The Camp (Chateau Book 2)

by Penelope Sky

  “Raven…” She wiped away her tears with her fingertips and breathed until she was calm enough to speak. “I know it’s wrong. I do. If I could just not feel this way, I would. I know Magnus and Fender are totally different people, but how are you going to be with a man who continues to work at the camp? Maybe he doesn’t like it, but he still participates. Fender doesn’t like it either, but he feels like he has no other choice. Why can you be with Magnus, but I can’t be with Fender? Magnus has never actually tried to stop anything.”

  Raven’s gaze turned cold. “He saved us, didn’t he?”

  I hated seeing the two sisters pitted against each other when I knew how they really felt about each other. It reminded me of my relationship with my brother. “I will stop it.”

  Melanie slowly turned her head to look at me.

  “I don’t know how, but I will.” It wasn’t just about being with Raven; it was more than that. It was the right thing to do. Just because horrible things had happened to my brother and me didn’t mean we were justified to do horrible things to other people.

  Raven didn’t look at me, but she inhaled a deep breath, and a look of pride came over her face.

  “But I understand, Melanie.”

  Melanie’s eyes slowly softened as she stared at me.

  Raven looked at me, unsure of the meaning of my words.

  I continued. “Fender is a good man. He’s loyal like no man I’ve ever known. He’s strong, refusing to break for anyone. He’d cut off his own arm and give it to somebody he cared about if that’s what made them happy. He’s just been hurt by what happened to us, and somehow, having all the money in the world will make our father pay for what he’s done to our family. Hurt people hurt people… And Fender is so traumatized by what he had to witness in our childhood home that he’s numb to the pain and suffering. It doesn’t justify what he’s done whatsoever. But he’s not himself. He’s never really been himself since that night. I believe he can see reason and change. I do. Yes, Melanie, I understand. I hate him for what he’s done…but I still love him.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Evil Veins

  When we returned to my estate, she went upstairs to my bedroom, but she walked quickly and with intention, like she had no desire to sleep. She walked inside and moved to the large window that overlooked the pastures. The curtains were open, so she crossed her arms over her chest and looked out, even though there was nothing to see in the dark.

  I could feel her searing emotions, feel her anger. There would be retribution for what I had said to Melanie, and there would be retribution for what Melanie had said to her. I was willing to do anything for this woman except lie about how I really felt.

  I stood behind her and watched her for a few moments before I removed my shoes and jeans. I pulled on my sweatpants and threw my shirt in the hamper in the closet. I gave her enough time to speak her mind, but when she didn’t, I came up close behind her.

  “I don’t understand her…” She took a deep breath, her chest rising as her lungs expanded. “If she wants to marry a monster, fine. It’s just another stupid decision like all her other stupid decisions. But I won’t be a part of it.”

  I stared at her long brown hair as it hung down her back. As the months since I’d first laid eyes on her passed, it had grown longer and longer. It marked the passage of time when there was no other way to keep track of it. “You’re all she has.”

  “I don’t care. I can forgive a lot of things…but not that.”

  “I’ll be there. I’m all that my brother has in this world, and even if I disagree with his decisions, I’m still his brother…and I’ll be there for him. I know this is hard for you, but we have to remember that. Even if this is the worst decision of her life, you should still be there. She’ll be unhappy if you aren’t, and deep down inside, you know you will be too.”

  She slowly turned around to face me, her eyes angry. “This isn’t some douchebag I don’t get along with. This guy is evil.”

  “Alix was going to rape you, but Fender stopped it. He did it for me, but even after everything you did to make him hate you, he still did the right thing. His love for me was stronger than hatred for you. He’s not evil.” There were other times when Fender had shown his true colors, other moments of mercy he granted when it was unnecessary. “When you destroyed the camp, he could’ve tortured you and killed you, but he didn’t. When I saved you from the Red Snow, he allowed it. When you took off with Melanie and tried to run, he let me spare your life. He’s not as evil as you think he is. He’s done a lot of shitty and unforgivable things, but he’s done good things too.”

  Rage moved into her face. “I understand he’s your brother and you feel conflicted, but I don’t understand how you can defend him. He kills people.”

  “But he doesn’t want to. He’s never wanted to. He just couldn’t find an alternative.”

  “And that makes it okay?” she asked incredulously.

  I didn’t know what I could say to make her understand, to understand why my brother was the way he was. “Imagine if your mother, the woman you hold a vigil for in your heart, came home one night and decided to kill you both. She squandered your family’s wealth and, instead of living with that shame, decided everyone should die. How would that make you feel?” It still haunted me to this day, a grown-ass man about to hit thirty. “Could you imagine walking into your house to discover your dead sister executed in her sleep? Could you live as the sole survivor?”

