- 12 hours ago
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00:07I was born to kill serpents, so the Hargroves used me as their perfect shield.
00:12In my past life, I entered their cursed hall for Callum, the man I loved.
00:17But when the serpent gate opened, he chose Jenna, locked the door, and left me to be devoured.
00:22Death gave me one chance to return.
00:25I traded my beauty for silver sight and woke up with a scar no man was supposed to love.
00:30But I did not come back for love.
00:32I came back to watch Callum's devotion rot, expose Jenna's snake magic, and let the serpents choose their real prey.
00:39My name's Rowena Whitmore.
00:41In my past life, I loved Callum Hargrove so much that it cost me everything.
00:45I knew exactly what Hargrove Hall was, a century-old estate built over a sealed serpent gate,
00:50rotting from the inside out with ancient venom.
00:52I still walked in. For him, Whitmoster blood ran through my veins, and that blood was born to suppress serpents.
00:58So when the curse came for Callum, I threw myself in its path and let the poison tear through me
01:03instead.
01:04What I did not know, what I never saw coming, was that he and Jenna had already decided how my
01:08story would end.
01:09The venom spread through my body like fire through dry wood.
01:12My flesh began to rot from the inside.
01:14I still remember every second of that night.
01:16The freezing rain, the iron door, and my bloody hands clawing at the gap in the frame.
01:20Callum, please!
01:20Just open the door!
01:21My nails split down to the quick. Blood smeared the cracks. Still, nothing.
01:25Then his voice came through, flat and cold, without even a flicker of hesitation.
01:29Shut up.
01:29Your screaming is scaring Jenna. I'm not opening this door.
01:33You're useful in there, so stay there. Keep those monster snakes inside, even if they eat you alive.
01:38From the other side of the door, I could hear Jenna crying softly.
01:41Then came Callum's voice again, low and gentle, saying things he had never once said to me.
01:47You're safe. I've got you. Nothing is going to touch you. I promise.
01:52The lock turned. I will never forget that sound.
01:55Callum had one arm around Jenna as he sealed me inside.
01:59He left me there to die in the dark, surrounded by serpents, and he never looked back.
02:04The pain was beyond anything I had words for.
02:06It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out, piece by piece, until even screaming became impossible.
02:11When I died, I drifted in silver light, endless, cold, and silent.
02:15There was nothing left of me but a thin thread of soul, too broken even to cry.
02:19Then a voice fell through the dark like a blade through silk, clear, ancient, and completely without warmth.
02:24Child Whitmoyer, you died badly.
02:27What I offer is not mercy.
02:30It is a contract.
02:31Give me something, and I will give you what you want.
02:36I'll give up my face, my beauty in this life, all of it.
02:39In exchange, I want the Lunar Hunt Covenant, the Silver Sight, and one more life.
02:43Do you understand what it means to give up your face?
02:46I do. Last time, my beauty made it easy for them to use me.
02:49I don't need anyone to love my face. I just need to see clearly.
02:53Silver light crapped through me like lightning, and I was thrown back into the world of the living.
02:57When I opened my eyes, the hissing was gone.
03:00The air smelled of incense.
03:01I raised a hand to my face and felt it.
03:03A scar across my cheek.
03:05Faint silver light pulsing beneath it like a wire.
03:07It was the mark of the Covenant.
03:09The price Artemis had carved into my skin.
03:11I was back.
03:12Back to the morning Eleanor Hargreff came to beg.
03:15I stood in front of the mirror and traced the scar with my fingers.
03:18Then I smiled.
03:19But there was nothing warm left in it.
03:22I did not come back to love him.
03:24I came back from hell to collect what they owed me.
03:27One debt at a time.
03:35Rowena, please!
03:37I'm begging you!
03:38You have to save Callum!
03:39The old woman dropped to her knees in front of me, clutching the hem of my dress with both hands
03:43and crying like she had nothing left.
03:45The death mark carved into Callum's forehead was the final outbreak of decades of serpent resentment buried beneath the Hargrove
03:52state.
03:53As long as it stayed on him, the curse would keep spreading, and every Hargrove tied to this land by
03:58blood would carry the same death sentence.
04:02Only a Whitmore could even see the mark.
04:04Only a Whitmore could remove it.
04:07They needed me.
04:08That was a fact.
04:10But the only reason I was here was to take back what the Hargroves stole from us.
04:13The silver arrow of Whitmore.
04:15I stood over Eleanor, looking down at her shaking shoulders, and all I could think of was how she used
04:19to call me Sweetheart while she watched the flames swallow me alive.
