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00:00they threw my sister into a great basin filled with pearls her massive tail glowed blue in the
00:04dark the soldiers potted her body with filthy hands blue scales scattered everywhere they did
00:10not stop not until they cut open her belly not until they reached inside her not until they
00:15tore out the glowing tide pearl hidden within her only then were they satisfied because high
00:19consort celine had heard a rumor that in the southern sea lived the tide born and that every
00:24tide saint carried a legendary tide pearl inside her body a pearl that if embedded within one's
00:29own flesh would grant a beauty that never fades after hearing that celine could think of nothing
00:34else so emperor lucian sent soldiers to slaughter my people just to make her smile they dragged my
00:39sister out cut her open and stole her pearl that day the sea turned red everywhere i looked my people
00:46were floating in the water their bodies split open i hid beneath a reef shaking in silence blood stung
00:53my eyes my tears fell as pearls each one red with hatred and in my ear i could still hear
00:59my sister's
00:59last words mira live the world was told a lie they thought the sea only birthed one heart for my
01:05people they didn't know about me the shadow the spare but they were wrong this generation had two
01:12and one of them was me the one born with a body made to ruin men the one whose flesh
01:17and blood could
01:17raise a thousand brood curses i crawled onto the shore enduring pain so savage it felt like my bones
01:23were being torn apart then i used forbidden blood craft to split my tail into legs i offered my own
01:29flesh and blood as tribute and raised brood curse after brood curse venomous things worms spiders serpents
01:36all feeding on me until one black snake slithered over my wrist its tongue bright red it devoured every other
01:43creature i had raised thousands of them and became the brood king its name was shade from that moment on
01:49i trained without mercy three months later my broodcraft was complete then i made my way to the
01:56capital alone half starved still alive i disguised myself as a court dancer and entered the palace
02:03and with a pouch of blood stained pearls made from my own tears i bought the one thing i needed
02:08most
02:09information on emperor lucian's whereabouts that night moonlight spilled across the lake like silver
02:14i stepped onto the water and danced each touch of my toes sent ripples of pale light across the surface
02:21my scent drifted into the night air sweet soft impossible to ignore soon butterflies came in
02:28swarms drawn to me as if enchanted they circled my body fluttering around me refusing to leave
02:35and emperor lucian stood there watching watching for so long he forgot to hide it when the dance
02:41ended i turned by chance and met his eyes i froze then quickly bent down to put on my shoes
02:47pretending
02:48i had only just noticed him i was about to leave when his voice stopped me you're one of the
02:53palace
02:54dancers that dance was remarkable and yet i've never seen it before i lowered my eyes and answered as if
03:00i did
03:01not know who he was it is a dance from my homeland very few have ever seen it it was
03:07early spring the
03:08wind off the lake was cold my body trembled lightly in the night air he noticed of course he noticed
03:14so
03:15he removed his pale silver robe and draped it over my shoulders himself gently for a moment i looked up
03:21at him in surprise heat rose to my face a blush where he could see it my scent deepened between
03:26us
03:27turning the silence softer warmer more dangerous and i saw it then that flash in his eyes wonder
03:34desire he steadied himself before speaking again selena loves dance her birthday is approaching
03:41you will perform this dance for her i dropped my knees at once letting fear flood my face i did
03:47not
03:47know it was your majesty please forgive me he waved the apology aside rise you are forgiven just do not
03:54disappoint me i bowed my head and accepted the command but as i watched him walk away i moved
04:01one finger just once a tiny broodling slipped through the air landed against his skin and burrowed inside
04:07by the next morning the whole inner court had heard the story the emperor had encountered a dancer by the
04:13lake and he had not forgotten her then came a knock at my door when i opened it an older
04:18palace matron
04:19stood outside a stranger and i knew at once someone had already come for me they brought me before high
04:26consort selene inside her palace hall she sat alone on a raised dais draped in silk and jewels shining like
04:33a woman who believed the world belonged to her it was her the woman who had destroyed my people for
04:38a
04:38single tied pearl the woman who had my sister cut open the moment she saw me disgust twisted across her
04:44face
04:45she let out a soft mocking laugh and covered her mouth with lacquered fingers this ugly thing and you
04:51expect her to dance for me before coming here i had covered my face in dark blotches spots
04:58imperfections a mask made of ugliness selene was viciously jealous if she had seen my real face now
05:04i would not have walked out alive so i knelt in the center of the hall my fingers digging into
05:09my palms
05:10forcing down the hatred clawing up my throat your grace i will dance with a veil over my face
05:16i will not offend your eyes she gave me a lazy wave oh enough with a face like that i
05:22doubt you
