Raven stared at me for a while. “Magnus told me that you agreed to marry Fender in exchange for my freedom.” Her eyes shifted back and forth as they regarded mine, the respect on the surface. “I really appreciate that. I do.”

I dropped my gaze and stared at my hands in my lap. “I tried to get him to free the girls…but he wouldn’t. At least he gave me you.”

Raven gave a slight nod. “I’m glad that you tried. But I suspect his mind is so corroded and he doesn’t understand how terrible he really is. He’s lost all humanity…”

My initial instinct was to defend him, but I kept my mouth shut. I lifted my chin and looked at her, wishing I could describe who he really was. I wished I could convey the way he comforted Gilbert in his final moments. I wished I could share the way he made me feel, that I was better than the poor reputation I gave myself. I wished I could share the way he spoke of his family, the way he missed them even now. But I could never explain that in a way she would understand.

Her eyes glanced down at the large ring that was impossible to miss. “But you don’t have to marry him.”

It was so quiet that I could hear a hawk glide across the sky outside the window. My eyes narrowed on her face, failing to understand the words she spoke so clearly.

“Because I don’t want to be free.”

I should have known that my sister had a trick up her sleeve. “Raven, if you think you can destroy that camp from the inside, you’re delusional. We tried to get rid of it and free all the prisoners, but that didn’t work whatsoever. You need to let this go.”

Raven shook her head. “That’s not why. The only way that place is going to end is if Fender ends it…or he, himself, is ended.”

I hoped that never happened—because I couldn’t live without him. “Then I don’t understand…”

Raven took a long time to answer, like she knew how crazy she sounded before she even said anything. “I can’t live apart from him.” Her voice came out as a whisper, like she didn’t want Magnus to hear even though he was directly behind her, still staring at the painting on the wall.

I stared for a long time, realization slowly sinking in.

“Where he goes, that’s where I go.”

I was in utter disbelief. As much as I hated being apart from Fender, I had no desire to go back to that place. “But it’s so terrible there.”

With a sad look in her eyes, she nodded. “I know.”

“And if you’re in Paris, we can see each other all the time…”