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Don't miss a single moment of this captivating short drama. We bring you the best billionaire romance, intense revenge stories, and high-quality web series tailored for you.
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Disclaimer: All content is properly licensed and distributed.
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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 vithus i will father's hand freezes midair the bonding
01:03contract trembling between his fingers mother's eyes blow wide elevin 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 now i know you're
02:23angry
02:24but i had no choice the serpent court is possessive beyond reason only a completed bond could make him
02:30abandon his claim on her there was no other way a bitter smile cuts across my lips and what about
02:35me
02:35we were supposed to complete our bonding ritual when i turned 20 but every time the ceremony drew near
02:40dahlia found a reason to cry and edmund found a reason to postpone again and again i am nearly 25
02:46now
02:46and he chose this moment to bond with her two paths stretch before me the conscripted match or
02:51the serpent lord nothing else guilt flashes across edmund's face he seizes my hand i won't let the
02:56conscripted match take you listen i can have a thrall span put on you you'd live in gray hollow under
03:02my protection you wouldn't have to marry anyone he sees my expression change and rushes to add
03:07it would only be in name once you're at gray hollow i treat you the same as dahlia
03:12you want for nothing i almost laugh the audacity only shifters convicted of serious crimes those with
03:18nowhere left to turn except the thrall brand a branded person can be sold by their house at will
03:23they live beneath everyone and their children inherit that status forever i rip my hand free i would
03:29sooner walk into a serpent's jaws than wear your brand at least the serpent doesn't pretend to love me
03:34while he devours me edmund's face darkens wounded pride twisting into something ugly elowen don't
03:40you love me is your pride really worth more than being with me i fire back without missing a beat
03:44oh then why don't you make dahlia the thrall that would save her just as well dahlia a thrall
03:50she couldn't survive it she's too delicate too gentle she deserves to be cherished not branded
03:57years of swallowed grief surge upward my vision blurs because dahlia is hairkin soft fragile born
04:02looking like something that needs protection and i am the last nine-tailed fox shifter in all of
04:07eldrath strong resilient supernaturally fast to heal carrying nine lives so father and mother favor
04:12her and my own betrothed pities her every hurt every sacrifice it all falls on me because i look like
04:18i
04:18can take it edmund flinches at the scorn in my eyes shame curdles into anger and he throws one last
04:23line
04:23over his shoulder as he leaves think it over l you know as well as i do you have no
04:28other options
04:29after he is gone i drift downstairs in a daze and find a delivery from house by theorists waiting
04:34for me i open the box my breath catches a moonstone pendant the exact one i lost at auction during
04:39the
04:39last merchant's gala warmth spreads through my chest unbidden maybe marrying lord severin isn't a death
04:44sentence after all the next day i go to a goldsmith's workshop in crown city to choose a return gift
04:49for
04:50severin his beast form is a green-eyed black serpent i pick a cloak pin shaped like a coiled snake
04:55black silver base two emerald eyes i allow myself a grim bit of humor at least house vytheris commands
05:00more wealth and power than nearly anyone in eldrath what exactly do i have to complain about oh my
05:06how do pleasureless of you sister you claim you'd never be edmund's thrall yet here you are spending a
05:13fortune on his name day gift such devotion i could never be so clever dahlia stands there with edmund's
05:19arm linked through hers wearing a victor's smile that is when i remember today is edmund's name day
05:24they think i bought this for him so much for your pride you're bending the knee to avoid the
05:29conscripted match after all that one is hideous get me a wolf silver with gray eyes something worthy
05:35of my house this is for my betrothed it has nothing to do with you still putting on a brave
05:41face
05:41you'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
06:08well 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
06:23shifter's flesh even the strongest male shifter in the room screams raw animal broken edmund flinches
06:28at the sound but he still lets dahlia direct the house guards to drag me deeper inside in that moment
06:33the edmund who shielded me as a child the boy who never let anyone lay a finger on me feels
06:37like