05:22could stir trouble even if you tried but since this was his majesty's idea i'll allow it the palace
05:28matron beside her led me out at once and just as i stepped through the doors i saw emperor lucian
05:34approaching our eyes met for only a moment only a glance but the face he saw now was nothing like
05:40the one he had seen by the lake still my scent gave me away it always would he knew at
05:46once this
05:46disguise was a way to stay alive because if selene had seen my face the woman leaving this hall would
05:51have been a corpse at that thought lucian's expression darkened he frowned and for one of the few times in
05:58his life real irritation towards selene stirred in him i smiled faintly to myself that was enough
06:03a single seed of displeasure was all i needed once planted it would take root in his heart
06:09it would grow quietly slowly until it became something vast enough to swallow all this old
06:15devotion and when that day came what would all her favor matter then the higher selene stood the harder
06:21i would make her fall back in my chamber i watched the false blotches from my face and looked at
06:27myself
06:27in the mirror selene you wanted a beauty that would never fade you wanted a body born to seduce you
06:33wanted
06:33to possess what should never have been yours so i will make sure everything you wanted everything
06:39you stole everything you still cling to turns to nothing then shape slid soundlessly around my wrist
06:45his red tongue flicking against the air i stroked his small black head and whispered even in death i will
06:51find you i will hunt you down selene's birthday was celebrated with extravagant splendor overnight the
07:00imperial lake bloomed with lotus flowers thousands of them the court called it a blessing an omen of
07:07favor from the heavens at the lakeside lucien stood hand in hand with selene
07:13your majesty promised me a birthday gift when will you show it to me lucien gave a slight nod the
07:20music
07:21began and i stepped onto the lake onto lotus leaves as if the flowers were blooming beneath my feet
07:29my scent rose again into the air and the butterflies came back in waves they swarmed around me dancing
07:37with me beneath the moonlit sky everyone watching fell silent no one except selene her fingers digging
07:43hard into her own palm then as i turned the veil slipped from my face and my true face was
07:50revealed i
07:51looked straight at selene just once i saw it in her eyes at once jealousy so sharp by the time
07:58the
07:58dance ended no one had recovered enough to speak i walked forward and knelt before lucien my name is
08:06mira i offer my wishes to high consort selena on her birthday may your majesty and your grace remain
08:12devoted to each other until your hair turns white and may the auric empire flourish without end rise
08:21you did not disappoint me selene nearly cracked a tooth from smiling too hard your majesty's gift i like it
08:29very much i'm glad that tiny broodling i had planted in him by the lake was working now quietly twisting
08:39his moods i curled one finger ready to draw it back your majesty why not grant this beauty to me
08:48as a gift between our two kingdoms that is the crown prince of ver the man stepped forward through
08:53the crowd he carried himself like someone used to being obeyed he saluted lucien with the ease of an
08:59equal i greet your majesty i am prince cassian of ver then his gaze settled on me openly without shame
09:08if your majesty is willing to give this beauty to me
09:12i swear our two kingdoms will not see war for a hundred years the moment he said it the whole
09:19court seemed to draw in the breath a century of peace in exchange for one palace dancer one woman
09:24to everyone watching it was an impossible bargain to refuse your majesty for a girl like her to be
09:31sent to veia as a prince's consort would already be a splendid fate lucien said nothing but i could
09:38see it in his face he understood the trade sacrifice one insignificant woman and two kingdoms stay at peace
09:45any ruler should have taken it any ruler would have taken it so why i lifted my face and looked
09:52at him
09:52quietly i had painted a floral marking at the corner of my eyes it made me look softer lucien's
09:58expression shifted like something sharp had gone through him then he said it you're late prince
10:04she's already been claimed she belongs to my bed and my throne celine turned to him so fast it was
10:10almost violent she could barely believe what she had heard cash and looked at me for one long moment
10:17regret flashed across his face then he gave a faint disappointed smile and stepped back the matter was
10:23over for everyone else not for me by then my back was already damp with cold sweat too close far
10:31too
10:31close thank the sea i had not pulled the broodling out of lucien yet if i had there was every
10:37chance i
10:37would have been handed over tonight because peace bought that easily without a single soldier marching
10:42without a single blade drawn is the kind of peace no emperor refuses except this one did in broad
10:49daylight before the whole court lucien declared that i already belonged to him and that very night
10:54the imperial decree arrived i was officially raised to consort i left the small quarters where palace
11:00dancers were kept and looked back only once at the dim roof the narrow door the life i had entered
11:07under
11:07a false name and a hidden face then i swore to myself in silence that everything done to my sister
