“I look like him-”
“You have orange eyes. As for seeing bits of him in your face in a looking glass, you think of him as your Father and your mind fills in the memories of his appearance. There’s nothing of him in your face. I used to be friends with Federico before either of us knew Meredith. I remember what he looked like.”
Jaime was a secret rape baby who’d been living more than one lie his whole life without even knowing. Aleric was carrying a rapist’s grandchild.
Chapter Thirty
Jaime’s mind spun as he tried to think of anything to say that would prove Gautier wrong even as certain things suddenly made sense. Mémé and Nonno, Mother’s parents, had always given him sweets, toys, and storybooks. They had seemed to truly enjoy spending time with him when they often visited. Nonno had given him piggyback rides, and Mémé had always been ready to give him a cuddle, and he still remembered her powdery scent.
Father’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa, had never treated him the same. They’d rarely ever given him a thing, and when he sought affection, it would be quick, or they’d brush him off and tell him to go play. As an adult, he figured they’d been the not-so-nice in-laws who didn’t hate their daughter-in-law but didn’t exactly think she was quite perfect enough for their son, and the dislike transferred to the child. Some in-laws are like that.
They hadn’t cared for Jaime because they’d known the truth. They didn’t like the fact that their son had married Meredith and taken on the results of a rape. While Mémé and Nonno had loved and accepted him since their daughter had chosen to keep the child, they’d looked at Jaime as nothing more than a rape baby.
Mother had lied, and not just because she didn’t want to have the baby talk with Jaime. Maybe she’d never planned to tell him the truth of his birth. Father had even pointedly reminded him that he was a Scaliger because he’d accepted the son that wasn’t his by blood.
Gautier might as well have ripped the very ground out from under his feet. The ex-lord, who might have been guilty of more than two rapes, watched him.
“You fucking killed my family!” Jaime burst out. “You had them all fucking slaughtered like animals. I watched my Mother die! She was pregnant! I would have a little brother or sister, and I’ll never even know now! You-”
He cut off. He hadn’t cried in years, and he wasn’t sure whether to continue raging or break down. He’d had to see blood, slaughter, and even lose the Master Steward. Every single person in the Castle that night had died, right down to the little girl who’d always wanted to kiss his cheek.
“I knew your Father before. We weren’t best friends, but we got along well. He knew I was interested in Meredith. Your parents liked parties, and I met her at one. He still took her attention. A man should know to stay away from what another man has decided to make his.”
To make his. Like Gautier could simply pick a person and claim them without their permission. Like he could take whoever he wanted and even discard them later, such as Aleric.
“Did you think she had a feeling there was something wrong with you? Or Father did? No wonder she didn’t want to marry you. I bet she sensed something about you.”
“Federico isn’t your Father,” Gautier said slowly.
Jaime leaned in. “He raised me and loved me like a Father should despite my origins. You’re not my parent. You’re a man who wants to destroy and wilt everything he can’t. If you can’t have something, you take it, and if you can’t do that, you hurt it. You killed a Castle full of people because you feel Federico stole Meredith from you? You raped a woman because she didn’t want to be with you? You beat Aleric because he said no. You would have raped him too if you thought you could get away with it. You were only afraid he might have had no choice but to tell his Father or the physician. You’re absolutely insa-”
“I’m your only option for survival now. If you do what I say, you can live and be my heir.”
“Fuck you! You killed my family for petty revenge! You’re out of your mind. Like I’d even trust you for a second. You don’t give a fuck that you have a son. You’d never let me live after what I know now. I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. You don’t have anything to give an heir because you’ve lost everything, and your attempts to salvage anything now are pathetic.”
Gautier shrugged and turned away. “I gave you a chance.”
“Fuck you.”
Gregory told Jaime to get back up on the dais. Jaime couldn't quite get himself to look at Aleric as he obeyed. His future husband, if they even survived the night, probably wouldn’t want anything to do with him anymore. The grandchild of his abuser was in his stomach.
“Regis…” Gautier gazed at his old friend who had to be hating himself now that he knew his oldest hadn’t been lying. “You have been my closest friend for years, and I have no wish to harm you.”
“But you are.” Regis pushed his cane into Aleric’s hands and slowly stepped forward. “This is the part where you give me a shitty ultimatum that you cooked up in your desperation like I’d trust any deal you give me. I’m sure it’ll involve Aleric’s death. If you think for a second that I’ll trade my sons for a little longer, you’re wrong-”
“I’m giving you the option to live.”
“Any offer that lets me live will be considered void in a couple of years. Am I right?” Lord Monet carefully made his way down the dais on his stiff knees. “What? Are you going to be gracious enough to allow me to keep Zacharie? Something like that so you’re not in prison or on the run? Fuck you. I don’t care to hear whatever crap you’re going to tell me, and I’m not making any agreements.”
Jaime tensed. Should he run for the poker to one side? Aleric also had a weapon if he could get to it in time. His Father’s canewas useless since it was wood, and channeling lightning through it would set it on fire. It’d be splinters and ash before long.
“I do want to say this.” Lord Monet stopped in front of Gautier who didn’t move to defend himself. “I believed you when you said you’d been falsely accused in Moria. You’ve been my friend since before my sons were born. I let you stay in my home for nothing because I truly believed you’d been falsely accused. You went behind my back, fooled me, manipulated my oldest, went for my youngest, and you dare to think you can make a deal with me when you’ve spit and stomped on my trust-”
Aleric suddenly gripped the curved top of the cane and yanked. Slim, shining metal appeared, and he threw down the straight portion. The inside of his Father’s cane had been concealing a blade. He thrust the handle toward Zacharie and bolted for the metal folding screen.
Jaime ran for the cold fireplace on the opposite side as Gautier’s men shouted. He just had to get to the poker. The iron could handle his fire. Lord Monet yelled, and he chanced a glance behind him. Fire was coming his way, and he dove behind a table.
The cloth caught, and he didn’t stop moving as he stayed low and crawled across the floor. Just a bit more. Footsteps pounded, Lord Monet shouted as if in pain, and something metal clanged.
