- 14 hours ago
The Serpent Lord's Substitute Bride (2026) | English Dub Short Series
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:05my adopted sister dahlia steals my elixir and wins the alchemy trials with it never guessing
00:10the prize is marriage to the heir of house by theorists a man rumored to be barren brutal and
00:15monstrous that same night house by theorists delivers a bonding contract sealed with a serpent
00:20wax crest they want the shifter woman who crafted the elixir as their heir's bride my betrothed
00:24edmund panics he rushes through a bonding ritual with dahlia overnight by morning it is done
00:29dahlia sways toward me and flashes the silver wolf shaped mating mark glowing on the small of her
00:34back your betrothed belongs to me now his mark is on my skin whatever will you do sister she tilts
00:41her head that syrup sweet voice your 25th name day is three days away the crown council will assign
00:47you to one of those brutes from the borderlands you know what those men are like she is wrong i
00:52have
00:53another option i find father and mother in the great hall scrambling to clean up dahlia's mess
00:57if dahlia won't marry the heir of house by this i will father's hand freezes midair the bonding
01:04contract trembling between his fingers mother's eyes blow wide elevin have you lost your mind lord
01:09severin is rumored to be barren bloodthirsty savage they say he nearly tore out a servant's throat when
01:15he went feral marrying him is walking into a death trap before i can answer father clears his throat if
01:21she doesn't go what about dahlia she's already bonded to the gray hollow boy something shifts behind
01:27mother's eyes a flicker of conflict and her hand slowly releases mine my heart goes cold i am their
01:32true-born daughter and still always they choose the girl who plays helpless a bitter laugh scrapes out of
01:37me but i have one condition on the day i leave this house dahlia will confess before all the houses
01:44that
01:45she stole my elixir father slams his palm on the table how can you be so cruel you would destroy
01:50your
01:50own sister's reputation mother stares at me with the same disappointment as if i am the problem
01:55the serpent lord wants the alchemist who made that era your precious dahlia can keep the credit
02:01or keep her comfortable life she can't have both they cave for dahlia of course they do i turn and
02:08walk out without hesitation and nearly collide with edmund stepping out of dahlia's chambers red marks trail
02:13down his neck and chest the cloying scent of dahlia's rose oil clings to him so thick it burns my
02:18nostrils i cover my nose and move to pass him he scrambles to block my path
02:22el i know you're angry but i had no choice the serpent court is possessive beyond reason
02:28only a completed bond could make him abandon his claim on her there was no other way
02:32a bitter smile cuts across my lips and what about me we were supposed to complete our bonding ritual
02:37when i turned 20 but every time the ceremony drew near dahlia found a reason to cry and edmund found
02:43a
02:43reason to postpone again and again i am nearly 25 now and he chose this moment to bond with her
02:48two paths stretch before me the conscripted match or the serpent lord nothing else guilt flashes
02:53across edmund's face he seizes my hand i won't let the conscripted match take you listen i can have
03:00a throst band put on you you'd live in gray hollow under my protection you wouldn't have to marry anyone
03:04he sees my expression change and rushes to add it would only be in name once you're at gray hollow
03:11i treat
03:11you the same as dahlia you want for nothing i almost laugh the audacity only shifters convicted of
03:17serious crimes those with nowhere left to turn except the thrall brand a branded person can be
03:22sold by their house at will they live beneath everyone and their children inherit that status
03:26forever i rip my hand free i would sooner walk into a serpent's jaws than wear your brand
03:32at least the serpent doesn't pretend to love me while he devours me edmund's face darkens wounded
03:36pride twisting into something ugly elowen don't you love me is your pride really worth more than being
03:42with me i fire back without missing a beat oh then why don't you make dahlia the thrall that would
03:48save her just as well dahlia a thrall she couldn't survive it she's too delicate too gentle she deserves
03:55to be cherished not branded years of swallowed grief surge upward my vision blurs because dahlia is hair
04:01soft fragile born looking like something that needs protection and i am the last nine-tailed fox
04:06shifter in all of eldrath strong resilient supernaturally fast to heal carrying nine lives
