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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
00:52another 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
01:03contract trembling between his fingers mother's eyes blow wide have you lost your mind lord
01:08severin 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
01:37of me but i have one condition on the day i leave this house dahlia will confess before all the
01:44houses
01:44that she stole my elixir father slams his palm on the table how can you be so cruel you would
01:50destroy
01:50your own 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
02:31a 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
02:42a
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 pride
03:36twisting into something ugly elowen don't you love me is your pride really worth more than being with
03:42me i fire back without missing a beat oh then why don't you make dahlia the thrall that would save
03:48her
03:48just as well dahlia a thrall she couldn't survive it she's too delicate too gentle she deserves to be
03:55cherished not branded years of swallowed grief surge upward my vision blurs because dahlia is hairkin
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 lord
04:43severin isn't a death sentence after all the next day i go to a goldsmith's workshop in crown city to
04:48choose a return gift for severin his beast form is a green-eyed black serpent i pick a cloak pin
04:53shaped
04:54like a coiled snake black silver base two emerald eyes i allow myself a grim bit of humor at least
04:59house vithyrus commands more wealth and power than nearly anyone in eldrath what exactly do i have to
05:04complain about oh my how do pleasureless of you sister you claim you'd never be edmund's thrall yet here you
05:12are spending a fortune on his name day gift such devotion i could never be so clever dahlia stands
05:19there with edmund's arm linked through hers wearing a victor's smile that is when i remember today is
05:23edmund's name day they think i bought this for him so much for your pride you're bending the knee
05:28to avoid the conscripted match after all that one is hideous get me a wolf silver with gray eyes
05:35something worthy of my house this is for my betrothed it has nothing to do with you still putting on
05:40a
05:40brave face you're nearly 25 the decree takes effect in three days stop pretending you have choices
05:49push me further and i won't even offer you the brand edmund darling the thrall's hall is right there
05:57i can't bear seeing my poor sister living in such dread why don't we take care of it today
06:03you really are too kind dahlia well go on
06:13inside 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
06:33who shielded me as a child the boy who never let anyone lay a finger on me feels like something
06:38i
06:38imagined he 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
06:57wall
06:58it lands on one iron etched with a broken chain the lowest rank it means never free this one suits
07:03you best don't you think sister i wrench free from the guards i haven't even touched dahlia but
07:09she throws herself backward acting as though i shoved her the branding iron clatters to the floor
07:13a single spark raises the back of her hand not even a mark i only wanted to help you avoid
07:18the
07:19conscripted match and you tried to burn me
07:24before 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
07:35tear my hand free from the burning surface and a new pain explodes across my face edmund's open palm
07:40full force the crack echoes through the entire thrall hall how could you do this to her she begged me
07:46to
07:46help you and this is how you 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 severed 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 and i am a nine
08:17tailed fox each tail holds one life under edmund's pressure i severed eight tails transferred my life
08:23force to dahlia eight times eight lives it still wasn't enough i did nothing wrong and i will not
08:30apologize edmund's pupils contract something in my defiance cuts him where he doesn't expect
08:37how dare you stop
08:46who dare touch her
08:55my eyes open through the narrow slits of the mask a pair of deep emerald eyes vertical pupils
09:00unmistakably serpent a faint otherworldly gleam i think of the emeralds on that cloak
09:05pin he sets me down on a stone bench in a nearby courtyard before i can speak he vanishes around
09:10the corner i look down a small jar of healing salve sits in my palm i don't know when he
09:14placed
09:15it there across the street edmund tenderly smooths dahlia's windswept hair murmuring comfort a cold
09:20smile tugs at my lips i reach for the bonding ring i've carried at my waist the one i'd planned
09:24to return
09:24to him i walk to the edge of the city wall without a moment's hesitation i hurl it into the
09:28churning river
09:29below two days later i put on the bonding gown sent by house by theorists i stand in my room
09:34surrounded by a dowry so extravagant it doesn't feel real father and mother shuffle in they ask
09:38voices halting eyes averted if maybe dahlia doesn't have to confess publicly maybe they could call it a
09:43misunderstanding save her some face for the honor of our house elinden the last illusion i held about
09:50them shatters my dowry i prepared it myself for years i made excuses for them they forgot they were
09:55busy they'd remember eventually they didn't remember a dowry for their own daughter but they
09:59remembered to come beg on behalf of their favorite no and if you push me further i won't go through