06:37something i imagined 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
07:02this one suits you best don't you think sister i wrench free from the guards i haven't even
07:08touched dahlia but she throws herself backward acting as though i shoved her the branding iron
07:12clatters to the floor a single spark grazes the back of her hand not even a mark i only wanted
07:18to
07:18help you avoid the conscripted 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 palm presses flat against scorching metal pain crashes through me like a wave i can't breathe
07:35i tear my hand free from the burning surface and a new pain explodes across my face edmund's open
07:40palm full force the crack echoes through the entire thrall hall how could you do this to her
07:45she begged me to help you and this is how you repay her apologize to dalany now
07:52edmund my hand it hurts so much
07:59the moment i see that cloak my heart seizes a fox tail cloak made from my eight rubber 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 in where he doesn't expect
08:37how dare you
08:41stop
08:46who dare touch her
08:54my eyes open through the narrow slits of the mask a pair of deep emerald eyes vertical pupils
09:00is unmistakably serpent a faint otherworldly gleam i think of the emeralds on that cloak pin
09:06he sets me down on a stone bench in a nearby courtyard before i can speak he vanishes around the
09:10corner
09:10i look down a small jar of healing salve sits in my palm i don't know when he placed it
09:15there
09:15across the street edmund tenderly smooths dahlia's windswept hair murmuring comfort a cold smile tugs at my lips
09:21i reach for the bonding ring i've carried at my waist the one i'd planned to return to him
09:25i walk to the edge of the city wall without a moment's hesitation i hurl it into the churning river
09:29below
09:29two days later i put on the bonding gown sent by house by theorists i stand in my room surrounded
09:34by
09:34a dowry so extravagant it doesn't feel real father and mother shuffle in they ask voices halting
09:39eyes 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
10:15like it is a throne a glowing red branding iron rests in his hand elevin the conscripted match takes
10:20effect in 30 minutes but since you're here perfect you know the rules for a thrust before the brand comes
10:26the right neil kiss dahlia's hand and renounce your freedom before everyone in this hall do that
10:32and i'll take you into gray holland edmund's gaze drops to my bonding gown he freezes for half a
10:37second then his brow furrows why are you dressed like that you think putting on a gown makes you a
10:42bride take it off you're embarrassing yourself i hold his stare i steady i'm completing my bonding
10:46today edmund to someone who actually wants me you're not invited his expression shifts then snaps back
10:52into that benefactor's mask every second you waste i add another hour on your knees time is running out
10:57l i don't mind having someone help you down and if you won't kneel on your own gray hollow retainers
11:05step out from every corner in full view of the hall they reach for my bonding gown hands closing around
11:09my arms to force me to my knees no edmund i told you today is my bonding
11:16i'd like to see anyone in this room try to make 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
11:42peels the mask away the face beneath has never been shown in public sharp striking nothing close
11:47to 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 lixir 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
12:16whether the trial elixir was really dahlia's at all dahlia goes white her hand drifts toward her
12:21eyes on instinct but i speak first turning to father and mother at the foot of the stairs
12:25father mother don't forget what you promised me mother leans close and murmurs something in
12:31dahlia's ear dahlia shrieks like a stepped-on cat
12:41father and mother stare at her as if they're seeing her for the first time a cold laugh escapes me
12:46dahlia has always been this person they were just too blinded by their own favoritism to notice
12:51severin clicks his tongue lifts one hand ancient runes blaze to life across the stone floor
12:56light pours from the cracks tracing a perfect circle at dahlia's feet a truth circle severin speaks with the
13:02full authority of the vithyrus heir since this lady insists the elixir is hers she has nothing to
13:08fear step into the circle and prove it every drop of blood leaves dahlia's face she stumbles back half
13:14a step she can refuse but in eldrath refusing a truth trial is the same as a guilty plea every
13:20eye
13:20in the hall is on her dahlia's scream dissolves into sobs tears pour down the picture of helplessness
13:25edmund charges forward face ashen but the vithyrus guards form a wall between them
