- 12 minutes ago
The Serpent Lord's Substitute Bride Hd Series
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Short filmTranscript
00:04my 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
00:14monstrous that same night house by theorists delivers a bonding contract sealed with a
00:19serpent wax crest they want the shifter woman who crafted the elixir as their heir's bride
00:23my betrothed edmund panics he rushes through a bonding ritual with dahlia overnight by morning
00:28it is done dahlia sways toward me and flashes the silver wolf shaped mating mark glowing on the
00:33small of her back your betrothed belongs to me now his mark is on my skin whatever will you do
00:39sister
00:40she tilts her head that syrup sweet voice your 25th name day is three days away the crown council will
00:46assign you to one of those brutes from the borderlands you know what those men are like
00:50she is wrong i have another option i find father and mother in the great hall scrambling to clean up
00:56dahlia's mess if dahlia won't marry the heir of house vithus i will father's hand freezes midair
01:02the bonding contract trembling between his fingers mother's eyes blow wide elevin have you lost your
01:07mind lord severin is rumored to be barren bloodthirsty savage they say he nearly tore out a servant's
01:14throat when he went feral marrying him is walking into a death trap before i can answer father clears
01:20his throat if she doesn't go what about dahlia she's already bonded to the gray hollow boy
01:25something shifts behind mother's eyes a flicker of conflict and her hand slowly releases mine my
01:30heart goes cold i am their true-born daughter and still always they choose the girl who plays
01:34helpless a bitter laugh scrapes out of me but i have one condition on the day i leave this house
01:41dahlia will confess before all the houses that she stole my elixir father slams his palm on the table
01:47how can you be so cruel you would destroy your own sister's reputation mother stares at me with the
01:52disappointment as if i am the problem the serpent lord wants the alchemist who made that era your
01:59precious dahlia can keep the credit or keep her comfortable life she can't have both they cave for
02:05dahlia of course they do i turn and walk out without hesitation and nearly collide with edmund stepping out
02:11of dahlia's chambers red marks trail down his neck and chest the cloying scent of dahlia's rose oil clings
02:16to him so thick it burns my nostrils i cover my nose and move to pass him he scrambles to
02:21block my path
02:22oh i know you're angry but i had no choice the serpent court is possessive beyond reason
02:27only 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
02:42reason to postpone again and again i am nearly 25 now and he chose this moment to bond with her
02:47two paths stretch before me the conscripted match or the serpent lord nothing else guilt flashes
02:52across edmund's face he seizes my hand i won't let the conscripted match take you listen i can have
02:59a thrall span 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
03:10i treat
03:11you the same as dahlia you want for nothing i almost laugh the audacity only shifters convicted
03:16of serious crimes those with nowhere left to turn except the thrall brand a branded person can be sold
03:22by their house at will they live beneath everyone and their children inherit that status forever
03:26i rip my hand free i would sooner walk into a serpent's jaws than wear your brand at least the
03:32serpent doesn't pretend to love me while he devours me edmund's face darkens wounded pride twisting
03:36into something ugly elowen don't you love me is your pride really worth more than being with me
03:42i fire back without missing a beat oh then why don't you make dahlia the thrall that would save
03:48her just 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
04:00soft fragile born looking like something that needs protection and i am the last nine-tailed fox
04:05shifter 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
04:15it all falls on me because i look like i can take it edmund flinches at the scorn in my
04:20eyes
04:20shame curdles into anger and he throws one last line over his shoulder as he leaves think it over el
04:25you know as well as i do you have no other options after he is gone i drift downstairs in
04:31a daze and find
04:32delivery from house vithyrus waiting for me i open the box my breath catches a moonstone pendant the
04:37exact one i lost at auction during the last merchant's gala warmth spreads through my chest
04:41unbidden maybe marrying lord severin isn't a death sentence after all the next day i go to a goldsmith's
04:47workshop in crown city to choose a return gift for severin his beast form is a green-eyed black serpent
04:52i pick a cloak pin shaped like a coiled snake black silver base two emerald eyes i allow myself a