04:22I slowly pulled my skirt out of her grip.
04:24I can't break the Hargrove curse.
04:26There was not a single trace of emotion in my voice.
04:28I did not owe her that much.
04:30Eleanor nor froze.
04:31The invitation in her hands crumbled at the edges.
04:33Then Callum walked in from the hallway.
04:35He was younger than I remembered.
04:36Sharper and more arrogant, with all that ugly pride still sitting right on the surface.
04:39His eyes swept over me and stopped on the scar crossing my face.
04:42For one second he went still.
04:44The scar was silver, winding across half my cheek and glowing faintly in the morning light.
04:49It did not look like an ordinary wound.
04:50It looked like something ancient had pressed itself into my skin and left its mark there.
04:54His disgust was almost impossible to miss.
04:56He turned his face away slightly like he could barely stand to look at it.
04:59I noticed.
05:00I said nothing.
05:02In my past life I had walked through this same door with an untouched face and he had smiled
05:05at me so beautifully.
05:07Every warm word had been perfectly calculated.
05:09Now that I had a scar, the mask slipped at once.
05:13That told me everything.
05:14He did not need a person.
05:16He needed a tool.
05:17And apparently he preferred his tools pretty.
05:19Callum stepped closer, his voice sharp with disbelief.
05:22What the hell is that supposed to mean?
05:24We came here in good faith and you won't even give us a reason?
05:27You're telling me one curse is too much for a Whitmore?
05:30He moved into my space like he was used to people backing down when he did.
05:34I only looked at him.
05:36Go ahead.
05:37Look down on me, Callum.
05:39You have no idea that the mark on your forehead is getting darker every day.
05:43And the only person in this entire world who can see it, the only one who can take it off
05:48you, is standing right in front of you while you make that face at her.
05:51Eleanor started crying harder.
05:54Her hands shook as she pulled a heavy envelope from her coat.
05:57The wax seal bore an old, dark gold crest.
06:00We have nowhere else to turn.
06:03Please, just look at this.
06:05For the sake of what our families once meant to each other.
06:09I almost did not bother.
06:11But the moment my eyes touched the seal, my silver sight flared.
06:15A pulse of silver light cut through the surface of the wax.
06:18And beneath it, clear and understakeable, was the trace of a Whitmore silver arrow.
06:25The silver arrow was the most sacred relic of the Whitmore bloodline.
06:29The Hargroves had stolen it from us, and it had been lost for generations.
06:35I only learned the truth as I was dying in my past life, when it was already too late
06:40to do anything about it.
06:42Now I knew exactly where it was.
06:44That was the real reason I would walk into Hargrove Hall.
06:48Not Callum.
06:49The arrow.
06:51Callum saw me take it, and his whole body relaxed.
06:54He lifted his chin slightly, satisfaction spreading across his face.
06:58He had already decided I was still hung up on him, that I had finally given in because
07:03of old feelings.
07:04Then he turned on that warm, reasonable voice.
07:07The one that used to make me believe every word.
07:10Good.
07:10All you have to do is come with us, and suppress the curse.
07:14Once I'm better, I'll make sure you're rewarded.
07:16The Hargroves take care of people who prove useful to us.
07:19He said it like he was doing me a favor, like I was something he could summon, use, and
07:24dismiss whenever it suited him.
07:26I looked at him slowly.
07:28The way you look at something that does not know it is already finished.
07:32I'm going to Hargrove Hall to take back what belongs to the Whitmore family.
07:36I was never doing this for you.
07:37The smile on his face died, died completely.
07:43The next morning, the man had everything packed before I came downstairs.
07:47Lady, the carriages are here.
07:49He was the boy the Whitmore family had taken in years ago.
07:53Quiet, precise, and so still that most people mistook him for cold.
07:57Since I came back, he was the only person who looked straight at the scar on my face without
08:01flinching or glancing away.
08:02Two Harkren carriages were waiting outside.
08:05Eleanor had one to herself, and the other was meant for Callum and me.
08:09Jenna, who supposedly could not handle the mountain road, was supposed to have her own
08:13space.
08:14I was about to step into the second carriage when a voice cut across the courtyard.
08:18Wait!
08:19Callum, I want to ride with you!
08:20She ran toward us with her skirts gathered in both hands, her cheeks flushed and her eyes
08:25red at the rims, as if she had already been crying.
08:28She was the girl the Hargroves had taken in years ago, the orphan daughter of some distant
08:32relation.
08:33She had grown up inside the estate walls, right beside Callum.
