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My body was tight. I’d never been at a loss for words, but I was choked up, the lump in my throat so large I couldn’t swallow. Augustus being vulnerable cracked me wide open, and I didn’t know how to process it.
But it was time to be cruel. It was the only way. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, and I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t let him lose focus. I had to make him stronger. “You know the difference between us, Augustus? You break when things get hard. I get harder. I become invincible. If you’re going to legitimately lead this kingdom, you need to be level-headed. You need to be resilient. Enduring this pain is what makes you stronger.” I glared at him. “She’s gone.”
“I know.”
“She’s dead.”
“Fuck, I know.”He shook his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “It’s all I think about. I wake up and it’s all I remember. And when I sleep again, it’s all I dream about. What the fuck am I supposed to do?” He twisted his head from side to side in distress.
“Quit being a pussy. You’re going to get us both killed if you’re not careful. Get angry, Augustus. Get pure fucking livid. It will give you the motivation you need to take down Lord Nathan.”
“I can’t do it,” he said, his voice cracking.
“You can. You just need to understand the reason he has to die.”
“I already know the reason.”
“Tell me.”
“He killed her.”
“Say it like you fucking mean it!” I screamed, the veins in my neck bulging.
“He killed her!” he roared with equal power. “He murdered her. He killed both of them. My mother is dead and so is the woman I love, because of him.”
I nodded. If only it were that simple. That wasn’t the only reason we had to take him down. Lord Nathan threatened both Augustus and Christine. As long as he lived, he was a danger. Christine might be alive now, but I couldn’t take the risk that he actually succeeded in killing the woman I loved. The lies felt like weights on my chest, but it was the only way. “He’s the reason we’ll never have her back. We can’t have her alive—that was taken from us—but we can have her death. That is the best we can do. We can have revenge. And we will.”
“Fine,” Augustus said while rolling his shoulders back. “I’ll do it.”
“If you’re sure,” I said, eyeing him suspiciously. He nodded. “We’ll have to be careful though. I’m sure he’s still on the defensive, so I don’t know when the best time is to strike, but we’ll take the first opportunity we can.” As much as I wanted to walk through Lord Nathan’s front door and put a bullet in his skull, we had to be delicate. Augustus couldn’t know about his lineage or Christine.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I frowned. Augustus never apologized for anything. “What for?”
“For not being the man I’m supposed to be. For”—he paused to gesture between us—“breaking down like this.”
The lump in my throat grew. “Do better,” I replied. I could have coddled him, but it wasn’t in my nature to tell someone what they wanted to hear. “For Christine.”
He nodded. “For Christine.”
Chapter Ten
CHRISTINE
Atticus had not returned. It was so frustrating not knowing when he would return or what he was doing. The anger and worry I felt killed me. I might be able to help him if he were to include me in what was happening.
What if he was in danger?
What if Lord Nathan got to August?
I paced the floors of my pretty prison cell. The guard outside my door coughed, reminding me that I wasn’t alone, I was never alone. My plan for escaping was in its early stages, but most of it involved killing every man in this building.
But what about Atticus?
I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Maybe it was time to stop being okay with being a pawn. Maybe I’d just start kicking over the chessboard until I ended up moving on my own terms.
A sharp knock on the door startled me. I turned around and watched it slowly open. Theodore DuPont looked me up and down, his eyes like slugs against my skin. I returned his perusal, not wanting to be intimidated by Atticus’s father, especially now that I knew what kind of man he was. Theodore DuPont was tall, his shoulders broad. He looked like his son but greasier somehow. More crooked. His spine curved unnaturally. His eyes were dark, cold and distant. His skin was slick, like his eyes, a strange symbiosis of body and soul. He looked greedy and worrisome.
