I’d barely said a few words to Magnus, but there was a connection between us, because he was the only person who understood how I felt. He loved his brother too. He was loyal to his brother, no matter what. I dropped my chin again, eyes slowly filling with tears. “That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”

Venom hissed from her mouth like a snake. “My man is nothing like yours.” She forced her voice to steady, but her rage was making her red in the face. “He’s tried to stop Fender many times. He’s tried to convince him to run the camp in a different way. He’s tried to reason with him. They are not the same.”

The moisture toppled over my lashes and dripped straight down my cheeks. “I know I can change him. I can…”

“You’re still going to marry him without knowing for sure?”

My answer was immediate. “Yes…because I have faith in him.”

“Or is it because you know you have no choice?” Raven snapped. “Because, if a man forces you to marry him, that’s not love. That’s cruelty.”

“He’s not forcing me.” I lifted my chin and wiped away my tears. “He’s never forced me to do anything. I can leave this place whenever I want. I stay because I want to stay. I’m telling you, he’s not the barbarian you know him as.” He’d had all the power that first night in my cabin. He could have forced me to do anything. And even afterward, he still had all the power, but not once did he abuse it. He made me feel safer than I’d ever been my whole life. A man had never given me as much respect as he gave me. He was the man of the house, the boss, the dictator, but he reported to one person—me.

Raven continued to shout at me. “I don’t care how you know him when you’re living in this mansion and life is good! He chooses to execute innocent people. Period. Some of those women could be your friends. One of those women could’ve been me. The only reason why it wasn’t is because Magnus saved me. Let that sink in.”

I inhaled a deep breath, more tears falling down my cheeks. “I understand…I do. I feel both things at once. I hate him for the things he’s done, but I’ve also fallen in love with the other side of him. You have no idea how ashamed I feel right now, feeling you looking at me like that, knowing you’re right and I’m wrong. But I also can’t change the way I feel, because I’ve never felt this way about a man in my life.”