Page 122 of Severed Heir

“Father made a bargain,” I muttered. “I can’t just walk away.”

“I can’t say much. The wards are still active. But there’s a way out of this.”

My breath hitched. “How?”

Charles dropped to one knee, clutching the stone fence like it might hold him together. “Give me a minute,” he rasped. “I need to close my bond with Lorna.”

I knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Charles…”

“Sev…” His voice cracked. “I’ve been a shit brother. I should’ve told you about the bargain. I tried to warn you at the academy, that you needed to claim Victor’s title before Damien could. But I never thought… I never thought he’d actually follow through.”

“Charles—” My throat tightened.

“Run, Sev,” Charles said. “Take Naraic. Cross the borders near the Iron Wastes, there’s distant family waiting for you there.”

“The Forgotten?” I hissed. “You can’t be serious, Charles. They are not family.”

“Mother has fled, she’s gone, and I’ll be forced to fight against her. You can warn them.”

“I don’t understand. You’re the lead guard. Why are you telling me to run to our enemies?”

“Because I’d rather fight against you than force you to kill your own blood,” Charles said, his voice low. “There’s a war coming, Sev. Soon. And if you don’t leave now, you’ll be dragged into it.” He paused. “The higher-ups know about your quell. They know you can heal the dead.”

My breath caught. “You said I was only accused of having a forbidden power.”

“If you marry him,” he said, “you lose your chance to run. Marriage is a magical bind, Sev. Like a rider bond. And once it’s sealed, Night is too far for it to reach. You’ll be stuck here—trapped in Ravensla.”

“How do I leave? Verdonia is my home.”

“Run, and don’t look back.”

“What if I want to fight?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“You have a choice that I don’t. None of this was ever my choice.”

In that moment, I saw the truth in him. He was the brother who had killed his own blood to keep him from the prisons. Once the golden child, now worn down to iron.

I touched his cold cheek. “Charles, stop.”

“My choices will haunt me forever.”

“I know why you did it. I saw the prisons…”

Ice settled in his eyes. “I don’t deserve forgiveness. And I can’t prove your forbidden quell. But if I had the choice…” He hesitated. “I’d take it from you.”

“At the prisons—”

Charles raised a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. The less I know, the better. You’ve scratched the surface of what they do to criminals there.”

“You never talked about it. You glorified the institute and told me I’d make ranks fast. You hurt others to grow. You beat them to lead the outposts.”

“Sev. Pick your battles, and the poisons.”

“What if I marry him? Save Father’s land, and keep our legacy?”

“Then you die without a fight.” He raised his leather-covered hands and dropped them to his sides, turning on his heel. “And Mother raised you better than that.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

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