10:04with it at all let's see how house virion responds to that you wouldn't dare a commotion erupts from
10:11the great hall below i descend the stairs to find edmund sprawled in the great hall's main chair like it
10:15is a throne a glowing red branding iron rests in his hand elevin the conscripted match takes effect in 30
10:21minutes but since you're here perfect you know the rules for a thrust before the brand comes the right
10:26kneel kiss dahlia's hand and renounce your freedom before everyone in this hall do that and i'll take
10:33you into gray holland edmund's gaze drops to my bonding gown he freezes for half a second then his
10:38brow furrows why are you dressed like that you think putting on a gown makes you a bride take it
10:42off you're
10:43embarrassing yourself i hold his stare i steady i'm completing my bonding today edmund to someone who
10:48actually wants 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
11:06in full view of the hall they reach for my bonding gown hands closing around my arms to force me
11:10to my
11:10knees no edmund i told you today is my bonding i'd like to see anyone in this room try to
11:18make my wife kneel
11:22edmund's eyes go wide the serpent shaped cloak pin glints at severin's collar bold unmistakable edmund's
11:28gaze climbs to the serpent patterned mask then to the man behind it the branding iron slips from his
11:33hand and rings against the stone floor you you're the heir of house vitherus what do you mean the
11:38contract was for dahlia she's already bonded to me what are you doing here severin reaches up peels
11:43the mask away the face beneath has never been shown in public sharp striking nothing close to the monster
11:48from the rumors he extends his hand toward me gently dread pools in edmund's gut i place my
11:53hand 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
12:21instinct but i speak first turning to father and mother at the foot of the stairs father mother
12:27don't forget what you promised me mother leans close and murmurs something in dahlia's ear dahlia
12:32shrieks like a stepped-on cat no the elixir is mine if the serpent court wants to cause trouble
12:37that's your problem i'm bonded now i what happens to house thornwood is no longer my concern father
12:42and mother stare at her as if they're seeing her for the first time a cold laugh escapes me dahlia
12:47has always been this person they were just too blinded by their own favoritism to notice severin
12:52clicks his tongue lifts one hand ancient runes blaze to life across the stone floor light pours from
12:57the cracks tracing 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 step into
13:09the circle and prove it every drop of blood leaves dahlia's face she stumbles back half a step she can
13:15refuse but in eldrath refusing a truth trial is the same as a guilty plea every eye in the hall
13:20is on
13:21her dahlia's scream dissolves into sobs tears pour down the picture of helplessness edmund charges forward
13:30face ashen but the vithyrus guards form a wall between them severin's gaze lands on him cold as
13:35winter stone if she's innocent the circle will prove it unless you already know she isn't edmund's feet
13:42root to the floor a terrible certainty begins to take shape the kind he has spent years refusing to
13:47look at dahlia is pushed into the truth circle at first she clamps her jaw shut fights it with everything
13:53she has but the runes glow brighter her body begins to shake words rip out of her throat like
13:58they're being dragged by hooks yes yes yes i stole her elixir i stole it and i stood on that
14:04stage and
14:05i smiled while everyone applauded her voice splinters the circle's power drives her on she turns to
14:10edmund her lips twist into something between a sneer and a snarl did you true believe i loved you you
14:15were the most obedient dog on my leash i said jump you asked how high i pointed at her tails
14:21and you you
14:22edmund's temple pulses his whole body trembles but all he does is step back like someone pulled
14:27the bones 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
14:43for
14:44help and you you thanked me you took me in the carriage accident years ago the very reason father
14:49and mother 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
15:30don'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
15:47i think you two deserve each other may your bond hold forever his face grumbles i don't linger on it
15:54i 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
16:05el i won't give up i'll do the severing i'll break the bond i'll come back to you
16:14severin holds the bonding ceremony at the serpent's reach castle grand lavish every detail curated i am
16:20allergic to pollen but i love flowers the entire hall blooms with crystal flowers crafted by alchemists
16:26every petal every stamen impossibly lifelike not a grain of pollen in the air i am still wondering how
16:32severin knows my preferences when a wolf howl pierces through the walls a servant reports a massive wolf in
16:38feral shift is clawing at the castle's iron gate i pause shifters only trigger a full shift under
16:43extreme duress edmund didn't shift when he learned the truth about dahlia he shifted when he saw my
16:48bonding ceremony once i might have read that as proof he cared more about me now i just find it
16:53absurd
16:54you don't get to go mad over something you threw away severin and i exchange bonding vows before the
16:59gathered witnesses the moment his hand takes mine the serpent-shaped mating mark on my palm and the