04:11so father and mother favor her and my own betrothed pities her every hurt every sacrifice it all falls
04:17on me because i look like i can take it edmund flinches at the scorn in my eyes shame curdles
04:21into
04:21anger and he throws one last line over his shoulder as he leaves think it over l you know as
04:27well as i do
04:27you have no other options after he is gone i drift downstairs in a daze and find a delivery from
04:33house
04:33vithyrus waiting for me i open the box my breath catches a moonstone pendant the exact one i lost at
04:39auction during the last merchant's gala warmth spreads through my chest unbidden maybe marrying
04:43lord severin isn't a death sentence after all the next day i go to a goldsmith's workshop in crown city
04:48to choose a return gift for severin his beast form is a green-eyed black serpent i pick a cloak
04:53pin
04:53shaped like a coiled snake black silver base two emerald eyes i allow myself a grim bit of humor
04:59at least house vithyrus commands more wealth and power than nearly anyone in eldrath what exactly do
05:03i have to complain about oh my how do pleasureless of you sister you claim you'd never be edmund's
05:12thrall yet here you are spending a fortune on his name day gift such devotion i could never be so
05:17clever
05:18dahlia stands there with edmund's arm linked through hers wearing a victor's smile that is when i
05:22remember today is edmund's name day they think i bought this for him so much for your pride
05:27you're bending the knee to avoid the conscripted match after all that one is hideous get me a wolf
05:33silver with gray eyes something worthy of my house this is for my betrothed it has nothing to do with
05:38you still putting on a brave face you're nearly 25 the decree takes effect in three days
05:47stop pretending you have choices push me further and i won't even offer you the brand
05:54edmund darling the thralls hall is right there i can't bear seeing my poor sister living in such dread
06:01why don't we take care of it today you really are too kind dahlia well go on
06:14inside the thrall hall the central branding forge burns with an eternal flame rows of branding irons
06:18hang on the walls each etched with a different rank symbol a glowing red iron presses into a shifter's
06:23flesh even the strongest male shifter in the room screams raw animal broken edmund flinches at the sound
06:29but he still lets dahlia direct the house guards to drag me deeper inside in that moment the edmund who
06:34shielded me as a child the boy who never let anyone lay a finger on me feels like something i
06:38imagined
06:38he is 13 standing between me and danger eyes bright and fierce touch her again
06:47again and i'll shift right here that boy doesn't exist anymore dahlia's grip locks around my arm like
06:53iron nothing soft about her now let me pick out a nice brand for you sister her gaze sweeps the
06:58wall
06:58it lands on one iron etched with a broken chain the lowest rank it means never free this one suits
07:03you
07:03best don't you think sister i wrench free from the guards i haven't even touched dahlia but she
07:09throws herself backward acting as though i shoved her the branding iron clatters to the floor a single
07:14spark raises the back of her hand not even a mark i only wanted to help you avoid the conscripted
07:19match
07:20before i can react edmund charges in he slams into me my body hits the edge of the branding forge
07:29my
07:30palm presses flat against scorching metal pain crashes through me like a wave i can't breathe i tear my hand
07:36free from the burning surface and a new pain explodes across my face edmund's open palm full force the crack
07:41echoes through the entire thrall hall how could you do this to her she begged me to help you and
07:46this is how
07:47you repay her apologize to dalany now edmund my hand it hurts so much
07:59the moment i see that cloak my heart seizes a foxtail cloak made from my eight rubbered tails
08:06before all this dahlia engineered crisis after crisis slashing her own skin faking collapse performing
08:12death's door so convincingly that everyone believed only my life force could save her
08:16and i am a nine-tailed fox each tail holds one life under edmund's pressure i severed eight tails
08:22transferred my life force to dahlia eight times eight lives it still wasn't enough i did nothing wrong
08:29and i will not apologize edmund's pupils contract something in my defiance cuts him where he doesn't
08:35expect how dare you stop
08:47who dare touch her
08:55my eyes open through the narrow slits of the mask a pair of deep emerald eyes vertical pupils
09:01unmistakably serpent a faint otherworldly gleam i think of the emeralds on that cloak pin he sets me