04:57grim bit
04:58of humor at least house vithyrus commands more wealth and power than nearly anyone in eldrath
05:02what exactly do i have to complain about oh my how duplexulous of you sister
05:09you claim you'd never be edmund's thralth yet here you are spending a fortune on his name day gift
05:15such devotion i could never be so clever dahlia stands there with edmund's arm linked through hers
05:20wearing a victor's smile that is when i remember today is edmund's name day they think i bought this for
05:24him so much for your pride you're bending the knee to avoid the conscripted match after all
05:30that one is hideous get me a wolf silver with gray eyes something worthy of my house this is for
05:36my
05:36betrothed it has nothing to do with you still putting on a brave face you're nearly 25 the decree
05:44takes effect in three days stop pretending you have choices push me further and i won't even offer you the
05:52brand edmund darling the thralls hall is right there i can't bear seeing my poor sister living in such
06:00dread why don't we take care of it today you 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
06:22shifter'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
06:32the 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
06:52iron nothing soft about her now let me pick out a nice brand for you sister her gaze sweeps the
06:57wall
06:57it lands on one iron etched with a broken chain the lowest rank it means never free this one suits
07:03you
07:03best don't you think sister i wrench free from the guards i haven't even touched dahlia but she throws
07:09herself backward acting as though i shoved her the branding iron clatters to the floor a single
07:13spark raises the back of her hand not even a mark i only wanted to help you avoid the conscripted
07:19match
07:19and you tried to burn me
07:23before 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 i tear
07:35my hand free from the burning surface and a new pain explodes across my face edmund's open palm full
07:40force the crack echoes through the entire thrall hall how could you do this to her she begged me to
07:45help you and this is how you repay her apologize to dalany now edmund my hand it hurts so much
07:58the moment i see that cloak my heart seizes a foxtail cloak made from my eight severed tails
08:05before 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
08:22force 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 him where he doesn't
08:35expect how dare you stop
08:46who dare touch her
08:54my eyes open through the narrow slits of the mask a pair of deep emerald eyes vertical pupils
09:00unmistakably serpent a faint otherworldly gleam i think of the emeralds on that cloak pin he sets me
09:06down on a stone bench in a nearby courtyard before i can speak he vanishes around the corner i look
09:10down
09:11a small jar of healing salve sits in my palm i don't know when he placed it there
09:14across the street edmund tenderly smooths dahlia's windswept hair murmuring comfort
09:19a cold smile tugs at my lips i reach for the bonding ring i've carried at my waist
09:23the one i'd planned to return to him i walk to the edge of the city wall
09:26without a moment's hesitation i hurl it into the churning river below
09:29two days later i put on the bonding gown sent by house by theorists
09:32i stand in my room surrounded by a dowry so extravagant it doesn't feel real father and
09:37mother shuffle in they ask voices halting eyes averted if maybe dahlia doesn't have to confess
09:41publicly maybe they could call it a misunderstanding save her some face for the honor of our house
09:47elinden the last illusion i held about them shatters my dowry i prepared it myself for years
09:52i made excuses for them they forgot they were busy they'd remember eventually they didn't remember a
09:57dowry for their own daughter but they remembered to come beg on behalf of their favorite no and if you
10:02push me further i won't go through with it at all let's see how house virion responds to that
10:07you wouldn't dare a commotion erupts from the great hall below i descend the stairs to find edmund
10:13sprawled in the great hall's main chair like it is a throne a glowing red branding iron rests in his
10:17hand elevin the conscripted match takes effect in 30 minutes but since you're here perfect you know the
10:24rules for a thrust before the brand comes the right kneel kiss dahlia's hand and renounce your
10:29freedom before everyone in this hall do that and i'll take you into grey holland edmund's gaze
10:34drops to my bonding gown he freezes for half a second then his brow furrows why are you dressed
10:39like that you think putting on a gown makes you a bride take it off you're embarrassing yourself i
10:43hold his stare i steady i'm completing my bonding today edmund to someone who actually wants me you're
