Chapter 3
I had a really long dream, filled with the smell of pine trees and memories from when I was little.
My father showed me how to follow deer tracks. My mother would hum as she braided my hair, tucking in wildflowers. She laughed when I let
my younger sister, Macie Yanetta, try on my pearl earrings.
人人
Then suddenly, I heard someone shout, “Jolene! Help me!”
The scent of blood yanked me out of sleep.
Macie was on her knees in the yard, her once–golden hair now tangled and dirty. Cassidy’s servants took turns hitting her with wooden sticks, careful not to leave deep wounds, just bruises.
“Stop it! She’s just a child!” My knees cracked against the cold cobblestones.
Cassidy took a slow sip from my mother’s glass, tasting the bitter wine. “Your sister took bread from the pantry. That means 50 hits.”
“She’s only 12!” I said.
Cassidy replied, “She was 12 under the ordinary moonlight. But tonight is a Blood Moon. By our rules, she’s no longer a child.”
Macie raised her chin. “Don’t beg her, Jolene. I’d rather die than…”
The next blow tore her lip open.
Something inside me cracked. I dragged myself to Cassidy and lowered my head to her feet. “Please. Cut off my hand instead. I’ll never touch the
0.00%
288 (Vouchers
Chapter 3
harp again, just…..”
“I enjoy your playing,” she said with a wide smile that showed too many teeth. “Go on.”
The wooden sticks struck again and again, like a cruel, steady beat. By the 30th hit, Macie stopped crying. By the 40th, the snow around her had
turned red.
Kieran came at the 49th blow, his cloak still carrying the scent of the hunt.
“What’s happening here?” he shouted, grabbing the final wooden stick mid–air.
Cassidy made a pouty face and said, “Be fair, my lord. Do you want the humans to think the royal family is above the law?”
clung to his feet. “Please… just this once, show mercy.”
His jaw tightened, and for a second, I saw the boy who once hid a wounded fox beneath my bed.
At that moment, Macie coughed up blood, splashing it onto the fur hanging from his shoulders.
Kieran stepped backward and said flatly, “It’s part of the rules.”
The final strike hit its mark.
Macie exhaled one last time, her breath turning into a white mist. Her lips moved silently, “Don’t… cry.”
The poison in my veins erupted like fire. Blood burst from my eyes, ears, and nose–a scarlet torrent, hissing and steaming in the frozen winter air.
Cassidy stepped back, startled. “What is this… what kind of spell is this?”
40.96%
Chapter 3
Ħ 288 vouchers
“It’s not a spell,” Kieran said, his voice shaking. “It’s wolfsbane poisoning. Final stage.”
He tried to reach for me, but I spat blood near his feet.
“Kieran, I’m tired.
“I don’t want to live like this anymore. Take your revenge if you want.
“But I don’t owe you anything.”
His warm tears fell on my neck, and he shouted, panicked and furious, “Be quiet! Don’t say that! Who gave you the permission to die?”
But deep down, he knew there was nothing left he could use to make me stay and no way to stop me from leaving.
62.35%