09:06down on a stone bench in a nearby courtyard before i can speak he vanishes around the corner i look
09:11down
09:11a small jar of healing salve sits in my palm i don't know when he placed it there across the
09:16street
09:16edmund tenderly smooths dahlia's windswept hair murmuring comfort a cold smile tugs at my lips i reach
09:21for the bonding ring i've carried at my waist the one i'd planned to return to him i walk to
09:25the edge of the
09:26city wall without a moment's hesitation i hurl it into the churning river below two days later i put
09:31on the bonding gown sent by house by theorists i stand in my room surrounded by a dowry so extravagant
09:36it doesn't feel real father and mother shuffle in they ask voices halting eyes averted if maybe dahlia
09:41doesn't have to confess publicly maybe they could call it a misunderstanding save her some face for the
09:46honor of our house elinden the last illusion i held about them shatters my dowry i prepared it myself
09:52for years i made excuses for them they forgot they were busy they'd remember eventually they
09:57didn't remember a dowry for their own daughter but they remembered to come beg on behalf of their
10:01favorite no and if you push me further i won't go through with it at all let's see how house
10:06virion
10:06responds to that you wouldn't dare a commotion erupts from the great hall below i descend the stairs to
10:13find edmund sprawled in the great hall's main chair like it is a throne a glowing red branding iron
10:17rests in his hand elevin the conscripted match takes effect in 30 minutes but since you're here
10:23perfect you know the rules for a thrust before the brand comes the right neil kiss dahlia's hand
10:28and renounce your freedom before everyone in this hall do that and i'll take you into gray holland
10:34edmund's gaze drops to my bonding gown he freezes for half a second then his brow furrows why are you
10:39dressed like that you think putting on a gown makes you a bride take it off you're embarrassing
10:43yourself i hold his stare i steady i'm completing my bonding today edmund to someone who actually
10:48wants me you're not invited his expression shifts then snaps back into that benefactor's mask every
10:54second you waste i add another hour on your knees time is running out l i don't mind having someone
10:59help you down and if you won't kneel on your own gray hollow retainers step out from every corner in
11:06full view of the hall they reach for my bonding gown hands closing around my arms to force me to
11:10my
11:11knees no edmund i told you today is my bonding i'd like to see anyone in this room try to
11:18make my
11:19wife kneel edmund's eyes go wide the serpent shaped cloak pin glints at severance collar bold
11:26unmistakable edmund's gaze climbs to the serpent patterned mask then to the man behind it the branding
11:32iron slips from his hand and rings against the stone floor you you're the heir of house vitharas what do
11:37you mean the contract was for dahlia she's already bonded to me what are you doing here severin reaches
11:42up peels the mask away the face beneath has never been shown in public sharp striking nothing close
11:48to the monster from the rumors he extends his hand toward me gently dread pools in edmund's gut i place
11:53my hand in severin's palm our fingers lace together tight the corner of severin's mouth lifts his voice
11:59measured unhurried i never said i wanted dahlia it was always eloan elixir was always hers as for dahlia
12:06only fools like you would fall for someone that pathetic the color drains from edmund's face
12:11he doesn't understand whispers ripple through the great hall people are already questioning whether
12:16the trial elixir was really dahlia's at all dahlia goes white her hand drifts toward her eyes on instinct
12:22but i speak first turning to father and mother at the foot of the stairs father mother don't forget what
12:28you
12:28promised me mother leans close and murmurs something in dahlia's ear dahlia shrieks like
12:33a stepped-on cat no the elixir is mine if the serpent court wants to cause trouble that's your problem
12:38i'm bonded now i what happens to house thornwood is no longer my concern father and mother stare
12:43at her as if they're seeing her for the first time a cold laugh escapes me dahlia has always been
12:47this person they were just too blinded by their own favoritism to notice severin clicks his tongue
12:52lifts one hand ancient runes blaze to life across the stone floor light pours from the cracks
12:58tracing a perfect circle at dahlia's feet a truth circle severin speaks with the full authority
13:02of the vithyrus heir since this lady insists the elixir is hers she has nothing to fear