17:04nine-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 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
18:06eyes fix on me the vertical pupils dilate slightly but he holds himself in check elevin look at me his
18:13voice drops low we stop whenever you say i have waited seven years i can wait seven more something
18:20in those eyes undoes me i nod shy and breathless you don't have to hold back it is not until
18:27the
18:27bonding ritual 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
18:45our mating marks blaze to life in unison a massive wave of emotion crashes into me not mine
18:50his pure feeling seven years of solitude seven years of longing and one moment lying half dead in
18:56the mud barely breathing when a pair of warm hands lifted him up and his whole world shifted
19:00on its axis i cry severin stops immediately alarm all over his face he thinks he hurt me i shake
19:06my 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
19:36through both the 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
19:46penance is nothing but noise i reach for the curtain and a body with cooler than normal
19:50temperature presses against my back what are you looking at severin peers over my shoulder
19:55sees the scene below his brow creases he just won't go away will he at that exact moment edmund looks
20:01up
20:01as if he senses me the instant he sees my face something reignites behind his dull eyes
20:06and dies the next second when severin tilts my chin up and gives me a long slow kiss i don't
20:11resist
20:12i wrap my arms around him the tenderness of it sears into edmund's vision roses scatter from his hands
20:17he staggers to his feet mouth opening to shout to stop it but five days without water have stolen his
20:23voice nothing comes out i expect edmund to give up instead he is at the gate again the next day
20:29and the
20:29next i can't take it anymore i go down to face him edmund has lost significant weight pale dark
20:35hollows under his eyes his robes hang loose on a frame that used to fill them the moment he sees
20:39me
20:39he fumbles at his collar yanking it aside to bear the back of his neck where delia's white rabbit mating
20:44mark used to sit now only a jagged wound raw half healed a slab of flesh carved away he forces
20:50a desperate
20:51eager smile el i did the severing ritual the mark is gone i'm clean now we can start over the
20:59severing
21:00ritual is one of eldrath's most dangerous rites it tears the bond from the soul itself
21:04the pain is said to rival being flayed alive three out of ten who attempt it die on the ritual
21:09table
21:09and the mark goes deep down to muscle and bone removing it completely means cutting away an entire
21:14section of flesh i look at the mangled mess of his neck surprised he went this far but only surprised
21:19nothing more my silence gives him hope he pulls out two severed pieces i look closer a silver gray
21:27wolf tail a white rabbit tail anguish contorts his face i'm sorry hell i was a monster i understand now
21:34i understand what you went through i severed my own tail and hers to atone forgive me i'll spend the
21:43rest of my life making it up to you nothing stirs inside me not a ripple their tails are gone
21:48do mine grow back a nine-tailed fox's tails once severed never regenerate ever eight lives gone
21:53forever edmund if you truly want to make amends stop coming here stop making your guilt my burden to
22:00carry i am bonded to severin we are happy you're lying how could you bond with someone else edmund runs
22:09to
22:09his 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
22:20out of his hands petals explode across the cobblestones severin stands between us his emerald
22:26slit pupils have contracted to razor thin lines edmund snarls what gives you the right to kick away my
22:32flowers severin's voice cuts like a blade dipped in frost you claim to love her yet you bring her the
22:37one thing that makes her suffer how very consistent of you the blood drains from edmund's face
22:44i'm sorry l i didn't mean to i thought you like he thought i liked roses the one who likes
22:49roses has
22:50always been dahlia and dahlia doesn't even care about them that much she just enjoys watching me
22:54break out in hives every time dahlia graciously regifted edmund's roses to me i told them all of them
23:00i am allergic to pollen father mother edmund none of them believed me they decided i was making it up
23:04to
23:05despite dahlia i spent years getting dragged to the healer's ward every other week because of those
23:09flowers i look at edmund hollowed out unraveling and feel nothing warm at all you cut eight tails
23:15from my body you made a cloak of my lives and draped it over the woman who orchestrated every
23:20wound and now you stand here with flowers i'm allergic to asking me to forgive you tell me edmund
23:25in all of that did you ever actually see me edmund's knees buckle he barely stays upright i take severin's
23:31arm and turn to leave behind us a rush of footsteps severin pivots to shield me but edmund isn't
23:36charging at us he sprints straight for the serpent's reach training yard and rips the sword from
23:39the rack severin vitharis i challenge me to an honor duel for elevin an honor duel in eldrath
23:46when a shifter believes another has taken his mate he has the right to demand a duel of honor
23:50dot edmund half shifts goes all out lupine fury raw power wolf blood is built for brute force and
23:56explosive speed severin barely tries to certain speed erases every advantage the wolf has
24:01each of edmund's lunges hits empty air nothing but a calm side is up