10:48not invited his expression shifts then snaps back into that benefactor's mask every second you waste i add
10:54another hour on your knees time is running out l i don't mind having someone help you down
11:01and if you won't kneel on your own gray hollow retainers step out from every corner in full view
11:06of the hall they reach for my bonding gown hands closing around my arms to force me to my knees
11:11no edmund i told you today is my bonding i'd like to see anyone in this room try to make
11:18my wife kneel
11:21edmund's eyes go wide the serpent-shaped cloak pin glints at severin's collar bold unmistakable edmund's
11:27gaze climbs to the serpent patterned mask then to the man behind it the branding iron slips from his
11:32hand and rings against the stone floor you you're the heir of house vitherus what do you mean the
11:37contract was for dahlia she's already bonded to me what are you doing here severin reaches up peels the
11:43mask 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
12:10he 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
12:41and mother stare at her as if they're seeing her for the first time a cold laugh escapes me dahlia
12:46has always been this person they were just too blinded by their own favoritism to notice severin
12:51clicks 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 air 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
13:14refuse but in eldrath refusing a truth trial is the same as a guilty plea every eye in the hall
13:20is on
13:20her dahlia's scream dissolves into sobs tears pour down the picture of helplessness edmund
13:26help me she's going to kill me edmund charges forward face ashen but the vithyrus guards form a wall
13:32between them severin's gaze lands on him cold as winter stone if she's innocent the circle will
13:37prove it unless you already know she isn't edmund's feet root to the floor a terrible certainty begins
13:44to take 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
13:54her 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
14:05applauded 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
14:21off yourself
14:22edmund's temple pulses his whole body trembles but all he does is step back like someone pulled the bones
14:27out of him you everything all of it was he can't finish dahlia's venom swings toward father and
14:33mother and you two pathetic old fools did you really think the carriage accident was just bad luck i cut
14:39the reins i watched the carriage go off the road then i ran down the hill screaming for help and
14:44you
14:44you thanked me you took me in the carriage accident years ago the very reason father and mother adopted
14:49the homeless grateful little girl named dahlia all of it staged from the start father's face turns the
14:54color of ash he sways a servant catches him mother's eyes where tenderness lived moments ago flood with
15:00raw consuming hatred she lunges forward and strikes dahlia across the face twice you treacherous ungrateful
15:07wretch the hall erupts into chaos i watch it all the truth laid bare at last and feel nothing the
15:13satisfaction i expected doesn't come severin senses the shift in me his hand tightens around mine
15:19come home with me elowen i'll be your family now
15:25okay 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
15:35always 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
15:41visible 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 crumbles i don't linger on
15:53it i 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
16:02and screams after the departing carriage el i won't give up i'll do the severing i'll break the bond i'll
16:10come back to you
16:13severin 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
16:25every petal every stamen impossibly lifelike not a grain of pollen in the air i am still wondering how
16:31severin knows my preferences when a wolf howl pierces through the walls a servant reports a massive
16:37wolf in feral shift is clawing at the castle's iron gate i pause shifters only trigger a full
16:42shift 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
16:52just
16:53find it absurd you don't get to go mad over something you threw away severin and i exchange bonding
16:58vows before the gathered witnesses the moment his hand takes mine the serpent-shaped mating mark on my
17:03palm and the nine-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
17:31trapped as our carriage disappears down the road bonding night the master chamber just the two of
17:37us i study his face without the mask my cheeks flush before i can stop it every rumor about you
17:43is wrong severin removes the silver pins and gemstones from my hair one by one his fingers move so gently
17:49they don't belong to a man called savage what rumors that you're savage hideous and a soft laugh
17:58baron 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 his
