I looked away, seriously considering her words. My father was decomposed somewhere in the ocean. If his remains were found, they would never be identified. He tried to wipe us out of existence, but we survived, and now he was the one forgotten. My surname was powerful. My lineage was preserved. I got revenge for us. And I could continue to make that family grow…with the woman I loved.

My phone rang again.

This time, I didn’t ignore it. I sighed and dug my phone out of my pocket. “Quoi?”

Nathan spoke over the line. “Magnus a arrêté la Neige Rouge.”

In silence, I processed the words he’d just said to me.

“Quels sont vos ordres?”

I felt so much rage. It started in my stomach then exploded everywhere. I pictured my brother in my mind, pictured him betraying everything I’d worked toward. He made his claim, and I was foolish for calling his bluff. It wasn’t his actions that infuriated me. It was his disloyalty. He’d betrayed me several times, and I forgave him because he was my kin. But now, he spat on my mercy. “Je suis en route.” I hung up.

Melanie’s eyes were wide because she knew something had happened. “What’s going on?”

I shoved the phone into my pocket and rose to my feet. “Magnus banned the Red Snow. And now I’m going to the camp to kill him.”

The anger never faded.

It was high the entire drive, the whole horse ride.

Melanie tried to talk me out of my decision, but her words fell on deaf ears. This level of fury was the only thing that could make me forget her existence. It was as if she wasn’t there at all. Her tears, her pleas, her kisses, literally meant nothing to me.

There was only one thing I cared about.

Magnus.

I rode into the camp and dropped down from my horse. The reins were thrown to one of the guards. My boots hit the dirt, and my knife was suddenly heavy in my pocket. When I set eyes on him, I wasn’t sure what I would do.

If I would slit his throat right on the spot.

Or stab him in the gut and watch him bleed to death.

Magnus emerged from behind a cabin—and walked right toward me.

With his head held high and a strong posture that lacked apology, he approached me. Eyes cold like winter, shoulders tense in preparation for a fight, a jaw so tight that it was obvious he was clenching his teeth.

The men watched.

Magnus stopped in front of me, waiting for his fate, ready to accept the consequences of his actions.