24:11one strike severin pins him to the ground scales ripple across his neck those cold slit people stare down
24:22suffering for her doesn't mean you loved her it just means you only know how to think about
24:27yourself edmund collapses broken ribs a wolf-like rasp shudders through his chest he lifts his head
24:33toward me now now i know what it feels like does that does that count for anything i give him
24:40one look
24:40just one then i walk to severin and press my fingers to the scales that have surfaced along his neck
24:45raised by
24:46anger hard as armor dot under my touch they recede smooth skin returns inch by inched severin goes still
24:53then he bows his head and rests his forehead against my palm i take his hand i don't look
24:58back dot edmund watches from the ground the way she touches severin's face the way her eyes soften
25:02she has never looked at him like that not once the next i hear of edmund is three days later
25:07after the
25:08honor duel he was carried to the healer's ward unconscious for a full day and night before waking
25:12this time he drops the desperate siege tactics instead he starts appearing at every place i
25:17frequent engineering coincidences the herb market in crown city the alchemy workshops even the small
25:23towns near serpents reach severin's seeds he stays glued to my side and every time he senses edmund nearby
25:29his pupils narrow to vertical slits a clear unmistakable warning until one day severin and i attend the
25:36gathering of houses the annual formal assembly of all the blood houses severin needs to discuss territory
25:41matters with allied house representatives we separate briefly i sit alone at a long table in
25:45the corner of the banquet hall picking at a slice of cake when a shadow falls over me i look
25:50up edmund
25:51stands in front of me i have no idea when he got this close i stand to leave how did
25:55i never notice
25:56how revolting he is the contempt in my eyes wounds him he calls out voice shaking oh i'm not here
26:01to bother
26:01you i just thought you should know severin went into the east tower with a woman just now my step
26:09falters i glance instinctively toward where severin was sitting only his allied house representative
26:14remains drinking alone edmund moves closer he does this right under your nose and you're still going to
26:21stay with him my brow furrows that's between me and my husband it has nothing to do with you logic
26:26tells
26:26me severin would never but the unease claws in anyway edmund fans the flames already climbing the
26:32spiral staircase of the east tower top of the east tower see for yourself i follow before i realize
26:38i'm doing it barely 15 minutes of climbing but it feels like an eternity what if severin really my
26:43thoughts tangle before i know it i'm standing in front of the tower chamber door edmund's face is
26:48alight he reaches for the handle the door opens from the inside first get out whoever sent you tell them
26:54i've waited seven years for my wife no one is taking that from me a scantily dressed shifter woman
26:59stumbles out of the room thrown not walking severin stands in the doorway his expression is dark enough
27:04to bruise his clothes are perfectly intact the moment he sees me the ice cracks gone in a blink elevin
27:10i didn't touch her someone slipped a lust rasp into my mead i saw through it serpent blood is immune
27:16to
27:16poisons i played along to draw them out he tugs his collar open you don't believe me check for yourself
27:22there isn't a mark on me that isn't yours i catch his hands before he can strip any further a
27:27laugh
27:28escapes me i believe you keep your clothes on for now edmund's face goes white i turn the full weight
27:34of my contempt on him edmund was that woman you're doing you disgust me it wasn't me el how could
27:41you
27:41think that of me i don't bother responding whether it was him or not doesn't matter anymore severin notifies
27:46the gathering's organizers then takes my arm to leave edmund chases us to the door mouth open still
27:52scrambling for words the banquet doors explode inward a filthy disheveled shifter woman barrels
27:57through the crowd and hurls herself into edmund's arms i look closer she is dahlia the hall drops into
28:06dead silence then the whispers begin dahlia doesn't care about appearances she wails at full volume in
28:12front of every blood house representative in eldrath spilling everything this is how i learn what
28:16happened after the truth trial edmund severed dahlia's tail threw her out of gray hollow father and mother
28:22cut her off entirely bolted the doors of thornfield manor and ignored every plea for weeks dahlia begged
28:27for scraps at the edges of market towns then her belly started to swell that is when she realized edmund
28:33tries to pry her off she locks her arms around his legs like a drowning woman gripping driftwood this child
28:38is her only 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 serpent's reach severin draws a
29:06hot bath for me his fingertips trace along my neck and shoulders the serpent blood runs cool and
29:11somehow 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 is
29:24more open than i've ever seen it i've been in love with you for seven years do you remember years
29:28ago in
29:29the deep forest you found a small black serpent half dead in the mud that was me my enemies had
29:34hunted me
29:34down i was wounded feral trapped in my beast form you saved me with your elixirs i was dying and
29:41then
29:41you appeared you didn't flinch you picked up a venosemza serpent with your bare hands and poured your