13:09step into the circle and prove it every drop of blood leaves dahlia's face she stumbles back half a
13:14step she can refuse but in eldrath refusing a truth trial is the same as a guilty plea every eye
13:20in the
13:20hall is on her dahlia's screen dissolves into sobs tears pour down the picture of helplessness
13:25edmund help me she's going to kill me edmund charges forward face ashen but the vithyrus
13:31guards form a wall between them severin's gaze lands on him cold as winter stone if she's innocent
13:37the circle will prove it unless you already know she isn't edmund's feet root to the floor a terrible
13:43certainty begins to take shape the kind he has spent years refusing to look at dahlia is pushed
13:48into the truth circle at first she clamps her jaw shut fights it with everything she has
13:53but the runes glow brighter her body begins to shake words rip out of her throat like they're
13:58being dragged by hooks yes yes yes i stole her elixir i stole it and i stood on that stage
14:04and i
14:05smiled while everyone applauded her voice splinters the circle's power drives her on she turns to edmund
14:10her lips twist into something between a sneer and a snarl did you true believe i loved you you were
14:16the
14:16most obedient dog on my leash i said jump you asked how high i pointed at her tails and knew
14:21you cut off
14:22yourself edmund's temple pulses his whole body trembles but all he does is step back like someone pulled the
14:27bones out of him everything all of it was he can't finish dahlia's venom swings toward father
14:34and mother and you two pathetic old fools did you really think the carriage accident was just bad
14:39luck i cut the reins i watched the carriage go off the road then i ran down the hill screaming
14:44for
14:44helping you you thanked me you took me in the carriage accident years ago the very reason father and
14:49mother adopted the homeless grateful little girl named dahlia all of it staged from the start
14:54father's face turns the color of ash he sways a servant catches him mother's eyes where tenderness
14:59lived moments ago flood with raw consuming hatred she lunges forward and strikes dahlia across the face
15:04twice you treacherous ungrateful wretch the hall erupts into chaos i watch it all the truth laid bare at last
15:12and feel nothing the satisfaction i expected doesn't come severin senses the shift in me his hand tightens
15:18around mine come home with me elohim i'll be your family now
15:26okay i step toward the carriage edmund crashes through the crowd behind me
15:31don't go with him please eyes wild and red rimmed pathetic i love you i see it now it was
15:36always you
15:36she deceived me his regret isn't worth the dirt on my shoes my gaze drifts to the white rabbit mating
15:41mark
15:42visible on his throat the mark that surfaced when his bond with dahlia sealed my voice is perfectly flat
15:48i think you two deserve each other may your bond hold forever his face crumbles i don't linger on
15:54it i step into the carriage and pull the door shut edmund lunges after me by theorist guards close
15:58rank around him like a steel curtain he claws at the mating mark on his neck scratching tearing
16:03and screams after the departing carriage el i won't give up i'll do the severing i'll break the bond i'll
16:10come back to you severin holds the bonding ceremony at the serpent's reach castle grand lavish every
16:19detail curated i am allergic to pollen but i love flowers the entire hall blooms with crystal flowers
16:25crafted by alchemists every petal every stamen impossibly lifelike not a grain of pollen in the air
16:31i am still wondering how severin knows my preferences when a wolf howl pierces through the walls a servant
16:36reports a massive wolf in feral shift is clawing at the castle's iron gate i pause shifters only trigger
16:42a full shift under extreme duress edmund didn't shift when he learned the truth about dahlia he
16:47shifted when he saw my bonding ceremony once i might have read that as proof he cared more about me
16:52now i just find it absurd you don't get to go mad over something you threw away severin and i
16:58exchange
16:58bonding vows before the gathered witnesses the moment his hand takes mine the serpent shaped mating mark on
17:04my palm and the nine-tailed fox mark on his shoulder ignite simultaneously light floods the entire hall
17:09every person in the room holds their breath a faded bond the destined contract unseen in eldrath for a
17:15hundred years after the ceremony or carriage rolls toward the main castle of serpent's reach as we pass
17:21through the outer gate i glance through the carriage window a massive silver wolf crouches inside an iron