13:33severin's gaze lands on him cold as winter stone if she's innocent the circle will prove it
13:39unless you already know she isn't edmund's feet root to the floor a terrible certainty begins to
13:44take shape the kind he has spent years refusing to look at dahlia is pushed into the truth circle
13:49at first she clamps her jaw shut fights it with everything she has but the runes glow brighter
13:55her body begins to shake words rip out of her throat like they're being dragged by hooks
13:59yes yes yes i stole her elixir i stole it and i stood on that stage and i smiled while
14:05everyone
14:06applauded her voice splinters the circle's power drives her on she turns to edmund her lips twist
14:11into something between a sneer and a snarl did you true believe i loved you you were the most obedient
14:16dog on my leash i said jump you asked how high i pointed at her tails and you you cut
14:22off your
14:22dog edmund'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 luck
14:39i cut the reins i watched the carriage go off the road then i ran down the hill screaming for
14:44help
14:44and 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 father's
14:54face turns the color of ash he sways a servant catches him mother's eyes where tenderness lived
14:59moments 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
15:12last and feel nothing the satisfaction i expected doesn't come severin senses the shift in me his hand
15:17tightens around 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
15:30hell i was wrong don't go with him please eyes wild and red rimmed pathetic i love you
15:34i see it now it was always you she deceived me his regret isn't worth the dirt on my shoes
15:40my gaze drifts to the white rabbit mating mark visible on his throat the mark that surfaced when
15:44his bond with dahlia sealed my voice is perfectly flat i think you two deserve each other may your bond
15:50hold forever his face crumbles i don't linger on it i step into the carriage and pull the door shut
15:56edmund lunges after me by theorist guards close rank around him like a steel curtain he claws at the
16:01mating mark on his neck scratching tearing and screams after the departing carriage
16:13severin holds the bonding ceremony at the serpent's reach castle grand lavish every detail curated
16:19i am allergic to pollen but i love flowers the entire hall blooms with crystal flowers crafted
16:25by alchemists every petal every stamen impossibly lifelike not a grain of pollen in the air i am
16:31still 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 shifted when
16:47he saw my bonding ceremony once i might have read that as proof he cared more about me now i
16:53just
16:53find it absurd you don't get to go mad over something you threw away severin and i exchange
16:58bonding vows before the gathered witnesses the moment his hand takes mine the serpent-shaped mating
17:03mark on my palm and the nine-tailed fox mark on his shoulder ignite simultaneously light floods the
17:08entire hall every person in the room holds their breath a faded bond the destined contract unseen in
17:15eldrath for a hundred years after the ceremony or carriage rolls toward the main castle of serpent's
17:20reach as we pass through the outer gate i glance through the carriage window a massive silver wolf
17:25crouches inside an iron cage for a split second i think i see a tear slide from one lupine eye
17:30but the
17:31wolf can only watch trapped as our carriage disappears down the road bonding night the master chamber just the
17:37two of us i study his face without the mask my cheeks flush before i can stop it every rumor
17:43about you
17:44was 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
17:59baron heat rises to my ears i open my mouth to reassure him and he pulls me into his arms
18:05those emerald
18:06eyes fix on me the vertical pupils dilate slightly but he holds himself in check elevin look at me
18:13his voice drops low we stop whenever you say i have waited seven years i can wait seven more
18:19something in those eyes undoes me i nod shy and breathless you don't have to hold back it is not
18:26until the bonding ritual begins that my eyes fly open you have two severin's voice comes out rough
18:33serpent bloodline we have two if you don't want i kiss him to shut him up by the second half
18:39of the
18:39night he proves thoroughly and personally that the baron rumor is also a lie at the most intimate
18:44moment our 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 on its
19:01axis
19:01i cry severin stops immediately alarm all over his face he thinks he hurt me i shake my head
19:11it takes five full days for the bond to stabilize i nearly trigger a full shift my ears and tail
19:17popping
19:17out uncontrollably again and again i peel myself off the bed legs shaking lower back aching and hear a
19:24commotion outside i push open the window and look down edmund kneels at the castle gate a massive bouquet of