08:37Everyone said she was sweet and innocent, the one person Callum protected more than anyone
08:41else.
08:42She had a white silk scarf in her hands.
08:44Before Callum could answer, she was already looping it around his neck and smoothing it
08:49down with both palms.
08:50The mountain road is freezing.
08:52I don't want you getting sick again.
08:53Callum did not move away from her hands.
08:55In my past life, I thought she was only being kind.
08:58This time, my silver sight caught the edge of the scarf the moment it touched him.
09:02Faint dark lines were woven into the silk, forming the exact pattern of a serpent mark.
09:06Callum did not see any of it.
09:07He was already brushing a loose strand of hair away from Jenna's face.
09:11Jenna turned to me with wide, apologetic eyes.
09:13Lady Rowena, I hope you don't mind.
09:15I won't take up much space.
09:16I promise.
09:17She did not wait for my answer.
09:19She climbed in ahead of me.
09:21I watched her settle beside Callum and push me toward the window seat without even looking
09:25at me.
09:25I said nothing.
09:27Jenna, last time I missed every move you made.
09:29This time I'm going to watch every single one.
09:33The carriage wound its way up the wet, cobblestone road towards the Hargraf estate.
09:37There was barely enough room for two people to sit comfortably, and Jenna had made sure
09:41she stayed pressed against Callum for the entire ride.
09:44Every time the wheels hit a rough patch, she let out a soft, breathy sound and leaned into
09:49his shoulder.
09:49The timing was perfect.
09:50Always within my line of sight.
09:52Like a little performance stage just for me.
09:54Callum, I feel so dizzy.
09:56I can barely breathe.
09:58She twisted her fingers into the front of his shirt, lifting her eyes just enough to
10:02catch the light, looking soft and helpless and miserable.
10:05In my past life, watching this would have made me want to shrink into myself and disappear.
10:09Now I only sat still and watched her work.
10:12Callum noticed me looking.
10:13His expression hardened at once.
10:15He tightened his arm around Jenna and turned his face away from me, like even the air on
10:19my side of the carriage disgusted him.
10:21Rowena, stop staring.
10:22Jenna is kind and gentle.
10:23Not that you would know anything about that.
10:25And stop using that face to scare her.
10:26Jenna reached over and touched his arm gently.
10:28Callum, don't.
10:29Lady Rowena probably doesn't mean it.
10:32She knows exactly what she's doing.
10:33She's had it out for you since the moment she saw you.
10:36Maybe she just doesn't like me.
10:38It's alright.
10:38I'm used to it.
10:39That is her problem, not yours.
10:40I don't care what she thinks.
10:42I did not answer.
10:43In my past life, that exchange would have hollowed me out for days.
10:46Now I only filed it away.
10:48Every word.
10:49Every dismissal.
10:50I was keeping track.
10:51At the same time, through the silver sight, I could see what was really happening.
10:55Dark energy was seeping from the coral bracelet on Jenna's wrist, winding along Callum's
11:00collar and pushing inch by inch into the skin at the back of his neck.
11:04She was not dizzy.
11:05She was feeding the serpent.
11:06Callum, the sweet innocent girl you're so desperate to protect, is poisoning you right
11:10now.
11:11And you're holding her tighter.
11:12He pulled her closer and pressed his cheek against the top of her head, completely blind.
11:18By midday, the carriages stopped in front of the Hargreth family's main residence.
11:22This was not Hargreth Hall.
11:24Not the old estate with the serpent gate buried beneath it.
11:27The hall stood deeper inside the grounds, behind a locked inner courtyard that almost never
11:31opened.
11:31This was only where the family lived.
11:33When Jenna stepped down from the carriage, she grabbed the doorbraim, her face going pale,
11:37and sagged into Callum's side.
11:38I'm fine.
11:39Just cold.
11:41My legs feel strange.
11:42Callum wrapped an arm around her at once.
11:44The look he sent me over her shoulder made it clear that somehow this was supposed to
11:47be my fault.
11:48We passed through the front entrance hall.
11:50The moment we crossed the threshold, my silver sight erupted.
11:54Dark serpent energy crawled across every wall and ceiling, coiling and shifting like something
11:59alive.
11:59It hulged at anyone with Hargreth blood, then recoiled the second it touched the silver light
12:04of my mark, shrieking back into the cracks.
12:06Jenna was walking ahead.
12:07I watched her cross the threshold, and I saw the exact moment her shoe came down on the
12:13protection line hidden beneath the doorframe.
12:15It was not an accident.