17:26cage for a split second i think i see a tear slide from one lupine eye but the wolf can
17:31only watch
17:32trapped as our carriage disappears down the road bonding night the master chamber just the two of
17:38us i study his face without the mask my cheeks flush before i can stop it every rumor about you
17:44is wrong severin removes the silver pins and gemstones from my hair one by one his fingers move so gently
17:50they don't belong to a man called savage what rumors that you're savage hideous and a soft laugh barren
18:00heat rises to my ears i open my mouth to reassure him and he pulls me into his arms those
18:06emerald eyes
18:06fix on me the vertical pupils dilate slightly but he holds himself in check elevin look at me his voice
18:14drops low we stop whenever you say i have waited seven years i can wait seven more something in
18:20those eyes undoes me i nod shy and breathless you don't have to hold back it is not until the
18:27bonding
18:27ritual begins that my eyes fly open you have two severin's voice comes out rough serpent bloodline
18:34we have two if you don't want i kiss him to shut him up by the second half of the
18:39night he proves
18:40thoroughly and personally that the barren rumor is also a lie at the most intimate moment our mating
18:46marks blaze to life in unison a massive wave of emotion crashes into me not mine his pure feeling
18:51seven years of solitude seven years of longing and one moment lying half dead in the mud
18:56barely breathing when a pair of warm hands lifted him up and his whole world shifted on its axis
19:01i cry severin stops immediately alarm all over his face he thinks he hurt me i shake my head
19:07i felt you all of it all those years it takes five full days for the bond to stabilize i
19:15nearly
19:15trigger a full shift my ears and tail popping out uncontrollably again and again i peel myself off
19:21the bed legs shaking lower back aching and hear a commotion outside i push open the window and look
19:26down edmund kneels at the castle gate a massive bouquet of roses clutched to his chest a maid sweeping the
19:31corridor tells me he has been there for five days two rainstorms hit during that time he knelt through both
19:37the only thing he asked for was someone to swap out the wilted roses for fresh ones
19:41all i feel is irritation who is this performance for i have a new life edmund's self-righteous penance
19:47is nothing but noise i reach for the curtain and a body with cooler than normal temperature presses
19:51against my back what are you looking at severin peers over my shoulder sees the scene below his brow
19:57creases he just won't go away will he at that exact moment edmund looks up as if he senses me
20:03the
20:03instant he sees my face something reignites behind his dull eyes and dies the next second when severin
20:09tilts my chin up and gives me a long slow kiss i don't resist i wrap my arms around him
20:14the tenderness
20:14of it sears into edmund's vision roses scatter from his hands he staggers to his feet mouth opening to
20:20shout to stop it but five days without water have stolen his voice nothing comes out i expect edmund
20:26to give up instead he is at the gate again the next day and the next i can't take it
20:30anymore i go
20:31down to face him edmund has lost significant weight pale dark hollows under his eyes his robes hang loose
20:37on a frame that used to fill them the moment he sees me he fumbles at his collar yanking it
20:41aside to
20:42bare the back of his neck where dahlia's white rabbit mating mark used to sit now only a jagged wound
20:47raw
20:47half healed a slab of flesh carved away he forces a desperate eager smile el i did the severing ritual
20:54the mark is gone i'm clean now we can start over the severing ritual is one of eldrath's most
21:01dangerous rights it tears the bond from the soul itself the pain is said to rival being flayed alive
21:06three out of ten who attempt it die on the ritual table and the mark goes deep down to muscle
21:11and bone
21:12removing it completely means cutting away an entire section of flesh i look at the mangled mess of
21:16his neck surprised he went this far but only surprised nothing more my silence gives him hope
21:21he pulls out two severed pieces i look closer a silver gray wolf tail a white rabbit tail anguish
21:29contorts his face i'm sorry el i was a monster i understand now i understand what you went through
21:36i severed my own tail and hers to atone forgive me i'll spend the rest of my life making it
21:44up to you
21:45nothing stirs inside me not a ripple their tails are gone do mine grow back a nine-tailed fox's
21:50tails once severed never regenerate ever eight lives gone forever edmund if you truly want to make amends
