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I held my chin up I refused to fall prey to self-pity

He took e of targets Kaspar opened a se black crossbow and several bolts tucked into a nylon sheath He held it out to me and I took it uncertainly

It was surprisingly light

“Carbon fiber,” he explained “It’s for hunting My men aren’t here to kill deer, so they don’t bother with this stuff” He steered e crate and placed the crossbow and the bolts down on top

For the next ten , how to notch the bolt, and how to shoot I lost myself in the simple mechanics of pull, load, fire I was terrible and ed to hit it, but the power behind each strike, the ease hich Kaspar positionedand squeezing the trigger was strangely alluring and hypnotic

I forgot about ot about h his hands were onto e I shot the bolt, ain Over and over, until I hit it several times in a row

“Not too bad for your first tiht me how to do that when I was nine”

“You don’t talk about your parents much”

He nodded, gazing away “There isn’t much to say They’re dead now”

“What happened?”

“My father was killed by an enearchs all say it was an accident, but I’ve alondered”

“I thought Oligarchs weren’t supposed to attack each other”

“That’s what the rules say” His smile was bitter “Rules are meant to be broken, or at least bent”

I chewed on my lip Darren and Roman knew that better than most “And what about your mother?”

“She left after et away from this life before she ended up like hiht instructor and ended up smashed on the side of a mountain when he decided to fly in bad weather”

I sucked in a breath and let it out The Oligarch families had money, power, and influence, and yet they were all trauot out clean None of us survived intact

Kaspar steered me to the shed I helped him put the crossboay and as I turned to leave, he stood in the doorway

“I don’t talk about my parents,” he said quietly “Even when they were alive, they were never kind My father taughtme with a plastic switch every time I missed My mother treated me like an errand boy one day and like a nuisance the next I wasn’t sad when she died I was happy when he was murdered Does that surprise you?”

“No,” I said honestly “I greith Oligarchs I knohat they can be like” I paused, softening a touch “You don’t seem like the kind of man to pity the dead”

“I don’t pity anyone” He stepped closer “Life is suffering and pain Even for people like you and me, Penny”