18:13voice drops low we stop whenever you say i have waited seven years i can wait seven more something in
18:20those eyes undoes me i nod shy and breathless you don't have to hold back it is not until the
18:26bonding
18:27ritual 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 our mating
18:45marks blaze to life in unison a massive wave of emotion crashes into me not mine his pure feeling
18:51seven years of solitude seven years of longing and one moment lying half dead in the mud barely
18:56breathing when a pair of warm hands lifted him up and his whole world shifted on its axis i cry
19:01severin stops immediately alarm all over his face he thinks he hurt me i shake my head it takes five
19:12full days for the bond to stabilize i nearly trigger a full shift my ears and tail popping out uncontrollably
19:18again and again i peel myself off the bed legs shaking lower back aching and hear a commotion
19:24outside i push open the window and look down edmund kneels at the castle gate a massive bouquet of roses
19:29clutched to his chest a maid sweeping the corridor tells me he has been there for five days two rainstorms
19:34hit during that time he knelt through both the only thing he asked for was someone to swap out the
19:39wilted roses for fresh ones all i feel is irritation who is this performance for i have a new life
19:44edmund's self-righteous penance is nothing but noise i reach for the curtain and a body with
19:49cooler than normal temperature presses against my back what are you looking at severin peers over my
19:54shoulder sees the scene below his brow creases he just won't go away will he at that exact moment
20:00edmund looks up as 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
20:11i 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
20:23his voice nothing comes out i expect edmund to give up instead he is at the gate again the next
20:28day
20:28and the next i can't take it anymore i go down to face him edmund has lost significant weight pale
20:34dark
20:34hollows under his eyes his robes hang loose on a frame that used to fill them the moment he sees
20:39me he
20:39fumbles at his collar yanking it aside to bear the back of his neck where dahlia'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
20:50desperate eager smile el i did the severing ritual the mark is gone i'm clean now we can start over
20:58the severing ritual 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
21:08table and the
21:09mark goes deep down to muscle and bone removing it completely means cutting away an entire section
21:14of flesh i look at the mangled mess of his neck surprised he went this far but only surprised
21:18nothing more my silence gives him hope he pulls out two severed pieces i look closer a silver
21:26gray wolf tail a white rabbit tail anguish contorts his face i'm sorry el i was a monster i understand
21:33now
21:34i understand what you went through i severed my own tail and hers to atone forgive me i'll spend the
21:42rest of my life making it up to you nothing stirs inside me not a ripple their tails are gone
21:47do mine
21:48grow back a nine-tailed fox's tails once severed never regenerate ever eight lives gone forever
21:54edmund if you truly want to make amends stop coming here stop making your guilt my burden to carry
22:00i am bonded to severin we are happy you're lying how could you bond with someone else
22:08edmund runs to his 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
22:19out of his hands petals explode across the cobblestones severin stands between us his emerald
22:25slit pupils have contracted to razor thin lines edmund snarls what gives you the right to kick away my
22:31flowers severin's voice cuts like a blade dipped in frost you claim to love her yet you bring her the
22:36one thing that makes her suffer how very consistent of you the blood drains from edmund's face
22:44i'm sorry el 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
22:59them i am allergic to pollen father mother edmund none of them believed me they decided i was making
23:04it up to spite dahlia i spent years getting dragged to the healers ward every other week because of those
23:08flowers i look at edmund hollowed out unraveling and feel nothing warm at all you cut eight tails from
23:14my 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
23:39severin vitharis i challenge me to an honor duel for elevin an honor duel in eldrath when a shifter
23:46believes 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
23:57severin barely tries to certain speed erases every advantage the wolf has
24:01each of edmund's lunges hits empty air nothing but a calm sidestep
24:10one 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 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
24:40look just one then i walk to severin and press my fingers to the scales that have surfaced along his
24:44neck 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 i take his hand