21:57stop coming here stop making your guilt my burden to carry i am bonded to severin we are happy you're
22:05lying
22:05how could you bond with someone else edmund runs to his carriage and hauls out a bouquet of roses
22:14el look i brought your favorite roses before he can get within arm's reach a boot kicks the bouquet out
22:20of his hands petals explode across the cobblestones severin stands between us his emerald slit pupils have
22:27contracted to razor thin lines edmund snarls what gives you the right to kick away my flowers severin's
22:33voice cuts like a blade dipped in frost you claim to love her yet you bring her the one thing
22:37that
22:37makes her suffer how very consistent of you the blood drains from edmund's face i'm sorry el i didn't
22:46mean to i thought you like he thought i liked roses the one who likes roses has always been dahlia
22:51and dahlia
22:52doesn't even care about them that much she just enjoys watching me break out in hives every time
22:56dahlia graciously regifted edmund's roses to me i told them all of them i am allergic to pollen father
23:01mother edmund none of them believed me they decided i was making it up to spite dahlia i spent years
23:06getting dragged to the healers ward every other week because of those flowers i look at edmund
23:10hollowed out unraveling and feel nothing warm at all you cut eight tails from my body you made
23:16a cloak of my lives and draped it over the woman who orchestrated every wound and now you stand
23:21here with flowers i'm allergic to asking me to forgive you tell me edmund in all of that did
23:27you ever actually see me edmund's knees buckle he barely stays upright i take severin's arm and turn
23:31to leave behind us a rush of footsteps severin pivots to shield me but edmund isn't charging at us he
23:37sprints straight for the serpent's reach training yard and rips the sword from the rack severin vitharis
23:41i challenge me to an honor duel for elevin an honor duel in eldrath when a shifter believes another
23:48has taken his mate he has the right to demand a duel of honor dot edmund half shifts goes all
23:53out lupine fury raw power wolf blood is built for brute force and explosive speed severin barely tries
23:59to fit certain speed erases every advantage the wolf has each of edmund's lunges hits empty air
24:04nothing but a calm side one strike severin pins him to the ground scales ripple across his neck
24:16those cold foot people stare down
24:22suffering for her doesn't mean you loved her it just means you only know how to think about yourself
24:28edmund collapses broken ribs a wolf-like rasp shutters through his chest he lifts his head toward me now
24:35now i know what it feels like does that does that count for anything i give him one look just
24:41one then i
24:42walk to severin and press my fingers to the scales that have surfaced along his neck raised by anger
24:46hard as armor dot under my touch they recede smooth skin returns inch by inched severin goes still then
24:54he bows his head and rests his forehead against my palm i take his hand i don't look back dot
24:58edmund
24:59watches from the ground the way she touches severin's face the way her eyes soften she has never looked at
25:04him like that not once the next i hear of edmund is three days later after the honor duel he
25:09was
25:09carried to the healer's ward unconscious for a full day and night before waking this time he drops the
25:14desperate siege tactics instead he starts appearing at every place i frequent engineering coincidences
25:19the herb market in crown city the alchemy workshops even the small towns near serpents reach
25:24severin seeds he stays glued to my side and every time he senses edmund nearby his pupils narrow to
25:30vertical slits a clear unmistakable warning until one day severin and i attend the gathering of houses
25:37the annual formal assembly of all the blood houses severin needs to discuss territory matters with
25:42allied house representatives we separate briefly i sit alone at a long table in the corner of the
25:46banquet hall picking at a slice of cake when a shadow falls over me i look up edmund stands in
25:51front
25:51of me i have no idea when he got this close i stand to leave how did i never notice
25:56how revolting
25:56he is the contempt in my eyes wounds him he calls out voice shaking oh i'm not here to bother
26:02you
26:03i just thought you should know severin went into the east tower with a woman just now
26:08my step falters i glance instinctively toward where severin was sitting only his allied house
26:14representative remains drinking alone edmund moves closer he does this right under your nose
26:20and you're still going to stay with him my brow furrows that's between me and my husband