19:29roses clutched to his chest a maid sweeping the corridor tells me he has been there for five days
19:33two rainstorms hit during that time he knelt through both the only thing he asked for was
19:38someone to swap out the wilted roses for fresh ones all i feel is irritation who is this performance for
19:44i have a new life edmund's self-righteous penance is nothing but noise i reach for the curtain and a
19:49body with cooler than normal temperature presses against my back what are you looking at severin peers
19:54over my shoulder sees the scene below his brow creases he just won't go away will he at that
20:00exact moment edmund looks up as if he senses me the instant he sees my face something reignites behind
20:05his dull eyes and dies the next second when severin tilts my chin up and gives me a long slow
20:10kiss i
20:11don't resist i wrap my arms around him the tenderness of it sears into edmund's vision roses scatter from his
20:17hands he staggers to his feet mouth opening to shout to stop it but five days without water have stolen
20:23his voice nothing comes out i expect edmund to give up instead he is at the gate again the next
20:28day
20:29and the next i can't take it anymore i go down to face him edmund has lost significant weight
20:34pale dark hollows under his eyes his robes hang loose on a frame that used to fill them the moment
20:39he sees me he fumbles at his collar yanking it aside to bear the back of his neck where dahlia's
20:43white rabbit mating mark used to sit now only a jagged wound raw half healed a slab of flesh carved
20:49away he forces a desperate eager smile el i did the severing ritual the mark is gone i'm clean now
20:58we can start over the severing ritual is one of eldrath's most dangerous rights it tears the bond
21:03from the soul itself the pain is said to rival being flayed alive three out of ten who attempt
21:08it die on the ritual table and the mark goes deep down to muscle and bone removing it completely means
21:13cutting away an entire section of flesh i look at the mangled mess of his neck surprised he went this
21:17far but only surprised nothing more my silence gives him hope he pulls out two severed pieces
21:23i look closer a silver gray wolf tail a white rabbit tail anguish contorts his face i'm sorry
21:30hell i was a monster i understand now i understand what you went through i severed my own tail and
21:38hers
21:38to atone forgive me i'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you nothing stirs inside me
21:46not a ripple their tails are gone do mine grow back a nine-tailed foxes tails once severed never
21:51regenerate ever eight lives gone forever edmund if you truly want to make amends stop coming here
21:58stop making your guilt my burden to carry i am bonded to severin we are happy you're lying
22:05how could you bond with someone else edmund runs to his carriage and hauls out a bouquet of roses
22:14l 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
22:26contracted 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
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 break
22:55out in hives every time dahlia graciously regifted edmund's roses to me i told them all of them i am
23:00allergic to pollen father mother edmund none of them believed me they decided i was making it up to
23:05spite 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 from
23:15my body you made a cloak of my lives and draped it over the woman who orchestrated every wound and
23:20now
23:20you stand here with flowers i'm allergic to asking me to forgive you tell me edmund in all of that
23:26did
23:26you 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
23:36he sprints straight for the serpent's reach training yard and rips the sword from the rack
23:40severin vitharis i challenge me to an honor duel for elevan an honor duel in eldrath when a shifter
23:47believes another has taken his mate he has the right to demand a duel of honor dot edmund half
23:51shifts goes all out lupine fury raw power wolf blood is built for brute force and explosive speed
23:58severin barely tries to so it speed erases every advantage the wolf has each of edmund's lunges
24:03hits empty air nothing but a calm side step
24:11one strike severin pins him to the ground scales ripple across his neck those cold slit people stare
24:17down
24:21suffering 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 shutters 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
24:40look just one then i walk to severin and press my fingers to the scales that have surfaced along his
24:45neck raised by anger hard as armor dot under my touch they recede smooth skin returns inch by inched
24:51severin goes still then he bows his head and rests his forehead against my palm
24:56i take his hand i don't look back dot edmund watches from the ground the way she touches
