- 6 hours ago
The Serpent Lord's Substitute Bride
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Short filmTranscript
00:00He rushes through a bonding ritual with Dahlia overnight.
00:02By morning, it is done.
00:04Dahlia sways toward me and flashes the silver wolf-shaped mating mark,
00:07glowing on the small of her back.
00:08Your betrothed belongs to me now.
00:11His mark is on my skin.
00:13Whatever will you do, sister?
00:15She tilts her head, that syrup-sweet voice.
00:17Your 25th name day is three days away.
00:20The Crown Council will assign you to one of those brutes from the Borderlands.
00:24You know what those men are like?
00:25She is wrong.
00:26I have another option.
00:27I find Father and Mother in the Great Hall, scrambling to clean up Dahlia's mess.
00:31If Dahlia won't marry the heir of House Vythus, I will.
00:36Father's hand freezes mid-air, the bonding contract trembling between his fingers.
00:40Mother's eyes blow wide.
00:41Elevin, have you lost your mind?
00:42Lord Severin is rumored to be barren, bloodthirsty, savage.
00:46They say he nearly tore out a servant's throat when he went feral.
00:51Marrying him is walking into a death trap.
00:53Before I can answer, Father clears his throat.
00:55If she doesn't go, what about Dahlia?
00:57She's already bonded to the Grey Hollow boy.
01:00Something shifts behind Mother's eyes.
01:02A flicker of conflict, and her hand slowly releases mine.
01:05My heart goes cold.
01:06I am their true-born daughter, and still always they choose the girl who plays helpless.
01:10A bitter laugh scrapes out of me.
01:12But I have one condition.
01:14On the day I leave this house, Dahlia will confess before all the houses that she stole my elixir.
01:20Father slams his palm on the table.
01:22How can you be so cruel?
01:23You would destroy your own sister's reputation!
01:26Mother stares at me with the same disappointment, as if I am the problem.
01:29The serpent lord wants the alchemist who made that era.
01:33Your precious Dahlia can keep the credit, or keep her comfortable life.
01:38She can't have both.
01:39They cave for Dahlia.
01:41Of course they do.
01:42I turn and walk out without hesitation, and nearly collide with Edmund stepping out of Dahlia's
01:46chambers.
01:47Red marks trail down his neck and chest.
01:49The cloying scent of Dahlia's rose oil clings to him so thick it burns my nostrils.
01:53I cover my nose and move to pass him.
01:55He scrambles to block my path.
01:56El, I know you're angry, but I had no choice.
02:00The serpent court is possessive beyond reason.
02:02Only a completed bond could make him abandon his claim on her.
02:05There was no other way.
02:06A bitter smile cuts across my lips.
02:08And what about me?
02:10We were supposed to complete our bonding ritual when I turned 20.
02:13But every time the ceremony drew near, Dahlia found a reason to cry, and Edmund found a
02:17reason to postpone.
02:18Again and again.
02:19I am nearly 25 now, and he chose this moment to bond with her.
02:22Two paths stretch before me.
02:23The conscripted match.
02:25Or the serpent lord.
02:26Nothing else.
02:26Guilt flashes across Edmund's face.
02:28He seizes my hand.
02:29I won't let the conscripted match take you.
02:33Listen, I can have a thrallspan put on you.
02:35You'd live in Grey Hollow under my protection.
02:37You wouldn't have to marry anyone.
02:39He sees my expression change and rushes to add.
02:41It would only be in name.
02:44Once you're at Grey Hollow, I treat you the same as Dahlia.
02:46You want for nothing.
02:48I almost laugh.
02:49The audacity, only shifters convicted of serious crimes.
02:52Those with nowhere left to turn, except the thrall brand.
02:55A branded person can be sold by their house at will.
02:58They live beneath everyone, and their children inherit that status forever.
03:01I rip my hand free.
03:02I would sooner walk into a serpent's jaws than wear your brand.
03:06At least the serpent doesn't pretend to love me while he devours me.
03:09Edmund's face darkens wounded pride twisting into something ugly.
03:12Elowen! Don't you love me? Is your pride really worth more than being with me?
03:17I fire back without missing a beat.
03:19Oh. Then why don't you make Dahlia the thrall?
03:22That would save her just as well.
03:23Dahlia? A thrall? She couldn't survive it. She's too delicate, too gentle.
03:28She deserves to be cherished, not branded.
03:31Years of swallowed grief surge upward. My vision blurs.
03:34Because Dahlia is hairkin, soft, fragile. Born looking like something that needs protection.
03:38And I am the last nine-tailed fox shifter in all of Eldrath.