11:13and everything done to my people would be repaid a hundredfold when i reached the palace chambers
11:19that had just been assigned to me celine was already there waiting her eyes traveled over my face slowly
11:27then she smiled a poisonous smile so you dared lie to me i met her gaze if i hadn't lied
11:35to you do you
11:35really think i would have lived long enough to dance today celine let out a soft laugh she stroked the
11:40cat in her arms as if nothing in the world could disturb her so you do understand me then perhaps
11:47you
11:47also understand this even if his majesty has seen your face even if he's given you a title i can
11:55still
11:55kill you whenever i please i just looked at her so have you already chosen how i die yes a
12:04fire in the
12:04palace consort mirror trapped inside a tragic accident she tilted her head i have been with
12:11the emperor since we were young my father and brother have shed blood for his throne
12:17for a single life like yours he will not blame me her people moved before i could answer they seized
12:24my
12:24arms bound my wrists bound my ankles then threw me to the floor oil was splashed all around me across
12:31the
12:32walls across the drapes across the threshold i could smell it instantly celine stood over me watching
12:39waiting then the first spark fell as the flames caught she laughed his majesty is drunk tonight there
12:46is no one in this palace who can save you then she turned and walked away i watched her go
12:51without a
12:52flicker on my face no fear no pleading nothing only stillness then the fire rose and the guards outside
13:00began clawing at their throats one by one they dropped blood pouring from their mouths their eyes
13:06their noses dead before they hit the ground i stepped out through the flames with shade coiled
13:12in my arms at my feet the insects on the ground shifted and swarm guiding me so i ran through
13:19the
13:19smoke through the heat following their path until i slammed straight into someone's chest i looked up at
13:25the man i had crashed into it was lucian there was still fear in my eyes real enough to be
13:31seen my
13:32lashes were wet my tears trembled there but i would not let them fall lucian pulled me into his arms
13:37at
13:38once held me tight then he looked past me toward the blaze raging in the distance who dared set a
13:45fire
13:45inside my palace find out now i stayed curled against his chest and said nothing because he was not a
13:52fool he knew exactly who had done it this outrage this fury this order to investigate it was a
13:59performance nothing more celine had been with him since youth their bond ran deep and behind her
14:06stood house varon with soldiers power and years of service to the throne why would an emperor truly
14:12punish a woman like that for the sake of a dancer he had only just taken notice of he wouldn't
14:17not yet
14:18so i leaned into him harder and made myself small in his arms your majesty i'm frightened
14:26lucian really had been drinking his face was faintly flushed his breath carried the warmth of
14:31wine and i was exactly the kind of woman a drunken man should never hold too close i had been
14:37born with
14:37a body that unraveled restraint and with the broodling still working inside him the desire in his eyes
14:42began to change slowly then all at once it caught fire without another word he swept me up into his
14:49arms and carried me back to his private chambers i rested against him and said nothing but in my mind
14:56i was already waiting for the next move because once word reached celine that i had escaped the fire
15:02and been carried into lucian's bedchamber she would never let it pass quietly i knew her too well
15:07and i was right i had not been in his chambers long before celine's chief eunuch dropped to his knees
15:13outside your majesty high consort selena is unwell she's in distress she says she wants to see you at
15:21once by then i was dressed in gauze so sheer it had almost nothing i looked at lucian through half
15:27-lidded
15:27eyes and asked in a soft voice your majesty are you going to high consort selena tonight his gaze was
15:35no
15:35longer clear no longer steady he stared at me like a man already half lost with you here beside me
15:41why would i think of anyone else i covered my mouth and let out a quiet laugh there were only
15:46two of us
15:47in the chamber just him and me lucian kept staring at me spellbound his breath was hot against my throat
15:54damp and heavy with wine then without warning his body gave in and he sank into sleep on his forehead
16:01a small fleshy pink broodling was still wriggling deeper beneath the skin i pushed him gently back
16:07onto the bed and pulled the covers over him careful almost tender i've woven you a beautiful dream enjoy
16:15it then i slid the hairpin from my hair and drove the tip into my fingertip a bright bead of
16:20blood welled
16:21up at once i let some of it stain a handkerchief every drop that remained i fed to lucian none
16:27of this
16:27poisoned blood should go to waste not when i made it with my own body not when even a harmless
16:32dose
16:32taken once could become a death sentence over time a little tonight would do nothing a little tomorrow
16:38would do nothing but enough of it day after day and it would kill him slowly quietly perfectly and the
16:46cure there was only one person in this world who could give it me the moon had crossed high overhead
16:52by then silver light spilled through the window and spread across the floor i sat there and counted
16:58the time waiting for selene to make her move then i heard it a faint skittering at the window i
