I finally figured out what John was doing in Andreas’ village. He was hoarding supplies as the Argeno land was only half an hour’s ride away. This tiny detail solved the mystery of so many unanswered questions for me. Most particularly, what John was doing in the village when he murdered Dylan.

“Look what I found,” John announced as he pushed me roughly into his mansion’s gathering hall. I fell to my aching knees as I observed John’s parents. The Lord and Lady Argeno stood huddled together in the center of the room. They gazed at their son with open mouths, having been interrupted mid-argument it seemed. John gestured to me violently. “Turns out she’s not as dead as Lord and Lady Eleanor wanted us to believe, instead she’s been hiding out in a village nearby.”

Lady Argeno started walking in my direction, but stopped midway. Her gaze swept over me, scrutinizing every angle. “Why did you parents deceive us, child?” she demanded.

As I was already being treated like trash and not like a guest, a lady, as was proper etiquette, I decided to throw all politeness out the window as well. “As I recall, Lady Argeno, I was not with them when they gave you this information. How am I supposed to know their motivation?” I replied, my eyes narrowed and my voice filled with more snark than was perhaps necessary.

“How dare you speak to me in such a manner? Know your place, girl!” the Lady replied indignantly.  

“You treat me like this and expect me to treat you any better? I’m afraid I only treat people in the manner they treat me,” I responded. My anger was rising up, already having taken root the moment I saw John.

I staggered backward when John’s hand collided with my face. My hand went up to my cheek automatically and I gaped at him. “My house, my rules. You don’t have the privilege of talking unless a question is asked.”

I rose to my feet and my eyes drifted to the Lord Argeno, who had remained silent the whole time. He watched his son with a sense of pride. So that was the morals younger knights were taught no-a-days, I thought to myself. Chivalry was a thing of the past. It seemed that attempts at rape, hitting women, and killing innocent children was now a part of their repertoire. What did it say about how low our world has sunk when Andreas Grigoli, the man I had previously been told was the worst kind of person out there, a man who killed and tortured thousands of people, seemed like the hero? How far had humanity fallen?

“I do not submit to you, or your family. I will not be your bride no matter what you do.” My words were fierce and confident, but John grabbed my wrist and twisted it in an unnatural way, sending sharp pulses of pain through my arm. I cried out.

John’s cold blue eyes filled with malevolence. “You do not have a choice. Your parents might have tried to dissolve this engagement, but you will not.”

“My parents tried to kill me!” I cried, the pain he was inflicting on my fist manifesting itself in my voice.

“And why would they do something like that? You are their little gem, are you not?” Lord Argeno finally spoke.

I managed to rip my wrist from John’s hold. “I’m a witch and apparently that means family bonds are broken.”

Both the Lord and Lady burst into laughter. While it was infuriating, I understood their reaction. They knew me as the shy, modest little girl I had once been; the one I had been when I first met Andreas. They weren’t able to fathom that that girl was no longer me. Too much had happened.

“You, a witch? Prove it little girl,” the Lord replied again.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to respond. My magic was still unpredictable. I knew how to do simple things, but nothing that would convince them. “I don’t have to prove anything to you. Believe me, or don’t. That is your choice,” I said more defiance. I didn’t think that they would believe me.

“She also claims to know Andreas Grigoli and that he saved her,” John added.

The Lady scrutinized me again. “Clearly she is delusional. Perhaps she got lost in the woods and has been there so long that the Eleanors assume her dead. We will have her cleaned up and go forth with the wedding plans,” she announced and left with her husband, leaving me all alone with John.

He approached me and I started backing up, not wanting him anywhere close to me. He backed me up all the way against the dining table. There was no room for me to go any further and he stopped once his body was pressed against mine.

“It appears we are finally alone, dear Lana,” he said. Never before had hearing my own name fill me with so much dread. I was completely at his mercy; no one was going to come save me now. I had to think and think fast if I had any hope of getting out of this situation unscathed.

