“Life is brutal, Magnus. My training had nothing to do with it.” Standing so close to the fireplace made the fabric of the sweater a little itchy, but despite that I pulled my sleeves down over my scarred arms. “Jember would discipline me when I was younger and didn’t know any better. But he’s never hurt me in a way I couldn’t recover from, or that didn’t teach me an important survival lesson.”

“That he hurt you at all is disgusting. What a wicked thing to do to a child.”

“You never got beatings, growing up?”

“Rarely. Certainly none that left me scarred.” He looked like he wanted to cry. I gasped, closing my eyes briefly as he ran his soft fingertips along the scar on my face. “D-did he give you this?”

I moved his hand away, suddenly self-conscious as I turned my face again so he couldn’t see it. “Some peers attacked me for defending someone. One of them had a knife, I guess—they were hitting me so much I don’t remember exactly when it happened. All I know is that if Jember hadn’t shown up I would probably be dead.”

“You think highly of him.” I couldn’t tell if it was a question or a comment. Judging by his expression, Magnus wasn’t sure, either.

“No. Well—” I felt myself scowling in thought. “He’s a pretty despicable person. If I had to name one good thing about him that wasn’t related to his work, I don’t think I could. But I care about him. And I’d defend him with my life.” I sat down in my usual chair to relieve the itching the closeness of the flame created … and to keep Magnus far enough away so he couldn’t touch me again. Being near him was more overwhelming than I’d ever anticipated. “And I think he has a heart, even if he doesn’t like to show it. It’s nice to imagine that he bought me from my parents to get me away from terrible people. That he cares about me like I care for him.”

“Your parents sold you?” I’d never heard someone sound so shocked to find out slavery was still a thriving business. Magnus collapsed into his chair, as if the weight of the world were on him. “Monsters. All fathers … monsters.”

“Your father was cursed. He didn’t choose his fate.”

“He chose to hire someone to kill him and leave me to deal with his mistakes. Even if he wasn’t a monster, he certainly wasn’t any good.”

“You knew your parents. And you have a handful of people who love you, who are working to save your life. You’re blessed.”