26:24it has nothing to do with you logic tells me severin would never but the unease claws in
26:29anyway edmund fans the flames already climbing the spiral staircase of the east tower top of the east
26:34tower see for yourself i follow before i realize i'm doing it barely 15 minutes of climbing but it
26:41feels like an eternity what if severin really my thoughts tangle before i know it i'm standing in
26:46front of the tower chamber door edmund's face is a light he reaches for the handle the door opens from
26:51the inside first get out whoever sent you tell them i've waited seven years for my wife no one
26:56is taking that from me a scantily dressed shifter woman stumbles out of the room thrown not walking
27:01severin stands in the doorway his expression is dark enough to bruise his clothes are perfectly intact
27:06the moment he sees me the ice cracks gone in a blink elevin i didn't touch her someone slipped a
27:12lust dress into my mead i saw through it serpent blood is immune to poisons i played along to draw
27:18them out he tugs his collar open you don't believe me check for yourself there isn't a mark on me
27:23that
27:24isn't yours i catch his hands before he can strip any further a laugh escapes me i believe you keep
27:30your clothes on for now edmund's face goes white i turn the full weight of my contempt on him edmund
27:35was
27:36that woman you're doing you disgust me it wasn't me el how could you think that of me i don't
27:42bother
27:43responding whether it was him or not doesn't matter anymore severin notifies the gathering's organizers
27:48then takes my arm to leave edmund chases us to the door mouth open still scrambling for words the
27:53banquet doors explode inward a filthy disheveled shifter woman barrels through the crowd and hurls
27:58herself into edmund's arms i look closer she is delia the hall drops into dead silence then the whispers
28:08begin dahlia doesn't care about appearances she wails at full volume in front of every bloodhouse
28:13representative in eldra spilling everything this is how i learn what happened after the truth trial
28:18edmund severed dahlia's tail threw her out of gray hollow father and mother cut her off entirely
28:23bolted the doors of thornfield manor and ignored every plea for weeks dahlia begged for scraps at the
28:28edges of market towns then her belly started to swell that is when she realized edmund tries to pry her
28:34off she locks her arms around his legs like a drowning woman gripping driftwood this child is her
28:39only leverage her only way back every house representative in the room watches the spectacle
28:43with open amusement gray hollow's disgrace served fresh lord gray hollow the elder arrives face carved
28:49from stone to salvage what little dignity remains he forces the issue for the honor of house gray holland
28:55take her home as they drag dahlia out she twists around for one last look at me the jealousy and
29:00bitterness in her eyes warp her features into something barely human back at serpents reach severin
29:06draws a hot bath for me his fingertips trace along my neck and shoulders the serpent blood runs cool
29:11and somehow that coolness unwinds every knot in my muscles when you threw that woman out you said you'd
29:17you'd waited seven years for your wife what did you mean a long pause when he speaks his expression
29:24is more open than i've ever seen it i've been in love with you for seven years do you remember
29:28years
29:28ago in the deep forest you found a small black serpent half dead in the mud that was me my
29:33enemies
29:34had hunted me down i was wounded feral trapped in my beast form you saved me with your elixirs i
29:39was
29:39dying and then you appeared you didn't flinch you picked up a venosemza serpent with your bare hands
29:45and poured your elixirs into its mouth i think i think i fell for you before i even knew your
29:50name
29:50by the time i found you again you were already promised to someone else i stare at him that little
29:55black
29:56snake was you all these years i thought it was just a wild serpent i never imagined i'd accidentally
30:01saved the heir of house vithyrus a thought strikes me the man in the serpent mask at the runaway carriage
30:07that was you severin nod was me i was late that day i should have been there sooner i couldn't
30:15stop
30:16them from hurting your hand his healing salve worked flawlessly not even a scar i step forward
30:21and wrap my arms around him severin he freezes color floods his face racing down his neck he presses
30:27my hand to his cheek and holds it there and the light in his eyes is so bright he can
30:31barely contain
30:32it again please after that confession severin becomes impossibly clinging he caches in every