24:57i don't look back dot edmund watches from the ground the way she touches severin's face
25:01the way her eyes soften she has never looked at him like that not once the next i hear of
25:05edmund is
25:06three days later after the honor duel he was carried to the healer's ward unconscious for a
25:11full day and night before waking this time he drops the desperate siege tactics instead he starts
25:15appearing at every place i frequent engineering coincidences the herb market in crown city the
25:21alchemy workshops even the small towns near serpents reach severin's seeds he stays glued to my side
25:27and every time he senses edmund nearby his pupils narrow to vertical slits a clear unmistakable warning
25:33until one day severin and i attend the gathering of houses the annual formal assembly of all the
25:38blood houses severin needs to discuss territory matters with allied house representatives we separate
25:43briefly i sit alone at a long table in the corner of the banquet hall picking at a slice of
25:47cake
25:47when a shadow falls over me i look up edmund stands in front of me i have no idea when
25:52he got
25:53this close i stand to leave how did i never notice how revolting he is the contempt in my eyes
25:57wounds
25:58him he calls out voice shaking oh i'm not here to bother you i just thought you should know severin
26:05went into the east tower with a woman just now my step falters i glance instinctively toward where
26:11severin was sitting only his allied house representative remains drinking alone edmund moves closer he does
26:17this right under your nose and you're still going to stay with him my brow furrows that's between me
26:23and my husband it has nothing to do with you logic tells me severin would never but the unease claws
26:28in
26:28anyway edmund fans the flames already climbing the spiral staircase of the east tower top of the east
26:34tower see for yourself i follow before i realize i'm doing it barely 15 minutes of climbing but it feels
26:40like an eternity what if severin really my thoughts tangle before i know it i'm standing in front of the
26:46tower chamber door edmund's face is a light he reaches for the handle the door opens from the
26:51inside first get out whoever sent you tell them i've waited seven years for my wife no one is taking
26:56that from me a scantily dressed shifter woman stumbles out of the room thrown not walking severin
27:01stands in the doorway his expression is dark enough to bruise his clothes are perfectly intact the moment
27:06he sees me the ice cracks gone in a blink elevin i didn't touch her someone slipped a lust
27:12rasp into my mead i saw through it serpent blood is immune to poisons i played along to draw them
27:18out he tugs his collar open you don't believe me check for yourself there isn't a mark on me that
27:23isn't yours i catch his hands before he can strip any further a laugh escapes me i believe you keep
27:29your
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
27:47then 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
27:57herself into edmund's arms i look closer she is delia the hall drops into dead silence then the
28:07whispers begin dahlia doesn't care about appearances she wails at full volume in front of every bloodhouse
28:13representative in eldrath spilling everything this is how i learn what happened after the truth trial
28:17edmund severed dahlia's tail threw her out of gray hollow father and mother cut her off entirely bolted
28:23doors of thornfield manor and ignored every plea for weeks dahlia begged for scraps at the edges of
28:28market towns then her belly started to swell that is when she realized edmund tries to pry her off she
28:34locks her arms around his legs like a drowning woman gripping driftwood this child is her only leverage
28:39her only way back every house representative in the room watches the spectacle with open amusement
28:44gray hollow's disgrace served fresh lord gray hollow the elder arrives face carved from stone
28:49to salvage what little dignity remains he forces the issue
28:52for the honor of house gray holland take her home as they drag dahlia out she twists around
28:58for one last look at me the jealousy and bitterness in her eyes warp her features into something barely
29:02human back at serpent's reach severin draws a hot bath for me his fingertips trace along my neck and
29:08shoulders the serpent blood runs cool and somehow that coolness unwinds every knot in my muscles
29:14when you threw that woman out you said you'd you'd waited seven years for your wife what did you mean
29:20a long pause when he speaks his expression is more open than i've ever seen it i've been in love
29:26with
29:26you for seven years do you remember years ago in the deep forest you found a small black serpent
29:30half dead in the mud that was me my enemies had hunted me down i was wounded feral trapped in
