúl’s lands. Do you understand?”

I shook my head. “You’re already getting the South when I marry Wes. I don’t under—”

He stormed towards me, causing me to jump and take several steps backward.

“Don’t question me, girl. You’re going to do as you’re told.

You’re going to sign the fucking treaty, and then you’re going to convince your brother to do the same.

As long as you convince Jacob de la Puente to cooperate, then perhaps the verdict of his trial will be favorable. ”

My stomach bottomed out. “What? What do you mean his trial ?”

Charles smiled, and it was a smile that would haunt me for days to come. “For his crimes, of course.”

I stepped forward. “You can’t do that! The agreement was that my brother would get a full pardon.”

“Oh, I assure you, I can,” he said, his face twisting into menacing glee.

“The agreement was that the Dissenters would not hold a trial against him, but I am no Dissenter, girl. If Sasha refuses to prosecute him, that’s her business, but he will stand trial for the role he played in the crimes committed against the North. ”

“That’s not fair!”

He stormed the distance between us, his frame towering mine. “Life’s not fair, is it? Wes disobeyed a direct order because of you, and now I’m left to clean up this mess from last night. You and Wes want to play games with me? That’s fine. Be ready to watch how real men play the game.”

Anger raged within me, my hands curling into fists as I glared at Charles. “I won’t sign.”

He pointed a finger at me, growing taller, broader before my eyes. I couldn’t help it. I cringed. “You don’t sign, then I can guarantee your brother will rot in that tower. You can say goodbye to ever seeing him again, and then you can watch him burn alive as they did my son.”

“You can’t do that!” I repeated, tears of desperation beginning to flood my vision. This was bad. This was so, so bad. What the hell was I going to do? I had no cards to play, no power to wield, nothing to shield me or protect my brother. I was useless, worthless, broken .

“Oh, I can, and I will. So you’re going to be a good girl, and you’re going to sign the treaty.

And then, you’re going to keep my fucking son in line,” he yelled at me, his face only inches from mine.

“You’re going to make sure that when I tell him to jump, he jumps. When I tell him to kneel, he kneels.”

“I don’t control Wes—” I protested, but I didn’t get the chance to finish. Charles shot out his hand and gripped the hair on the back of my head. “Stop it! You’re hurting me!”

“You’re going to control him, I assure you.

You’re going to make him the perfect son.

I don’t care how you do it.” He pulled my hair harder, pulling my head back so I couldn’t look anywhere else but at his face.

“But you will control him, or I predict that your brother’s trial won’t go well for him.

That he might as well have been left to rot in that tower. Do you understand?”

I swallowed, feeling my poor heart abusing itself in its cage. “Yes,” the sound barely audible as fear drenched every nerve in my body.

“I’m sorry, Miss de la Puente,” Charles twisted his grip in my hair, causing me to wince, my knees buckling, “but I couldn’t hear you. I asked, do you understand ?”

My lashes fluttered, teardrops clinging to the delicate strands. “Yes,” I repeated louder. “I understand.”

“Good,” he responded and then let go of my hair forcibly. “Now, go be a good girl, and bring me back a Telvian prince.”

I glared at him, fear still gripping my soul as I turned to leave.

“Miss de la Puente,” Charles called, causing me to pause. “If you tell anyone about our arrangement, the scars your father left on you won’t even compare to what I’ll do to you…or to my son.”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t.

My life went from fairytale to nightmare in one morning.

I had no idea how I was going to keep my brother alive and Wes safe from his father.

The whole thing was hitting me like a runaway train.

And when I finally met up with Wes and saw his pained expression, I knew I couldn’t tell him.

I knew I couldn’t share that he had to be a slave to his father’s wishes for me…

because of me. I couldn’t tell him I was now a weapon against him.

That the love he had finally allowed himself to feel was the very thing that would keep him enslaved in this godforsaken house.

I felt as his lips touched mine. Heard as he asked me what happened, and listened as I held the truth back from him, lying through a reassuring smile.

It’s funny how life can be. I made a promise that I would never betray his trust, that I would protect him no matter what. And here I was…the only way to keep him safe was by breaking my vow to never deceive him.

I just hoped that he could forgive me, because I wasn’t sure if I would ever forgive myself.