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The Serpent Lord's Substitute Bride - ENGSUB Hot HD
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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
00:19wax 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
01:26mother'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
01:36of 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
01:54the 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 oh 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
02:29abandon 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
02:45now
02:46and he chose this moment to bond with her two paths stretch before me the conscripted match or
02:50the 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's band put on you you'd live in gray hollow
03:02under my 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
03:39you 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 years of
03:57swallowed grief surge upward my vision blurs because dahlia is hairkin soft fragile born looking like
04:03something that needs protection and i am the last nine-tailed fox shifter in all of eldrath strong
04:08resilient supernaturally fast to heal carrying nine lives so father and mother favor her and my own
04:13betrothed pities her every hurt every sacrifice it all falls on me because i look like i can take it
04:18edmund flinches at the scorn in my eyes shame curdles into anger and he throws one last line over his
04:23shoulder as he leaves think it over l you know as well as i do you have no other options
04:29after he is gone
04:30i drift downstairs in a daze and find a delivery from house vithyrus waiting for me i open the box
04:35my breath catches a moonstone pendant the exact one i lost at auction during the last merchant's
04:40gala warmth spreads through my chest unbidden maybe marrying lord severin isn't a death sentence after
04:45all the next day i go to a goldsmith's workshop in crown city to choose a return gift for severin
04:50his beast form is a green-eyed black serpent i pick a cloak pin shaped like a coiled snake black
04:55silver
04:55base two emerald eyes i allow myself a grim bit of humor at least house vithyrus commands more
05:00wealth 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
05:13a fortune 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 they
05:24think i bought this for him so much for your pride you're bending the knee to avoid the conscripted match
05:29after all that one is hideous get me a wolf silver with gray eyes something worthy of my house this
05:36is for my betrothed it has nothing to do with you still putting on a brave face you're nearly 25
05:42the
05:44decree takes effect in three days stop pretending you have choices push me further and i won't even offer
05:52you the brand edmund darling the thralls hall is right there i can't bear seeing my poor sister
06:00living in such dread why don't we take care of it today you really are too kind dahlia well go
06:09on
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 clenches
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 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
07:14spark 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
07:24before i can react edmund charges in he slams into me my body hits the edge of the branding forge
07:29my palm
07:30presses flat against scorching metal pain crashes through me like a wave i can't breathe i tear my hand
07:35free 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
07:45to help you and this is how you repay her apologize to dalany now edmund my hand it hurts so
07:54much
07:58the moment i see that cloak my heart seizes a foxtail cloak made from my eight severed 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 and i am a nine
08:17tailed fox each tail holds one life under edmund's pressure i severed eight tails transferred my life
08:23force 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
08:47who dare touch her
08:55my 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
09:11down a
09:11small jar of healing salve sits in my palm i don't know when he placed it there across the street
09:16edmund 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
09:24i walk to the edge of the city wall without a moment's hesitation i hurl it into the churning
09:29river below two days later i put on the bonding gown sent by house by theorists i stand in my
09:33room
09:34surrounded by a dowry so extravagant it doesn't feel real father and mother shuffle in
09:38they ask voices halting eyes averted if maybe dahlia doesn't have to confess publicly maybe they
09:43could call it a misunderstanding save her some face for the honor of our house elinden the last
09:49illusion i held about them shatters my dowry i prepared it myself for years i made excuses for
09:54them they forgot they were busy they'd remember eventually they didn't remember a dowry for their
09:58own daughter but they remembered to come beg on behalf of their favorite no and if you push me further
10:03i won't go through with it at all let's see how house virion responds to that you wouldn't dare
10:09a commotion erupts from the great hall below i descend the stairs to find edmund sprawled in the
10:14great hall's main chair like it is a throne a glowing red branding iron rests in his hand elevin
10:19the conscripted match takes effect in 30 minutes but since you're here perfect you know the rules for a
10:24thrust before the brand comes the right kneel kiss dahlia's hand and renounce your freedom before