17:04turned
17:04a spider no bigger than a fingernail crouched on the ledge one of many one of the countless little eyes
17:10i had scattered throughout the palace so she was coming i rose at once smoothed out my robe and walked
17:17toward the door selene was already waiting outside the hall not alone behind her stood a wall of eunuchs
17:22and palace mates packed so tightly it barely looked like a midnight visit at all this was not a jealous
17:28woman coming to reclaim a drunken emperor this looked like a siege i stepped out to meet her and
17:34deliberately swept my hair to one side bearing the fresh red marks along my neck moonlight washed over
17:39the stone steps i stood above her looked down and smiled softly his majesty is asleep
17:47you should come back tomorrow the look she gave me was pure venom her face twisted
17:52whore i'll kill you i let my gaze drop to her stomach then i spoke very gently your grace
18:02careful you might upset the baby that stopped her cold for one full second selene forgot how
18:09to breathe lucian had once promised her this bear him the first prince and he would give her the
18:15empress's crown but five years had passed five years of marriage five years of waiting and her womb
18:21had stayed empty every remedy had been tried every physician every secret healer dragged in from the
18:27streets and still nothing no child no heir no crown if she could not produce the emperor's first son soon
18:35the throne beside him would never be hers seethe her drag this bitch away and beat her to death
18:43because i had done the one thing no one else dared do i had named the wound she lived with
18:48named it in
18:49front of everyone and a woman like selene could forgive almost anything except humiliation the eunuchs
18:55lunged for me i shook them off before they could get a proper hold then i looked straight at her
19:00and said
19:01your grace don't be so hasty why not summon the imperial physicians i let the silence stretch then
19:07i gave her the knife one more thing if there really is a child to protect i'm the only one
19:13who can keep
19:13it alive selene was reclining in a side chamber half draped across a cushioned chaise while several
19:18imperial physicians knelt before her she rested her head against one hand her eyes were heavy
19:23with exhaustion when she spoke impatience sharpened every word well am i pregnant or not
19:29the physicians lowered themselves even further your grace your pulse clearly indicates pregnancy
19:37for a moment selene did not move then she rose too quickly from the chaise all disbelief gone from
19:43her face there were tears in her eyes actual tears truly her voice trembled when she said it
19:49careful fragile as if she were afraid even hope might hear her and disappear i watched her quietly and
19:56thought so this is what she looks like this woman who always stood above everyone else who moved
20:02through the palace as if the world owed her obedience even she could become this cautious
20:06this desperate then she looked at me remembering what i had said outside and asked the question she
20:12wanted answered most one physician bowed low and replied at once from the pulse alone there is no sign of
20:21danger that made her smile but the moment her eyes shifted back to me the smile turned murderous i'm
20:28carrying an air now i should avoid bloodshed but you offend my eyes and i would sleep better if you
20:35were dead
20:37with one command the eunuchs at her side rushed forward and seized my arms hard enough to bruise
20:43they started dragging me away i moved one fingertip that was all and selene suddenly clutched her stomach
20:49and cried out in pain the room froze the physicians lunged forward at once and took her pulse again
20:55this time their faces changed one after another their brows nodded then all of them dropped to their
21:02knees your grace spare us these are signs of miscarriage that was when panic finally broke through
21:08selene's face drained white she had waited years for this child years and she had only just heard the
21:14words she wanted most pregnant how could she be losing it already how at last she looked at me
21:21and through clenched teeth she said two words you come here if you cannot save this child i will wipe
21:31out your entire bloodline i looked at her twisted vicious face and dug my nails hard into my palm my
21:39entire
21:39bloodline she really had no idea my people were already dead slaughtered every last one of them i
21:46was the only one who crawled back out of that hell alive the only one left to come for her
21:51i stepped
21:52forward and inserted a few needles into her body carefully one point then another selene's breathing
21:59began to slow the strain in her face eased little by little when the physicians checked her pulse again
22:04they found it calm steady the child was safe at least that was what they believed the truth
22:11i knew nothing about medicine and selene was not pregnant not at all that night she came to burn me
22:17alive i had planted a brood curse inside her quietly without her noticing that broodling could mimic
22:23the pulse of pregnancy perfectly it could fool physicians fool the court fool even the mother carrying
22:29it in the later stages it would do even more make her swear she could feel a child turning inside
22:35her
22:35while she smiled and dreamed of an heir the thing inside her would be feeding draining her
22:40taking what it needed from her body day and night
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