  Her eyes shifted back and forth slightly as she met my gaze.

  “He lost all faith in humanity that night. He was never the same. He’s obsessed with building wealth and strengthening our noble family name, as if that’s the best way to spite our dead father. He’s been obsessed with that goal to the point of insanity. He wants to bring honor back to our family, like that will somehow bring my dead mom and siblings back to life. He’s mentally ill, to be frank. This doesn’t justify what he’s done at all, don’t misunderstand me, but he’s not evil like all the other men out there who get off on shit like that. He’s just been so focused on his goal that he’s ignored all the horrible things he’s had to do to get there. I told you I would end the practices at the camp, and I meant that. I’ve never agreed with any of it, and I never will. But my relationship with my brother is never going to go away. I see more of him than you do, and I know that’s hard to understand. I know I can convince him to dismantle everything and let the past go. It might take me longer than you want, but it will happen. But if this is a lifelong commitment like you say it is, Fender will always be a part of that. You will never escape him. So, you should be there for Melanie on her big day, if and when that happens, because everything you stand for will be honored. We will move on from this…and start over.”

  Her expression didn’t change, but she didn’t seem as angry anymore.

  I knew our relationship was as strong as the bond I had with Fender because of everything we’d been through, so I wasn’t afraid to watch her turn her back on me and walk away. But I was afraid she would think less of me because of the love I had for my only brother, the faith I still had in his soul. “We are the same. You’ve had to live with your sister’s idiotic mistakes and have had to fix them, but you’ve never turned your back on her because you still believe in her. That’s exactly how I feel about Fender, just in a different scenario. I believe in his redemption. I can’t give up on him. I know you, of all people, can understand that.”

  The subtle rage left her eyes, and she started to calm herself once again. “I understand your perspective, Magnus. But you also have to understand mine. I’ve sat in that clearing with women who risked their lives to help me, and I had to watch one die every week…because of him. Melanie sat there in the clearing with me and witnessed the exact same thing. And that’s why I don’t understand. How could you fall in love with the man responsible for such a heinous crime?”

  I was never in the clearing to witness it because it was too difficult to watch. My a
version to the practice was well known, so I refused to participate. Even if Fender wanted me to be the executioner, I would refuse.

  Raven continued to look at me like she expected a counter.

  Honestly, I didn’t have one. “I guess she’s witnessed enough of his other qualities to forget about that.”

  She wasn’t angry anymore, just disappointed. “I have faith that you will end this, Magnus. But I’m not entirely convinced that your victory will happen because your brother has a change of heart. I just hope you have what it takes to do what is necessary.”

  It was a scenario I hadn’t even considered because it was too repulsive. Even if my brother deserved to die, I couldn’t be the one to take his life. I couldn’t be like our father. But I also couldn’t stand by and watch the killings continue. I would have to do something…no matter the cost.

  When Fender returned from the camp, I went to his estate for a visit.

  I didn’t tell him I was coming, just showed up. Gilbert let me inside and escorted me to the living room, where I would wait for him to join me. Gilbert served me a glass of wine and placed a cheeseboard on the table even though Fender and I wouldn’t touch it. Sometimes it seemed like he did those things just to make the place look nice.

  I sat alone and tried to think of the right words to say, something that would persuade Fender to put all this behind us and move on. His greed made him stubborn, and his stubbornness made him greedier.

  Footsteps sounded on the tile, but they didn’t belong to Fender.

  Melanie took a seat across from me, wearing an expensive dress with her hair nicely done. Now, she always looked like a modern French countess, with diamonds in her ears and jewelry on her wrists and fingers. On her left hand was a diamond ring that looked almost too heavy to wear.

  She fidgeted with her hands before she looked at me. “Fender just got out of the shower. I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk to you.”

  I stared at her, seeing the similarities between her and Raven. They had the same color eyes, but Raven’s had so much more depth to them. Melanie’s timid nature annoyed me. She looked uncomfortable in her own skin; she didn’t know how to have the confidence her sister possessed. It made her seem weak. I loved that Raven owned the room every time she stepped into it, and she stood tall and proud and commanded every ounce of respect that she deserved.

  “I just wanted to thank you for what you said the other day…that you understood my feelings for Fender. I know it’s going to be really hard to get my sister on board with this, so I need all the help I can get.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t do it for you.”

  She looked slightly stung by my honesty. She wore her feelings on her sleeve, and as a result, she was delicate. “I also wanted to thank you for being so good to my sister. She’s always the one taking care of everyone else, but no one takes care of her. It makes me happy to know she has a man who will do anything for her. I just wanted you to know that.”

  That made me dislike Melanie less. She might be dull and weak, but she definitely loved her sister with all her heart.