29:36my beast form
29:37you saved me with your elixirs i was dying and then you appeared you didn't flinch you picked up a
29:43venos
29:43a serpent with your bare hands and poured your elixirs into its mouth i think i think i fell for
29:48you before i even knew your name by the time i found you again you were already promised to someone
29:53else i stare at him duck that little black snake was you all these years i thought it was just
29:58a wild
29:58serpent i never imagined i'd accidentally saved the heir of house vithyrus a thought strikes me the man in
30:04the serpent mask at the runaway carriage that was you severin nod was me i was late that day
30:12i should have been there sooner i couldn't stop them from hurting your hand his healing salve worked
30:18flawlessly not even a scar i step forward and wrap my arms around him severin he freezes color floods his
30:25face racing down his neck he presses my hand to his cheek and holds it there and the light in
30:29his eyes
30:30is so bright he can barely contain it again please after that confession severin becomes impossibly
30:37clingy he caches in every unused rest day he has accumulated over the years and takes me across eldra
30:42the warm coastline near serpent's reach the eastern mountain passes hidden valleys i've only read about
30:48in books with no sign of edmund for once we have the sweetest stretch of days i can remember one
30:54winter
30:54night i find severin curled by the fireplace serpent blood runs cold the chill hits him harder than most
31:00i walk over and wrap my single remaining tail around him he stiffens you don't have to i want to
31:07he
31:07says nothing more just buries his face in the fur and lets his breathing slow that tail keeping him
31:12warm and the eight made into a cloak they're the same thing the difference is one was taken the other
31:17is given rumors about gray hollow drift in from time to time dahlia and edmund fight constantly two people
31:23who despise each other chained together by an unborn child a kind of forever i suppose i think the worst
31:29is
31:29behind me that i can finally have peace i am wrong dahlia and edmund argue on the courtyard steps at
31:39shoving turns to stumbling dahlia falls the child is gone with her last scrap of value erased
31:45lord 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
32:06like the baby's death is just another obstacle cleared from his path i open my mouth to respond
32:10and 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
32:23and
32:24i'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 launches
32:44an investigation dahlia's testimony from the truth trial is formally prosecuted eight counts
32:49of coercing alohan into severing her tails attempted enslavement of a bonded mate as thrall and years of
32:54systematic abuse against alohan edmund is stripped of his noble title and confined to the royal dungeon
32:59three years later through relentless work i become the most respected alchemist in eldrath the crown
33:04council awards me the title of master alchemist severin and i have twins our daughter inherits
33:08my bloodline nine fluffy little tails a true nine-tailed fox flower son inherits severin's a
33:13pair of tiny emerald slit pupils the barren heir of house vitherus rumor dies on its own a new one
33:18takes its place severin vitherus does whatever his wife tells him during this time father and mother
33:22send 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
33:32lawn the twins naming ceremony nearly every blood house sends a representative gifts arrive in an
33:36endless stream severin and i are playing with the children when a servant approaches carrying an
33:41enormous gift box from a visitor not on the guest list he delivered it and left no name
33:46open the box inside rare gemstones enchanted artifacts and a document exclusive trade rights
33:52to the two wealthiest counties in gray hollow territory at the very bottom beneath everything
33:56sits a ring the bonding ring i hurled from the city wall into the river he found it pulled it
34:01from the
34:01riverbed dot but the ring lost its meaning a long time ago i close the box and rewrap it have
34:06a rider
34:06return this to grey hover and have him deliver a message tell him i bear him no hatred i pause
34:13but we
34:13are done we have always been done after the servant leaves severin wraps his arms around me from behind
34:20his chin rests on my shoulder are you all right i'm fine i lean back into him
34:28i'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
34:39a faint itch prickles at the small of my back i look down next to my single remaining tail
34:44a tuft of new fur pale as spider silk almost invisible i go still i don't tell anyone
34:49i just smile and hold my daughter a little closer
34:52a tuft of new fur pale as spider
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