25:00severin's face the way her eyes soften she has never looked at him like that not once the next i
25:05hear of edmund is three days later after the honor duel he was carried to the healer's ward
25:10unconscious for a full day and night before waking this time he drops the desperate siege tactics
25:15instead he starts appearing at every place i frequent engineering coincidences the herb market in
25:20crown city the alchemy workshops even the small towns near serpents reach severin seeds
25:25he stays glued to my side and every time he senses edmund nearby his pupils narrow to vertical slits
25:31a clear unmistakable warning until one day severin and i attend the gathering of houses the annual
25:37formal assembly of all the blood houses severin needs to discuss territory matters with allied
25:42house representatives we separate briefly i sit alone at a long table in the corner of the banquet hall
25:47picking at a slice of cake when a shadow falls over me i look up edmund stands in front of
25:51me i have no
25:52idea when he got this close i stand to leave how did i never notice how revolting he is the
25:57contempt
25:57in my eyes wounds him he calls out voice shaking oh i'm not here to bother you i just thought
26:04you
26:04should know severin went into the east tower with a woman just now my step falters i glance instinctively
26:11toward where severin was sitting only his allied house representative remains drinking alone edmund moves
26:16closer he does this right under your nose and you're still going to stay with him my brow furrows that's
26:23between me and my husband it has nothing to do with you logic tells me severin would never but the
26:28unease claws in anyway edmund fans the flames already climbing the spiral staircase of the east tower top of
26:34the east tower see for yourself i follow before i realize i'm doing it barely 15 minutes of climbing but
26:40it feels 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 is
26:56taking 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 rasp 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
27:23isn't yours i catch his hands before he can strip any further a laugh escapes me i believe you keep
27:30your
27:30clothes on for now edmund's face goes white i turn the full weight of my contempt on him edmund was
27:36that
27:36woman you're doing you disgust me it wasn't me el how could you think that of me i don't bother
27:42responding 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'm carrying your child you can't throw me away i look closer she is delia the
28:05hall drops into dead silence then the whispers begin dahlia doesn't care about appearances she
28:11wails at full volume in front of every bloodhouse representative in eldra spilling everything this is
28:16how i learn what happened after the truth trial edmund severed dahlia's tail threw her out of gray
28:21hollow father and mother cut her off entirely bolted the doors of thornfield manor and ignored every
28:26plea for weeks dahlia begged for scraps at the edges of market towns then her belly started to swell
28:31that is when she realized edmund tries to pry her off she locks her arms around his legs like a
28:36drowning woman gripping driftwood this child is her only leverage her only way back every house
28:41representative in the room watches the spectacle with open amusement gray hollow's disgrace served
28:46fresh lord gray hollow the elder arrives face carved from stone to salvage what little dignity
28:51remains he forces the issue for the honor of house gray holland take her home as they drag dahlia out
28:57she twists around for one last look at me the jealousy and bitterness in her eyes warp her
29:01features into something barely human back at serpents reach severin draws a hot bath for me
29:07his fingertips trace along my neck and shoulders the serpent blood runs cool and somehow that
29:12coolness unwinds every knot in my muscles when you threw that woman out you said you'd you'd waited
29:18seven years for your wife what did you mean a long pause when he speaks his expression is more open
29:25than i've ever seen it i've been in love with you for seven years do you remember years ago in
29:29the
29:29deep forest you found a small black serpent half dead in the mud that was me my enemies had hunted
29:34me down i was wounded feral trapped in my beast form you saved me with your elixirs i was dying
29:40and then you appeared you didn't flinch you picked up a venosemza serpent with your bare hands and poured
29:45your elixirs into its mouth i think i think i fell for you before i even knew your name by
29:50the time i found
29:51you again you were already promised to someone else i stare at him duck that little black snake
29:56was you all these years i thought it was just a wild serpent i never imagined i'd accidentally saved
30:01the heir of house vithyrus a thought strikes me the man in the serpent mask at the runaway courage