  Fender came downstairs in his sweatpants, his hair still damp from the shower. He stopped near the coffee table and looked down at Melanie, as if he were giving her orders in silence.

  Melanie rose to her feet and quietly excused herself.

  When she went back upstairs, Fender took a seat across from me. He stole my glass of wine and took a drink before he grabbed a slice of French bread and stuffed it into his mouth. It was almost dinnertime, so he was probably hungry. He relaxed back into the couch and stared at me as he chewed. “My fiancée tells me her sister isn’t too happy about the news.” He started the conversation with contentious hostility, so my odds of success were already low.

  “Can you blame her?”

  Fender stared me down like I’d insulted him. “I’m richer than the devil, I’m good-looking, I granted her freedom… I think I’m perfect.” He grabbed the wine again and took a drink.

  “Raven isn’t impressed by money. And she doesn’t want her freedom.” I couldn’t hide my sense of pride about her loyalty to me. She wanted me for me, not my money, not my looks. She’d rather go to that godforsaken camp to be with me than live a lavish lifestyle without me. It was something my brother couldn’t say about Melanie. “She wants to be with me wherever I go.”

  He pulled the wineglass away from his face and held on to it as his arm rested over the edge of the couch. Seconds of intense eye contact followed before his eyes slightly narrowed. “Isn’t that romantic?” He brought the glass to his lips and took another drink. “If the bitch wants to work, let her.”

  My eyes narrowed on his face. “Don’t do that.”

  “What?”

  “You know exactly what, Fender. I think Melanie is as dumb as a dog, but you don’t hear me saying that.”

  My brother stared at me for a while before he set the wineglass on the table. “Sounds like this is getting serious…”

  I held his gaze.

  He didn’t say another negative thing about Raven, and I suspected he never would. “I guess I’m gonna have to learn to tolerate her, aren’t I?”

  “She’s more than tolerable.”

  “I disagree. And I’ll always disagree.”

  The mood was already stark, and I wasn’t sure if this was even worth doing anymore. I decided to move into more positive subject matter. “When’s the wedding?”

  He shrugged. “Whenever she gets a dress, I guess. We aren’t having a big ridiculous wedding. We’ll probably get married out on the lawn.”

  “I expected you to throw a big party.”

  He shrugged again. “She doesn’t know any of those people. Prefers it just be us…and the two of you.”

  I knew Raven would attend, no matter how much she hated Fender. It was in her nature to take care of her sister, and no amount of resentment would stop her from being there.

  “What do you want? I assume you have something else in mind besides discussing my wedding?”

  I leaned back into the couch with my knees apart, regarding my brother with a steely gaze. “It’s time to change things, Fender.” I could list all my reasons, but none of them had ever changed his mind. It was always in the air between us, unspoken. It happened more often now because I was more determined than ever before to free the prisoners.

  His gaze turned icy.

  “Your fiancée used to be a prisoner there. Does that not change how you feel?”

  He drank from the wineglass. “I know I’ve made that up to her.”

  “And what about the rest of the girls?”

  He released a long and drawn-out sigh, as if he was fighting to keep his patience with me. “We’ve discussed this before, Magnus. If there was another way, I would do it. There’s not.”

  “There’s always another way. I will personally see to the project. I will personally vet every single person we hire. I will make sure they’re loyal.”

  “There’s no way to be completely certain of hired help. The girls that we have are completely certain—because they’ll never leave.”

  My fingers automatically tightened into a fist of pure frustration. “You’ve accomplished everything that you wanted. You have the money, you have the woman—now live your life. Stop living in the past. Stop trying to prove something to our decomposed corpse of a father. There is no reason to continue carrying on this way.”

  Fender’s gaze shifted away like he didn’t want to talk about the man who had assassinated our family. “I’ve heard your concerns before. The only reason you are vocal once again is because that woman has a grip on your spine and she’s twisting it.”

  “I’m glad she’s twisting it. Your fiancée wants the same. How do you expect to have a life with her when she doesn’t respect what you’re doing?”

  “It’s just business.”

  “But it’s not just business. It’s lives, Fender. I know you’re better than this.”

  “Sorry to di
sappoint you, but I’m not.” He suddenly sat forward with his arms resting on the insides of his thighs. He looked me dead in the eye as he spoke. “Our father murdered our family without any hesitation. He was a coward and took their lives in their sleep. He was a coward and didn’t kill himself instead of claiming the lives of innocent people. And you know what? I’m just like him. The evil that ran in his veins runs in mine.” He spoke in a different tone than ever before, sinister, cruel, terrifying. The demons he wrestled with came forth and started to pull him under the surface.

  “That’s not true.”

  “Yes, it is. When you see shit like that, you never recover. I’m not human anymore. I don’t care about anyone or anything. And it’s much easier that way.”

  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.