I squeezed his arm in gratitude. “Thank you.”

He continued to ignore me, drinking the champagne that he said tasted like cat piss.

Magnus approached his brother, ignoring me the way Fender ignored Raven. They greeted each other in silence, with notable hostility, as if something had happened between them when Fender was at the camp.

Raven stood there, her eyes down, trying to disappear.

All I could do was stare because I couldn’t believe she was there, right in front of me, looking more beautiful than she ever had. “Raven, you look so beautiful.” Everything was perfect, from her earrings to her eye shadow. A whole different woman.

Raven looked at me—and all she gave was a nod.

Why wasn’t she talking to me?

Magnus had his arm around her waist, wearing a tuxedo like his brother. “I’m going to put the girls in the parlor so we can speak in private—”

“No.” Fender squeezed my waist to secure my position against him, like leaving him was not an option, not in any scenario. His resistance probably came from his hatred for my sister, but it was deeper than that, from a fear that would fill his heart always.

I leaned into him. “Mon amour, please…” My face came close to his, so I could share a whisper no one else could hear. “I’ll just be in the other room.”

Fender took a drink to cover his fuming anger. “You’re lucky I permit her in our home at all.”

Something had happened at the camp to make him hate her even more. He never told me about it, so he either forgot in light of Gilbert, or he just didn’t want to spend his time discussing her. Either one was possible. “For me…” He loved me more than life itself, and he would give me anything I asked for—in time.

He looked at me head on, his look icy cold. But he gave a nod in agreement.

Because he was weak for only one person—me.

I kissed him on the cheek before I whispered to him, “Thank you, mon amour.”

Magnus guided us across the foyer and into the parlor, a room neither Fender nor I ever used. His palace was big and luxurious, but most of it was vacant. There were never visitors, so the rooms were filled with the same energy you would find in a museum after hours.

Raven and I moved to a couch, and Magnus stayed near the door.

I couldn’t believe she was here, next to me, looking like an old-fashioned movie star. Every moment I had with her was a gift, a gift so pure it usually brought me to tears. The connection between us, even at our worst, was unbreakable.

She gave a slight smile before she opened her arms and pulled me in.