His arms hung by his sides, one foot planted slightly in front of the other, but the fury in his heart was palpable. The energy around him burned brighter, hotter, as if he was his own sun. His chin was tilted down so he could look at me, spraying with me bullets from the barrels in his eyes.

All I could do was breathe, frozen to the spot by that menacing look.

A minute passed and he didn’t speak. He didn’t blink. His fury had endless fuel because he continued to stare at me like he might snap my neck.

“Please…please don’t kill my sister.” Every word came out shaky, without the confidence required in a negotiation. But this wasn’t a negotiation. This was a plea. And if I had to get on my knees and beg, I would. “Please…” My eyes watered because the fear overwhelmed me. Life was too hard right now, and my mind wanted to regress and take me elsewhere. It wanted to put me under because this was all too much. All I’d had to do was listen to Raven that night, and none of this would have happened.

His fingers tightened until his hands were fists, and he released a loud sigh that sounded like a growl from a bear.

“I know I have no right to ask you for anything—”

“Were you there?” His voice was deep like the deepest chasm in the ocean, full of terrifying sharks and monsters that lurked beyond our sight. It was deep like a cave in the mountainside. It was deep like the lowest note on the spectrum.

My hands came together at my waist, using one to stop the shake of the other.

“Answer the question.”

“I don’t know what you’re asking—”

“Did you fucking burn my camp to the ground?” His voice came out as a shout, barking into the night, making the palace behind him shake.

I dropped my gaze and instantly stepped back at his ferocity. I shouldn’t have come. There was no point. I wanted to lie. The men hadn’t identified me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked. But I just couldn’t lie to him. “Yes.” I kept my eyes down, as if a sword would slice through my neck and sever my head from my body.

Nothing happened.

I breathed.

He breathed.

Silence.

When I got the courage, I lifted my chin and met his gaze.

As if he hadn’t blinked once, his expression was exactly the same, like he was already so angry he couldn’t possibly get any angrier. “I’m sorry…but we had to. What you do is wrong—”

“Leave.”

“I know you know it’s wrong. And I know it’s not you—”

“Leave, Melanie.”

My eyes filled with tears, cut deep by the name he used. It wasn’t Chérie anymore. “You’re a good man. I know you are.”