12:17The movement was too precise.
12:19The line snapped.
12:20The energy that had been held down broke loose all at once, and a wave of freezing air tore
12:25down the corridor like a blade.
12:27Oh God!
12:28Help me!
12:29She stumbled backwards straight into his arms, clean and practiced, like a stage fall.
12:33Callum caught her without even looking.
12:35One arm locked across her chest, and his first words were from me.
12:38Rowena!
12:39What the hell are you doing just standing there?
12:43You're a Whitmore!
12:45You're supposed to handle this!
12:47If Jenna gets hurt because of you, I swear you'll answer for it.
12:52I raised one hand, a silver seal dropped across the corridor, and the serpent energy shrank
12:57back into the walls.
12:58The hallway went still.
13:00I looked at Callum.
13:02You're welcome.
13:03I let the silence stretch for a moment.
13:05Then I lowered my gaze to the broken line on the floor, before slowly lifting my eyes
13:09to Jenna's shoes.
13:10You might want to ask how that line broke in the first place.
13:14Callum's brow tightened.
13:15In his arms, Jenna's eyes filled with tears at once.
13:18Her lower lip trembled as she looked up at him, as if she was the one being attacked.
13:22Callum looked between us and clenched his jaw.
13:25What exactly are you accusing her of?
13:26Nothing.
13:28Just giving you advice.
13:30While you're in this house, pay attention to what's right in front of you.
13:33Then I walked toward the sitting room without looking back.
13:40When we settled into the sitting room, Eleanor came in herself with a tray of peach blossom
13:44tea.
13:45Steam curled slowly from each cup.
13:47You must be exhausted after that ride, sweetheart.
13:50I made this myself.
13:51Drink it while it's hot.
13:53It will calm your nerves.
13:55She had the warmth turned all the way on.
13:56Deep smile lines.
13:58A gentle voice.
13:58Every inch the loving grandmother.
14:00Jenna sat beside Callum.
14:01She picked up his cup first.
14:03Blew on it softly.
14:03And placed it in his hands.
14:05Drink it while it's hot.
14:07It'll warm you up.
14:08In my past life, I fell for all of it.
14:10I drank the tea.
14:11And by nightfall, my silver sight was almost blind.
14:13The poison had worked slowly and silently the whole time.
14:16When I tried to suppress the serpents that night, I kept making the wrong calls and one of them
14:21tore my palm open.
14:22I burned with fever for three days straight.
14:24And Jenna had been there the entire time, smiling sweetly as she added a spoonful of
14:28sugar to my cup.
14:29Something sweet makes everything less bitter, Lady Rowena.
14:31This time, I looked into my cup through the silver sight.
14:34The tea should have been pale amber, but beneath the surface, it was deep crimson.
14:37Something small and dark moved along the bottom.
14:40I picked up the cup and drank most of it.
14:42I let none of it touch me.
14:44Under the cover of my sleeve, I pressed two fingers to my wrist and sealed my throat and
14:48chest with a silver seal.
14:49The poison slammed into the barrier and thrashed like a trapped thing, but it got nowhere.
14:54Jenna kept her eyes on my face the whole time.
14:56She was waiting for my gaze to blur, waiting for the sight to go dark.
15:00When I set the cup down, breathing evenly and looking straight back at her, I saw the
15:04corner of her smile crack.
15:05Just a twitch.
15:07Just one second.
15:08But it was there.
15:09Lucian picked up his own cup, gave it one slow sniff, then turned and poured the whole
15:14thing into the planter beside his chair.
15:16Too sweet.
15:17Hides the taste of rot.
15:19Eleanor's expression flickered.
15:20Calatin's eyes sharpened.
15:22My grandmother made that tea herself.
15:24You want to explain what the hell you're doing?
15:26I just did.
15:27Lucian looked at him calmly.
15:29Callum's face turned ugly.
15:30He was about to snap back when Jenna laid a hand on his arm.
15:33Callum, don't.
15:34We asked them to come here.
15:35It's fine, really.
15:36She said it in that soft, peacemaking voice.
15:39But as she lifted her own cup back to her lips, her eyes slid sideways to me, patient,
15:44calculating, waiting to see something that was never going to happen.
15:48I looked at her and said nothing.
15:50Jenna, I'm just getting started.
15:52Next time, I'll make sure you see it coming.
15:56The welcome dinner that night was exactly the kind of show the Hargroves loved to put on.
16:01Candles stretched down the table.
16:02Silver gleamed at every place setting, and there was more food than anyone could finish.
16:07Jenna sat to...
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