30:07that was you severin nod was me i was late that day i should have been there sooner i couldn't
30:15stop
30:15them 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 clingy he caches in every unused rest day
30:40he is accumulated over the years and takes me across eldra the warm coastline near serpents reach
30:45the eastern mountain passes hidden valleys i've only read about in books with no sign of edmund for
30:51once we have the sweetest stretch of days i can remember one winter night i find severin curled by
30:56the fireplace serpent blood runs cold the chill hits him harder than most i walk over and wrap my single
31:02remaining tail around him he stiffens you don't have to i want to he says nothing more just buries his
31:09face
31:09in the fur and lets his breathing slow that tail keeping him warm and the eight made into a cloak
31:14they're the same thing the difference is one was taken the other is given rumors about gray hollow
31:19drift in from time to time dahlia and edmund fight constantly two people who despise each other chained
31:25together by an unborn child a kind of forever i suppose i think the worst is behind me that i
31:31can finally
31:31have 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
31:46lord gray hollow the elder expels dahlia from the estate and edmund once again appears at my door
31:51his eyes carry something new something unhinged el the bond is severed the child is gone there's
32:00nothing standing between us now a chill crawls up my spine it's not the words it's the way he says
32:06them like the baby's death is just another obstacle cleared from his path i open my mouth to respond
32:11and dahlia explodes from the shadows beside the road the wall died a dagger clenched in her fist
32:15aimed straight at me elephant this is your fault all of it you have one life left i took eight
32:24and i'll take the last edmund's pupils shrink to pinpoints he throws himself between us the
32:29dagger buries itself in his abdomen edmund clutches the wound and crumples blood spills from the corner
32:34of his mouth that blade the healer tells him later has permanently destroyed his ability to sire children
32:39royal guards arrive and sees dahlia on the spot while edmund recovers the crown council
32:44launches an investigation delia's testimony from the truth trial is formally prosecuted eight
32:49counts of coercing alohan into severing her tails attempted enslavement of a bonded mate as thrall
32:54and years of systematic abuse against alohan edmund is stripped of his noble title and confined to the
32:59royal dungeon three years later through relentless work i become the most respected alchemist in eldrath
33:04the crown council awards me the title of master alchemist severin and i have twins flower daughter
33:08inherits my bloodline nine fluffy little tails a true nine-tailed fox flower son inherits severins
33:13a pair of tiny emerald slit pupils the barren heir of house vitherus rumor dies on its own a new
33:18one
33:18takes its place severin vitherus does whatever his wife tells him during this time father and mother
33:23send messengers to serpents reach again and again requesting an audience they even deliver a dowry
33:27years too late i don't see them not once my life is full now i don't need their discount love
33:32anymore
33:32on the twins naming ceremony nearly every blood house sends a representative gifts arrive in an endless
33:37stream severin and i are playing with the children when a servant approaches carrying an enormous
33:41gift box from a visitor not on the guest list he delivered it and left no name
33:46he opened the box inside rare gemstones enchanted artifacts and a document exclusive trade rights to
33:52the two wealthiest counties in gray hollow territory at the very bottom beneath everything sits a ring
33:57the bonding ring i hurled from the city wall into the river he found it pulled it from the riverbed
34:02dot
34:02but the ring lost its meaning a long time ago i closed the box and rewrap it have a rider
34:06return this to
34:07gray hover and have him deliver a message tell him i bear him no hatred i pause but we are
34:14done we have
34:15always been done after the servant leaves severin wraps his arms around me from behind his chin rests
34:21on my shoulder are you all right i'm fine while i lean back into him i've been fine for a
34:30long time dirt
34:31that night the children are asleep i'm holding my daughter pressing a kiss to the tiny soft ears
34:36on her forehead her nine little tails twitch in her dreams a faint itch prickles at the small of my
34:41back i look down next to my single remaining tail a tuft of new fur pale as spider silk almost
34:47invisible
34:48i go still i don't tell anyone i just smile and hold my daughter a little closer
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