Avow by Chelsea Fine Read Free Book Online

you remember when we were young and we saw that boy by the caves nearly cut his hand off?” Gabriel leaned forward in his seat. “It was a bloody, mangled mess and we watched him hold his hand in place while it healed. Do you remember?”
    Tristan turned around and squinted. “Vaguely.”
    “What if your body’s ability to heal itself is somehow linked to whatever that boy was able to do?”
    “I do not care about my body, healing or otherwise.”
    “Perhaps not now, but someday you may.” Feeling reenergized, Gabriel stood from the throne and made his way to the doors. “Sober up, brother. Tomorrow, we are going for a ride.”
     
    ***************
     
    Damn the happy sun.
    Tristan’s head ached for wine as he rode alongside Gabriel to wherever the hell they were headed as the rising sun bit into his eyes.
    A new day. A new nothing.
    “Is it not nice to leave the castle?” Gabriel took a deep breath. “You lived as a dead soul this week, brother. Wallowing in darkness, consumed with sadness. I think this outing will be good for you.”
    “I was not dead,” Tristan said, though he wished he were.
    As a memory of Scarlet snaked inside his chest, he clamped down on the tight emotion it brought. He would not think of her.
    Alive or dead. In his arms or gone forever.
    He would not think of her at all.
    Gabriel scoffed. “No, you were just in a drunken haze that lasted five days and cost me eight servants and two court healers. Who knew you were such an awful drunk?”
    Tristan glowered at his twin. Awful or not, being drunk kept the memories away and, therefore, kept him sane.
    “Here we are,” Gabriel said as they came upon a large house. He quickly dismounted his horse.
    Tristan followed suit, but not as quickly, his sluggish body unaccustomed to being upright with the sun. “Where are we?”
    “The Fletcher home.”
    “The house of witches?” Adrenaline shot through Tristan’s body. “Is this not where Raven lives?”
    “It was. But she is no longer here.” Darkness clouded Gabriel’s eyes. “If she were, she would already be in shackles.”
    “If that horrendous woman is not here, then why are we?”
    “Because her cousin, Nathaniel, is the boy from the caves. And he may have answers for us.” Gabriel strode to the front door and knocked.
    Tristan followed after him and watched as a small, square panel in the center of the door slid to the side, revealing a pair of nervous eyes.
    “Earl Archer,” said the eyes, blinking rapidly.
    “Are you Nathaniel Fletcher?”
    “I am.” The eyes widened. “But I do not know where my cousin is. Please do not kill me.”
    “I am not here for Raven,” Gabriel said.
    Nathaniel’s eyes shifted to the side. “Are you here about the pheasants? Because that was an accident.”
    “What pheasants?”
    “Nothing.” Nathanial seemed relieved. “One moment.”
    The small panel slid back into place and the door opened to reveal an odd-looking fellow with bushy brown hair that stuck out on one side and a pair of eyeglasses caught in the mess. Despite the warm weather outside—and the fact that he was, indeed, inside—Nathaniel Fletcher wore a thick, black cloak that hung too long for him and dragged across the dirty floorboards.
    “Welcome to my home, Earl Archer.” Nathaniel nodded at Gabriel as they entered and shut the door behind them. He then eyed Tristan and took a step back, stumbling over his cloak. “You must be the earl’s twin brother. But your eyes…how are they so green?”
    “They were brown until your heathen of a cousin shot me through the heart,” Tristan said crossly.
    “Ah.” Nathaniel nodded. “She used magic on you.”
    “No. She used an arrow.”
    “Then it must have been laced with magic.” Nathaniel examined Tristan’s eyes more closely. “Only powerful magic can alter physical appearances such as that. Perhaps a spell or a curse—oh! You were shot through the heart! And you are not dead?”
    “Unfortunately, no.” The