30:39unused rest day he has accumulated over the years and takes me across eldra the warm coastline near serpents
30:44reach the eastern mountain passes hidden valleys i've only read about in books with no sign of edmund
30:50for once we have the sweetest stretch of days i can remember one winter night i find severin curled
30:56by the fireplace serpent blood runs cold the chill hits him harder than most i walk over and wrap my
31:02single remaining tail around him he stiffens you don't have to i want to he says nothing more just
31:09buries his face in the fur and lets his breathing slow that tail keeping him warm and the eight made
31:14into
31:14a cloak they're the same thing the difference is one was taken the other is given rumors about gray hollow
31:20drift in from time to time dahlia and edmund fight constantly two people who despise each other
31:25chained together by an unborn child a kind of forever i suppose i think the worst is behind me
31:30that i can finally have peace i am wrong dahlia and edmund argue on the courtyard steps at gray
31:39shoving turns to stumbling dahlia falls the child is gone with her last scrap of value erased lord gray hollow
31:47the
31:47elder expels dahlia from the estate and edmund once again appears at my door his eyes carry something
31:53new something unhinged el the bond is severed the child is gone there's nothing standing between us
32:02now a chill crawls up my spine it's not the words it's the way he says them like the baby's
32:07death is
32:07just another obstacle cleared from his path i open my mouth to respond and dahlia explodes from the shadows
32:12beside the road the wall died a dagger clenched in her fist aimed straight at me elephant this is your
32:18fault all of it you have one life left i took eight and i'll take the last edmund's pupils shrink
32:27to
32:27pinpoints he throws himself between us the dagger buries itself in his abdomen edmund clutches the wound
32:33and crumples blood spills from the corner of his mouth that blade the healer tells him later has
32:37permanently destroyed his ability to sire children royal guards arrive and sees dahlia on the spot
32:42while edmund recovers the crown council launches an investigation dahlia's testimony from the truth
32:47trial is formally prosecuted eight counts of coercing alohan into severing her tails attempted
32:52enslavement of a bonded mate as thrall and years of systematic abuse against alohan edmund is stripped
32:57of his noble title and confined to the royal dungeon three years later through relentless work i
33:02become the most respected alchemist in eldrath the crown council awards me the title of master
33:06alchemist severin and i have twins flower daughter inherits my bloodline nine fluffy little tails a
33:11true nine-tailed fox flower son inherits severin's a pair of tiny emerald slit pupils the barren heir of
33:16house vitherus rumor dies on its own a new one takes its place severin vitherus does whatever his wife
33:21tells him during this time father and mother send messengers to serpents reach again and again
33:25requesting an audience they even deliver a dowry years too late i don't see them not once my life is
33:30full now i
33:31don't need their discount love anymore on the twins naming ceremony nearly every blood house sends a
33:35representative gifts arrive in an endless stream severin and i are playing with the children when
33:40a servant approaches carrying an enormous gift box from a visitor not on the guest list he delivered
33:44it and left no name we open the box inside rare gemstones enchanted artifacts and a document exclusive
33:52trade rights to the two wealthiest counties in gray hollow territory at the very bottom beneath
33:56everything sits a ring the bonding ring i hurled from the city wall into the river he found it pulled
34:01it
34:01from the riverbed dot but the ring lost its meaning a long time ago i close the box and rewrap
34:06it have
34:06a rider return this to grey hover and have him deliver a message tell him i bear him no hatred
34:12i pause
34:13but we are done we have always been done after the servant leaves severin wraps his arms around me from
34:20behind
34:20his chin rests on my shoulder are you all right i'm fine while i lean back into him i've been
34:29fine for a
34:30long time dirt that night the children are asleep i'm holding my daughter pressing a kiss to the tiny
34:36soft ears on her forehead her nine little tails twitch in her dreams a faint itch prickles at the
34:41small of my back i look down next to my single remaining tail a tuft of new fur pale as
34:46spider silk almost
34:47invisible i go still i don't tell anyone i just smile and hold my daughter a little closer
Comments