Chapter 25
Evander
The cabin is peaceful minus the sounds of Agatha cursing and the hum of the old fridge. We’ve always meant to replace it but somehow always forget. I pull out a chair and plop down next to Corwin at the kitchen table. Garron is across from us, opening a bag of frozen-crinkle cut fries.
“We could have made steaks,” Corwin mutters, drumming his fingers on the table.
“We didn’t come here for steak.” Garron dumps the fries onto a pan, spreading them out evenly. “Easy. Quick. No fuss.”
Corwin smirks. “You sound like Mom.”
“Shut up and preheat the damn oven,” Garron growls.
I lean back in my chair, arms crossed, watching them fall into the same rhythm we’ve had since we were kids.
Corwin stirs shit up, Garron holds the line, and I keep the balance.
I glance at the ceiling. Agatha’s up there, cuffed to the bed, seething.
I can feel her fight even through the floorboards above us.
“She’s not going to eat,” Corwin says. “Not from us. Not without trying to bite the hand that feeds her.”
“She will if she’s hungry,” Garron replies. “And she’s smart enough to know she’ll need her strength.”
I get up and grab the bag of fish sticks from the freezer and drop them onto a sheet pan. “Then we bring it to her. Let her choose.”
Corwin snorts. “You make it sound like we’re giving her options.”
“Everything is an option if you frame it right,” I say.
By the time the oven dings, the air smells like salt and grease. Corwin piles the sticks and fries onto a plate, extra careless so the fries scatter across the counter. Garron grabs another plate and actually arranges it, neat rows, like presentation will make the situation civilized.
“Let’s see if she thanks us,” Corwin says, eyes glittering.
We climb the stairs, the wood groaning under our feet. The moment I open the bedroom door, her head snaps toward us. Her eyes blaze, wrists raw against the leather straps. She looks wild, defiant, too alive to be anyone’s captive.
Corwin strides ahead of me, setting his plate on the nightstand with a clatter. He leans over her, so close his hair falls forward, almost brushing her cheek.
“Dinner’s served, Little Horror,” he murmurs. “Bet it tastes better than spit and curses.”
She glares up at him, jaw tight. Her wrists tug against the cuffs, the chain short enough to keep her bound to the headboard even while she’s sitting up, but long enough that her arms can bend down toward her chest. “I’m not your pet.”
“Then starve,” Corwin shrugs, dropping onto the mattress beside her. He snatches his own plate back from the nightstand and digs in without hesitation. “Won’t bother me. Just means I’ll have more.”
Garron is steadier, quieter. He nudges the plate an inch closer to her. “Eat,” he says simply, not a threat, not a plea.
Agatha’s lip curls. “What’s next? You going to pat my head and tell me I’m a good girl if I chew nice?”
Corwin grins wide, leaning in close enough to brush her shoulder. “If you want.”
She jerks away from him, cuffs pulling taut, a hiss sliding through her teeth. For a moment, I think she’ll fling the plate straight to the floor just to spite us. Her eyes flick to me, searching, weighing.
I tilt my head. “Eat or don’t. It makes no difference. But you’ll need strength for what comes next.”
Her nostrils flare. I see the war in her—pride against hunger, fury against sense. Then she lowers her eyes, muttering something under her breath, snatches a fish stick with her bound hands, and places it between her teeth like she’s biting an enemy.
Corwin chuckles, delighted. “Knew you couldn’t resist.”
She chews slowly, every crunch loud, deliberate, like each bite is an insult. When she finishes, she reaches for another, devouring it like she’s proving a point.
The food doesn’t last long. Corwin keeps grinning, leaning too close, dropping little taunts between mouthfuls.
Garron watches, arms crossed, steady as stone.
I stay back, holding the moment, watching her eyes shift from one of us to the other.
She’s fierce. She’s fire. And the night is just beginning.
When she’s finished, she pushes the plate to the side of the bed like she’s done with us as much as the food.
For a moment, I think she’ll leave it at that.
