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He averts his gaze. “It’s complicated.”
“Lux,” Castor growls.
He glares at his brother before explaining, “Your father wronged our family. Assuming you went through my letters, then you should understand how, well enough.”
“This is about Fern…”
His tone turns lethal. “I do not care about your sister.”
“Your mother, then?” My voice softens. “But I don’t understand… If what my father said in his letters was true, he didn’t kill her.” If I’m remembering correctly, the letter said she died from an infection. “Father said if he knew about the pregnancy, he would’ve found her a good healer,” I speak gently. “Her death was an accident.”
“Him fucking her behind my father’s back was no accident,” he snarls. “She wasn’t a whore or some commoner off the street, she was a noblewoman. A married noblewoman. Her husband was the brother of the Lord of the Faerie Court. Your father would’ve known this when he forced her into his bed.”
I want to question how he knew that he forced her when Castor catches my gaze, shaking his head. “This is not Eden’s fault,” he reminds Lux. “We are not here to punish her.”
“Yes. Of course.” Lux drags a hand through his hair. “Forgive me, Eden. This topic is just uncomfortable for me.”
I nod, keeping hold of Meera. This topic is also besides the point. “You hurt my friend.”
Castor steps forward. “Had I known she was your friend, I assure you I never would’ve touched her.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you still hurt her.” I glare at him. “I can’t forgive you for that.”
“We’ll see.” Castor grins, crouching down to my level. “I’ve heard I can be very persuasive.”
“Enough of this,” Lux huffs as Castor stands back up. “It’s freezing out here. Sweetheart, let go of your friend so Castor can take her back on his horse. We need to get you inside.”
“If he dares fucking touch me again I will go feral, I swear,” Meera screeches.
“Nobody is touching anyone.” I help her stand. We’re close enough to the campfire that I can think clearly. Or as clearly as I can think with those damned two princes looking at me like that. “I’m taking her back to my father’s palace,” I say in the strongest voice I can muster. “She’ll rest there until she’s well enough to go home.”
Lux laughs, “Eden—”
“I’m not negotiating,” I yell. “You let Castor hurt my friend. You’ve lied to me. Lied to my family.” I pause as the realisation hits me. “That’s why I haven’t heard from my sisters, isn’t it?”
“Sweetheart,” Lux starts.
“Don’t call me that.” My chest heaves. “You’ve been hiding letters from my sisters, haven’t you?”
They would’ve written to me. They said they would. I mean, they did. Until the night Lux trapped me here with that awful faerie bond. That’s probably when Father would’ve told them that I was trapped here.
“If I wrote a letter to them telling them I was okay, would you even have sent it?” I ask quietly, even though I already know the answer.
“Like I said,” Lux bites out, “this is a complicated situation.”
“Would you have sent them my letter?” I shout.
“No,” Lux says plainly. “The only letter your family has received from you is the letter you wrote on your first morning here, and I sent that to your father instead.”
“What?” I gasp. But then it all falls into place. I wrote that letter right after Castor dragged me into his bedchamber. He even told me to write a letter after pushing me out of his room…
And I did it, without even thinking. “You manipulated me into telling my family what Castor did.”
“They had to believe you were unhappy in the manor.”
“But I told them about you!” I yell. “I said I liked it there, that it was just Castor who was the problem!”
“I didn’t send that part,” Lux explains wistfully. “I kept that for myself. I read it many times while you were sleeping.”
