My visage was made of stone. I didn’t release the breath I held. Stoic as ever, I kept my expression and my heart disconnected. But inside, I felt that blinding heat through my chest, felt that rush of blood to the head. Her love and affection were my fantasy—and every time it happened, it was a greater high than the last. “I’ll bring you—but that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to see her.”

She accompanied me in the passenger seat on the drive, and she sat behind me in the saddle as we rode down the dirt path. The snow had melted everywhere except the top of the peaks, and now wild flowers were visible on the sides of the well-beaten path. Green bushes and plants replaced the white powder that once covered the ground.

We arrived at the camp, and I climbed off my horse before I guided Melanie down and safely got her to the ground.

The guards immediately stared at her.

She was in tight jeans, boots, and an olive-green shirt. Despite our location, she still wore her diamonds. She kept her eyes down and didn’t look at any of them.

With one stare from me, they all turned away, like scattering flies.

Magnus waited for me at the entrance of my cabin. His hood was back, revealing his hard features that matched mine. He had the same dark stare, the same intensity, something we inherited from our dead father.

I approached him and stared him down, the guards standing there to watch. His betrayal still gave me so much rage, so much pain. We hadn’t spoken for a long time, because the one person I trusted implicitly had turned on me. But he took his punishment like a man, and he busted his ass to right his wrong. The shame in his eyes was the reason my hatred had faded, because he sincerely regretted what he’d done to me. I could see it on his face. “Brother.”

He exhaled a long, slow breath, closing his eyes briefly, like my affection meant the world to him. “Brother.”

I extended my hand to his.

He hesitated before he took it, staring for several seconds before he gripped the inside of my forearm and stepped in, his hand moving to my back.

I did the same.

I embraced my little brother.

The brother I loved like a son.

When we pulled away, I nodded to the cabin.

We stepped inside, Melanie following behind me.

The door closed, and Magnus moved to one of the couches. Melanie moved to the other, taking a seat with her knees together, her back straight, her hair back elegantly to show the diamonds in her ears. She took the road with me on horseback, but she looked as pristine as ever, French aristocracy.