03:42Strong, resilient, supernaturally fast to heal. Carrying nine lives.
03:45So father and mother favor her. And my own betrothed pities her.
03:49Every hurt, every sacrifice, it all falls on me. Because I look like I can take it.
03:53Edmund flinches at the scorn in my eyes.
03:55Shame curdles into anger, and he throws one last line over his shoulder as he leaves.
03:59Think it over, El. You know as well as I do, you have no other options.
04:04After he is gone, I drift downstairs in a daze and find a delivery from
04:07House Vytheris waiting for me. I open the box. My breath catches.
04:10A moonstone pendant. The exact one I lost at auction during the last merchant's gala.
04:14Warmth spreads through my chest, unbidden. Maybe marrying Lord Severin isn't a death sentence after
04:19all. The next day, I go to a goldsmith's workshop in Crown City to choose a return gift for Severin.
04:24His beast form is a green-eyed black serpent. I pick a cloak pin shaped like a coiled snake.
04:29Black silver base. Two emerald eyes. I allow myself a grim bit of humor.
04:33At least House Vytheris commands more wealth and power than nearly anyone in Eldrath.
04:37What exactly do I have to complain about?
04:39Oh my. How duplecialess of you, sister.
04:44You claim you'd never be Edmund's thralth, yet here you are spending a fortune on his name day gift.
04:49Such devotion, I could never be so clever.
04:52Dahlia stands there with Edmund's arm linked through hers, wearing a victor's smile.
04:56That is when I remember. Today is Edmund's name day. They think I bought this for him.
04:59So much for your pride. You're bending the knee to avoid the conscripted match after all.
05:05That one is hideous. Get me a wolf. Silver. With grey eyes. Something worthy of my house.
05:10This is for my betrothed. It has nothing to do with you.
05:14Still putting on a brave face? You're nearly 25. The decree takes effect in three days.
05:21Stop pretending you have choices. Push me further, and I won't even offer you the brand.
05:28Edmund, darling. The thralls hall is right there.
05:32I can't bear seeing my poor sister living in such dread. Why don't we take care of it today?
05:37You really are too kind, Dahlia. Well? Go on.
05:48Inside the thrall hall, the central branding forge burns with an eternal flame. Rows of branding irons
05:53hang on the walls, each etched with a different rank symbol. A glowing red iron presses into a
05:57shifter's flesh. Even the strongest male shifter in the room screams raw, animal broken. Edmund flinches
06:02at the sound, but he still lets Dahlia direct the houseguards to drag me deeper inside. In that moment,
06:07the Edmund who shielded me as a child, the boy who never let anyone lay a finger on me,
06:11feels like something I imagined. He is 13, standing between me and danger, eyes bright and fierce.
06:16Touch her again.
06:21Again, and I'll shift right here. That boy doesn't exist anymore. Dahlia's grip
06:26locks around my arm like iron. Nothing soft about her now. Let me pick out a nice brand for you,
06:30sister. Her gaze sweeps the wall. It lands on one iron etched with a broken chain, the lowest rank.
06:35It means never free. This one suits you best. Don't you think, sister?
06:40I wrench free from the guards. I haven't even touched Dahlia, but she throws herself backward,
06:44acting as though I shoved her. The branding iron clatters to the floor.
06:48A single spark grazes the back of her hand, not even a mark.
06:51I only wanted to help you avoid the conscripted match, and you tried to burn me!
06:58Before I can react, Edmund charges in. He slams into me. My body hits the edge of the branding
07:03forge. My palm presses flat against scorching metal. Pain crashes through me like a wave.
07:08I can't breathe. I tear my hand free from the burning surface, and a new pain explodes across
07:12my face. Edmund's open palm, full force. The crack echoes through the entire thrall hall.
07:17How could you do this to her? She begged me to help you, and this is how you repay her?
07:22Apologize to Dalany. Now!
07:26Edmund, my hand, it hurts so much.
07:33The moment I see that cloak, my heart seizes. A foxtail cloak made from my eight severed tails.
07:40Before all this, Dahlia engineered crisis after crisis. Slashing her own skin. Faking collapse.
07:46Performing death's door so convincingly that everyone believed only my life force could save her.
07:50And I am a nine-tailed fox. Each tail holds one life. Under Edmund's pressure,
07:55I severed eight tails. Transferred my life force to Dahlia eight times. Eight lives. It still wasn't
08:00enough. I did nothing wrong. And I will not apologize. Edmund's pupils contract.
08:07Something in my defiance cuts him where he doesn't expect. How dare you! Stop!
08:21Who dare touch her?
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