He leaned forward, his warm breath blowing against my cheeks. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for what would happen next. I would feel his rough lips on mine as he would begin his assault. My whole body tensed, a now familiar energy coursing through my veins. Perhaps there was a way I could prevent all of this and prove my magic to him.

“Now, brother, this is no way we treat our guests. And without even introducing me.” John’s whole body tensed and he stepped away from me with a groan. I felt the energy sizzle out of me as soon as his contact left my body.

“Raphael, I wasn’t expecting to see you today. What brings you all the way home?” John asked with a sneer, clearly not happy to have been interrupted.

I opened my eyes to see whom I needed to thank for ‘saving’ me. Sparkling blue eyes, like ocean waters on a spring morning greeted me as I locked eyes with the stranger. He had pale, platinum blond hair that stood out against his darker complexion. Looking at him, it was impossible not to draw a comparison in my mind; he was everything Andreas wasn’t: light and radiant, a perfect opposite. I couldn’t help but stare even as warning bells sounded in the back of my head.

“I had business in a town nearby, and I thought I visit my dear family before heading home. I didn’t expect my visit to be quite so… interesting,” Raphael said, his eyes narrowing curiously as he continued to observe me.

John scowled at his brother, a brother I didn’t even know he had. After knowing him and his family so long, I was surprised not to have known there was another Argeno son. Perhaps after everything I had learned about John recently, I should not have been surprised.

“You have a brother?” I asked, my eyes wide as I gaped between the two of them. The only thing that marked them as brothers was their light hair. Nothing else about the way they looked or even held themselves gave any indication of a relation between the two.

Raphael stepped forward, a smug smile on his face. “Excuse me, how rude we must seem. I’m John’s brother, also known as the black sheep of the family, which is probably why we have never met. Am I correct to assume you are Lana, the favorite’s promised one?” Raphael extended his hand in greeting.

I narrowed my eyes when John smiled in satisfaction with Raphael’s use of the term ‘promised one’. “You are correct to assume I am Lana, but I am not his betrothed,” I announced, accepting his outstretched hand.

“Feisty,” Raphael commented as he regarded his brother, eyebrows raised in a challenge. It was almost like he was daring John to claim otherwise.

“I have business to attend to. I trust you won’t let her run away?” John said as he brushed against Raphael’s shoulder. Raphael shrugged and walked over to me. “I believe it’s time for you to get better acquainted with my brother. Since you will be joining the family,” John said, his expression strained. And then he left, as quickly as that.

A feeling started creeping over me; something was telling me that while Raphael might have referred to himself as the black sheep, more was going on here. It seemed like John was almost… afraid of Raphael and what he could do. I wasn’t complaining since it seemed that Raphael was on my side at that moment. Perhaps I could get him to help me get away.

Raphael gestured for me to walk and placed his hand on my back as he started leading me out of the hall. “I apologize for my brother. He is so used to getting everything he wants that rejection doesn’t make it through that thick skull of his. It’s a good thing I got here when I did. Or is it?” he said, suggestion evident in his voice.

“I’m not sure what you are insinuating,” I replied evasively. He couldn’t know.

He smirked. “I may not have been entirely upfront before when I acted like I didn’t know you, Lana. I actually know very well who you are. And I know exactly what you are capable of.”

I narrowed my eyes, the feeling of unease settling over me again. “I still don’t think I know what you are talking about,” I replied cautiously. I was treading on a narrow path, one that just might send me over the edge.

“Stop your evasions. I know you are a witch, Lana.”

“That’s impossible.” My mouth dropped open as I came to a stop. It was turning out to be a strange day. The people I were telling I was a witch, didn’t believe me, and the one person I hadn’t told, seemed to know. But how? How could he possibly know that I was a witch? His face was one I wouldn’t forget no matter how hard I tried. He was the startling opposite of Andreas, yet equally gorgeous.

“Is it?” His eyes glimmered when he continued. “Tell me, how is our dear friend Andreas Grigoli?”