29:46elixirs into its mouth i think i think i fell for you before i even knew your name by the
29:50time i found
29:51you again you were already promised to someone else i stare at him duck that little black snake was you
29:56all these years i thought it was just a wild serpent i never imagined i'd accidentally saved the
30:01air of house vithyrus a thought strikes me the man in the serpent mask at the runaway courage that
30:07was you severin nod was me i was late that day i should have been there sooner i couldn't stop
30:15them
30:16from hurting your hand his healing salve worked flawlessly not even a scar i step forward and wrap
30:21my arms around him severin he freezes color floods his face racing down his neck he presses my hand to
30:28his
30:28cheek and holds it there and the light in his eyes is so bright he can barely contain it again
30:33please
30:34after that confession severin becomes impossibly clingy he caches in every unused rest day he has
30:40accumulated over the years and takes me across eldra the warm coastline near serpents reach the eastern
30:46mountain passes hidden valleys i've only read about in books with no sign of edmund for once we have the
30:52sweetest stretch of days i can remember one winter night i find severin curled by the fireplace serpent
30:58blood runs cold the chill hits him harder than most i walk over and wrap my single remaining tail around
31:03him he stiffens you don't have to i want to he says nothing more just buries his face in the
31:10fur and
31:10lets his breathing slow that tail keeping him warm and the eight made into a cloak they're the same thing
31:15the difference is one was taken the other is given rumors about gray hollow drift in from time to time
31:21dahlia and edmund fight constantly two people who despise each other chained together by an unborn
31:26child a kind of forever i suppose i think the worst is behind me that i can finally have peace
31:33i 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
31:46gray hollow the elder expels dahlia from the estate and edmund once again appears at my door
31:52his eyes carry something new something unhinged l the bond is severed the child is gone there's nothing
32:01standing between us now a chill crawls up my spine it's not the words it's the way he says them
32:06like
32:06the baby's death is just another obstacle cleared from his path i open my mouth to respond and dahlia
32:11explodes from the shadows beside the road the wall died a dagger clenched in her fist aimed straight
32:16at me elephant this is your fault all of it you have one life left i took eight and i'll
32:25take the last
32:26edmund's pupils shrink to pinpoints he throws himself between us a thump the dagger buries itself in his
32:31abdomen edmund clutches the wound and crumples blood spills from the corner of his mouth that blade the
32:36healer tells him later has permanently destroyed his ability to sire children royal guards arrive
32:40and seize dahlia on the spot while edmund recovers the crown council launches an investigation dahlia's
32:46testimony from the truth trial is formally prosecuted eight counts of coercing alohan into severing her
32:51tails attempted enslavement of a bonded mate as thrall and years of systematic abuse against alohan
32:56edmund is stripped of his noble title and confined to the royal dungeon three years later through relentless
33:01work i become the most respected alchemist in eldrath the crown council awards me the title of
33:06master alchemist severin and i have twins flower daughter inherits my bloodline nine fluffy little
33:10tails a true nine-tailed fox flower son inherits severin's a pair of tiny emerald slit pupils the
33:15barren heir of house vitherus rumor dies on its own a new one takes its place severin vitherus does
33:20whatever his wife tells him during this time father and mother send messengers to serpents reach again
33:25and again requesting an audience they even deliver a dowry years too late i don't see them not once my
33:30life is
33:30full now i don't need their discount love anymore on the twins naming ceremony nearly every bloodhouse
33:35sends a representative gifts arrive in an endless stream severin and i are playing with the children
33:39when a servant approaches carrying an enormous gift box from a visitor not on the guest list he
33:44delivered it and left no name he opened the box inside rare gemstones enchanted artifacts and a
33:51document exclusive trade rights to the two wealthiest counties in gray hollow territory at the very bottom
33:56beneath everything sits a ring the bonding ring i hurled from the city wall into the river he
34:00found it pulled it from the riverbed dot but the ring lost its meaning a long time ago i close
34:05the
34:05box and rewrap it have a rider return this to grey hover and have him deliver a message tell him
34:11i
34:11bear him no hatred i pause but we are done we have always been done after the servant leaves severin
34:18wraps
34:19his arms around me from behind his chin rests on my shoulder are you all right i'm fine while i
34:26lean back
34:27into him i've been fine for a long time dirt that night the children are asleep i'm holding my daughter
34:34pressing a kiss to the tiny soft ears on her forehead her nine little tails twitch in her dreams
34:40a faint itch prickles at the small of my back i look down next to my single remaining tail a
34:45tuft of new
34:45fur pale as spider silk almost invisible i go still i don't tell anyone i just smile and hold my
34:51daughter
34:52a little closer
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