10:30everyone in this hall do that and i'll take you into grey holland edmund's gaze drops to my bonding
10:35gown he freezes for half a second then his brow furrows why are you dressed like that you think
10:40putting on a gown makes you a bride take it off you're embarrassing yourself i hold his stare i
10:45steady i'm completing my bonding today edmund to someone who actually wants me you're not invited his
10:50expression shifts then snaps back into that benefactor's mask every second you waste i add
10:55another 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 grey 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
11:22edmund'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
11:32hand 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 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
12:11he 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
12:42and mother stare at her as if they're seeing her for the first time a cold laugh escapes me dahlia
12:47has 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 heir 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
13:15refuse 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
13:38prove 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
13:55her 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 cussled
14:22yourself
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 everything all of it was he can't finish dahlia's venom swings toward father and mother
14:34and 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 and
14:44you 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
14:54father's face turns the color of ash he sways a servant catches him mother's eyes where tenderness
14:59lived moments 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
15:30don't go with him please eyes wild and red rimmed pathetic i love you i see it now it was
15:36always 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
15:42visible on his throat the mark that surfaced when his bond with dahlia sealed my voice is perfectly
15:46flat i think you two deserve each other may your bond hold forever his face crumbles i don't linger
15:53on it 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
16:03and screams after the departing carriage i won't give up i'll do the severing i'll break the bond i'll come
16:10back to you severin holds the bonding ceremony at the serpent's reach castle grand lavish every detail
16:19curated i am allergic to pollen but i love flowers the entire hall blooms with crystal flowers crafted by
16:25alchemists every petal every stamen impossibly lifelike not a grain of pollen in the air i am still
16:31wondering 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
16:41trigger a full shift under extreme duress edmund didn't shift when he learned the truth about dahlia
16:46he shifted when he saw my bonding ceremony once i might have read that as proof he cared more about
16:52me
16:52now i just find it absurd you don't get to go mad over something you threw away severin and i
16:58exchange bonding vows before the gathered witnesses the moment his hand takes mine the serpent shaped
17:03mating mark on my palm and the nine-tailed fox mark on his shoulder ignite simultaneously light
17:08floods the entire hall every person in the room holds their breath a faded bond the destined contract
17:13unseen in eldrath for a hundred years after the ceremony or carriage rolls toward the main castle of
17:19serpent's reach as we pass through the outer gate i glance through the carriage window a massive
17:24silver wolf crouches inside an iron cage for a split second i think i see a tear slide from one
17:29lupine eye but the wolf can only watch trapped as our carriage disappears down the road bonding night
17:35the master chamber just the two of us i study his face without the mask my cheeks flush before i
17:41can
17:41stop it every rumor about you is wrong severin removes the silver pins and gemstones from my hair
17:47one by one his fingers move so gently they don't belong to a man called savage what rumors that you're
17:54savage hideous and a soft laugh barren heat rises to my ears i open my mouth to reassure him and
18:04he
18:04pulls me into his arms those emerald eyes fix on me the vertical pupils dilate slightly but he holds
18:10himself in check elevin look at me his voice drops low we stop whenever you say i have waited seven
18:17years i can wait seven more something in those eyes undoes me i nod shy and breathless you don't have
18:25to
18:25hold back it is not until the bonding ritual begins that my eyes fly open you have two severin's voice
18:32comes out rough serpent bloodline we have two if you don't want i kiss him to shut him up by
18:38the
18:38second half of the night he proves thoroughly and personally that the barren rumor is also a lie at
18:44the most intimate moment our mating marks blaze to life in unison a massive wave of emotion crashes into
18:49me not mine his pure feeling seven years of solitude seven years of longing and one moment lying half dead
18:55in the mud barely breathing when a pair of warm hands lifted him up and his whole world shifted on
19:00its axis i cry severin stops immediately alarm all over his face he thinks he hurt me i shake my
19:06head
19:07i felt you all of it all those years it takes five full days for the bond to stabilize i
19:15nearly trigger
19:15a full shift my ears and tail popping out uncontrollably again and again i peel myself off the bed
