Chapter Text
They waited until the house was deep asleep.
It was nearly two in the morning when Evan crept from the east wing, barefoot and shaking, his breath shallow in the cold air. The moon hung overhead like a blade, slicing the clouds into ribbons. Shadows moved with a mind of their own, long fingers stretching across the courtyard, ready to snatch, to betray.
Adam crouched low behind a stack of hay barrels near the stables, hidden in the deeper dark. Then saw Evan, a slim silhouette slipping between patches of moonlight. When Evan reached him, their eyes locked.
Adam’s heart twisted.
“You really sure?” he asked, his voice a breath more than a whisper.
Evan hesitated. “No,” he admitted. “But I’m here.”
And that was enough.
Adam nodded once. His fingers ached from how tightly he gripped the strap of the small canvas bag at his side. Don’t let him see how scared you are. Inside were the stolen supplies. A flask of water, two bruised apples and a crude map drawn on the back of a bread order. Pathetic, really. But it was everything they had.
It has to be enough.
They moved fast, sticking close to the barn wall, then cutting across the edge of the lower fields. The plan was simple, almost insultingly so. Follow the irrigation trench, slip under the outer fence, cross the ravine. If they reach the river at the bottom, it will take them all the way to the highway.
Freedom.
Adam didn’t let himself think of it.
Freedom was a dream, and dreams got you killed.
The grass was slick beneath their feet, damp with dew and thick with the smell of mud and manure. Evan slipped once, but Adam caught him without thinking, a hand to his back, a quiet touch that lingered. He didn’t say anything. Neither did Evan.
But the way he looked at Adam, just for a second….
They passed the empty training yard. Adam’s stomach tightened. He could still see himself there, hours earlier, sparring, performing, bleeding. Always performing. Always watching Evan from the corner of his eye nex to the Mistress.
And now they were running.
“Careful,” Adam murmured, raising a hand.
Two dogs lay by the gatehouse, thick fur rising and falling in slow, peaceful breaths. Evan pressed into Adam’s side. His breath hitched.
Adam thought about reaching for his hand. He didn’t.
They moved past the dogs in silence, hearts pounding louder than their footfalls. When they reached the ravine, Adam froze.
It was worse than he remembered.
The drop was deep. A gouge in the earth choked with weeds, tangled roots, and the heavy stench of decay. The bridge was little more than rotting boards lashed together with twine and rusted nails. It swayed even in the stillness.
“I’ll go first,” Adam said. “Then I’ll help you.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. He couldn’t. If he stopped to think about how fragile it all was, the bridge, the plan, Evan. He’d lose his nerve.
He crossed fast, light on his feet despite the weight in his chest. Halfway across, the wood groaned beneath him. Don’t fall. Don’t look down. He reached the other side and turned.
“You’re okay,” he whispered. “Come on.”
Evan nodded and stepped onto the bridge. Each footstep sounded too loud. The whole thing creaked under his weight. Adam watched every movement, ready to leap if....
A horn shattered the quiet.
A single, blaring note loud enough to wake the dead.
Then shouting. Dogs barking. Lights blooming like fire across the field.
No. No. Not now!
“Run!” Adam yelled, heart slamming against his ribs. Evan froze mid-step, eyes wide. Move, Evan. Please, just move.
Then a gunshot cracked through the air.
The board near Evan’s foot exploded, splinters flying.
Adam didn’t think. He ran onto the bridge, grabbed Evan by the arm, and yanked him forward. The wood buckled under their weight, but held long enough for them to tumble off the other side and into the underbrush. They rolled hard, thorns ripping at their skin. Evan cried out, his arm scraped raw but Adam pulled him to his feet.
“We have to go!” he hissed. “Now!”
Another shot rang out. Closer.
They stumbled toward the tree line, feet slipping in the wet earth but they never made it.
Shadows moved ahead of them, fast, angry.
A boot caught Adam in the side. He went down hard, air knocked clean from his lungs. Someone grabbed Evan by the hair, dragging him back. Adam tried to rise. Don’t touch him! But a rifle butt smashed into his ribs.
Pain bloomed white and hot.
“Thought you’d just walk out?” a voice sneered.
Adam curled inward instinctively, but another kick landed in his stomach. He grunted, too winded to scream.
They were yanked to their feet and dragged through the fields like livestock. Evan stumbled beside him, his breathing shallow and panicked.
The mansion loomed like a tomb in the dark. Lights poured from the high windows. As they entered the main hall, silence fell.
She was there.
The Mistress.
Tall. Cold. Perfectly still. Her face was carved from stone, pale and unreadable.
Adam swallowed, tried to stand straighter. The pain in his ribs made it hard to breathe.
“It was my idea,” he said. His voice barely cracked. “Evan just followed me.”
She studied them both. Her eyes flicked from Adam to Evan, then back again.
“So,” she said slowly, “you will be the only one to bear the full price?”
Evan shook his head violently. “No - please-”
Adam turned just enough to see him. Just enough to offer a tired, broken smile.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s not your fault.”
It’s mine.
The Mistress tilted her head.
Then she drew a gun.
For a heartbeat, Adam didn’t understand. He thought it was meant for him.
Then the shot came.
And Evan dropped.
Just.... dropped, as if he was nothing.
Blood painted the marble.
The world didn’t make a sound.
Adam stared.
His knees gave out, and he sank to the floor. He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t scream.
But the scream came anyway, ripped from some place deeper than his soul, a sound so raw it barely sounded human.
He’s dead.
He’s gone.
Just like that.
And the voice, her voice came again, cold and final.
“You brought this upon him. His death is your fault.”
The other slaves turned away. No one spoke. But Adam could feel the weight of their stares. Their fear. Their blame.
He curled forward, folding into himself.
He had nothing left to protect. No one left to save.
And in that hollow space where Evan had lived, in every glance, every shared silence, every breath they took in unison...
It was all gone.
Because Adam had dared to hope.
Because Adam had loved.
Because Adam had failed.
And now, he is really the only one bearing the punishment.