But then her heel lashes out, quick and sharp, and the plate skids off the mattress.
It hits the floor, shatters. Pieces scatter across the wood floor.
Corwin’s on it in a heartbeat. He crouches, snatches up a jagged shard, and climbs onto the bed.
“You want to throw things, Little Horror?” he snarls.
He shoves her back into the mattress, the piece of ceramic pressed hard against her collarbone.
“Let’s see how sharp your games feel when you bleed for real. ”
“Fuck you!” she spits, her eyes blazing.
“Quit it,” Garron growls, stepping in and grabbing Corwin by the shoulder. He yanks him back a fraction. “You’ll cut her before she has a chance to prove anything.”
Corwin’s grin is pure malice. “That’s the point, brother. If she bleeds, we see what she’s really made of.”
I don’t step in yet. I watch. Agatha’s eyes are wild; not the wide stare of prey, but sharp, calculating. She’s taking in every angle, every temper.
“You two want to rip her apart before she even has a chance to prove who she can be?” My voice cuts through low and steady, forcing them both quiet.
Corwin shoots me a look like I’ve spoiled his game. Garron exhales, grounding himself. Agatha’s gaze snaps to me.
I move closer, slow and deliberate, and place my hand on the headboard near her temple. “Say something true,” I tell her.
Her lips curl. “The truth? You’re all fucking insane.”
Corwin laughs, clapping once like it’s his favorite line. Garron shakes his head. I don’t smile.
“Not good enough,” I say. “Try again.”
Her chest rises, falls. She glares at me, but I see it in the tension of her jaw; she’s thinking. She wants to win even when she doesn’t know the rules.
Finally: “I want to know why you think I’m yours. Why me and not some other slutty camgirl you stalk?”
There. That’s better.
Corwin leans in fast, too fast, his face inches from hers. “Because you’re bad enough to keep up, sweetheart. That’s why.”
She jerks her head to the side, dodging when he tries to steal a kiss. Garron grabs his shoulder and yanks him back hard. “Ease the fuck up.”
I slip between them. “You want answers? Then listen.”
She doesn’t blink. Good.
“We want you because you already know the taste of cages,” I murmur. “You know how to make survival look like a choice. You know how to turn shame into a weapon. That’s not something we can teach. That’s who you are.”
Her throat works as she swallows. For once, she doesn’t spit a retort. She lets it land.
“Don’t call yourself a slutty camgirl. We know you’re not. We’ve been watching and learning everything we can,” Garron grumbles.
Corwin breaks the moment, voice sharp. “We want you because you fuck like you mean it.”
Agatha snaps her gaze to him. “And you fuck like you’ve never heard the word patience.”
Garron barks a laugh, deep and rough. “She’s not wrong.”
Corwin bristles, ready to argue, but I press my palm harder against the mattress near her hip, grounding the storm. “She’s baiting you, Corwin,” I murmur. “And you’re taking it.”
Agatha flicks her gaze to mine, quick and sharp. She doesn’t like being caught. Or maybe she does.
I tilt my head. “You want to know how to get out of these restraints?”
Her voice is low, dangerous. “Yes.”
“Make us trust you not to run.”
She scoffs, jerks at the cuffs. “You’ll never trust me.”
“Not true,” I say. “I trust what I can predict. Show me you’ll play the game instead of pretending you’re not already in it, and I’ll unbuckle you myself.”
Corwin growls. “That’s too easy. She’ll bolt.”
“She won’t,” I counter.
Agatha narrows her eyes at me. “And if I do?”
“Then we chase,” Garron rumbles. “And when we catch you, you won’t like the lesson.”
Her breath stutters, not from fear but heat. I hear it. I know it.
I brush my fingers against the leather at her wrist. Not unlocking yet. Just enough to show her how close I am. “One chance,” I murmur. “Say the next thing true and you earn freedom.”
She exhales slowly, eyes locked on mine. “I want to see what you’ll do when I don’t break.”
Corwin whistles low. Garron’s jaw tightens. My pulse kicks.
I unlock the first buckle.