19:21legs shaking lower back aching and hear a commotion outside i push open the window and look down edmund
19:27kneels at the castle gate a massive bouquet of roses clutched to his chest a maid sweeping the
19:31corridor tells me he has been there for five days two rainstorms hit during that time he knelt through
19:36both the only thing he asked for was someone to swap out the wilted roses for fresh ones all i
19:41feel
19:41is irritation who is this performance for i have a new life edmund's self-righteous penance is nothing
19:47but noise i reach for the curtain and a body with cooler than normal temperature presses against my back
19:52what are you looking at severin peers over my shoulder sees the scene below his brow creases
19:57he just won't go away will he at that exact moment edmund looks up as if he senses me the
20:03instant he
20:03sees my face something reignites behind his dull eyes and dies the next second when severin tilts my
20:09chin up and gives me a long slow kiss i don't resist i wrap my arms around him the tenderness
20:14of it
20:14sears into edmund's vision roses scatter from his hands he staggers to his feet mouth opening to shout to
20:20stop it but five days without water have stolen his voice nothing comes out i expect edmund to give
20:26up instead he is at the gate again the next day and the next i can't take it anymore i
20:31go down to face
20:32him edmund has lost significant weight pale dark hollows under his eyes his robes hang loose on a
20:37frame that used to fill them the moment he sees me he fumbles at his collar yanking it aside to
20:41bear
20:42the back of his neck where dahlia's white rabbit mating mark used to sit now only a jagged wound raw
20:47half healed a slab of flesh carved away he forces a desperate eager smile el i did the severing ritual
20:54the mark is gone i'm clean now we can start over the severing ritual is one of eldrath's most
21:01dangerous rites it tears the bond from the soul itself the pain is said to rival being flayed alive
21:06three out of ten who attempt it die on the ritual table and the mark goes deep down to muscle
21:11and
21:11bone removing it completely means cutting away an entire section of flesh i look at the mangled mess of
21:16his neck surprised he went this far but only surprised nothing more my silence gives him
21:21hope he pulls out two severed pieces i look closer a silver gray wolf tail a white rabbit tail anguish
21:29contorts his face i'm sorry el i was a monster i understand now i understand what you went through
21:36i severed my own tail and hers to atone forgive me i'll spend the rest of my life making it
21:44up to you
21:45nothing stirs inside me not a ripple their tails are gone do mine grow back a nine tailed foxes tails
21:50once severed never regenerate ever eight lives gone forever edmund if you truly want to make amends
21:57stop coming here stop making your guilt my burden to carry i am bonded to severin we are happy you're
22:04lying how could you bond with someone else edmund 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
22:20out of his hands petals explode across the cobblestones severin stands between us his emerald slit pupils
22:26have contracted to razor thin lines edmund snarls what gives you the right to kick away my flowers
22:32severin's voice cuts like a blade dipped in frost you claim to love her yet you bring her the one
22:37thing
22:37that makes 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
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 it
23:04up to spite dahlia i spent years getting dragged to the healer's ward every other week because of
23:08those flowers i look at edmund hollowed out unraveling and feel nothing warm at all you cut
23:14eight tails from my body you made a cloak of my lives and draped it over the woman who orchestrated
23:19every wound and now you stand here with flowers i'm allergic to asking me to forgive you tell me
23:25edmund in all of that did you ever actually see me edmund's knees buckle he barely stays upright i take
23:30severin's arm and turn to leave behind us a rush of footsteps severin pivots to shield me but edmund
23:35isn't charging at us he sprints straight for the serpent's reach training yard and rips the sword from
23:39the rack severin vitharis i challenge me to an honor duel for elevin an honor duel in eldrath when a
23:46shifter believes 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 certain speed erases every advantage the wolf has
24:01each of edmund's lunges hits 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 down
24:21suffering for her doesn't mean you loved her it just means you only know how to think about yourself
24:28edmund collapses broken ribs a wolf-like rasp shutters through his chest he lifts his head toward me now
24:35now i know what it feels like does that does that count for anything i give him one look just
24:41one then i walk
24:42to severin and press my fingers to the scales that have surfaced along his neck raised by anger hard
24:46as armor dot under my touch they recede smooth skin returns inch by inched severin goes still then he
24:53bows his head and rests his forehead against my palm i take his hand i don't look back dot edmund
24:58watches
24:59from the ground the way she touches severin's face the way her eyes soften she has never looked at him
25:04like
25:04that not once the next i hear of edmund is three days later after the honor duel he was carried
25:09to
25:09the healer's ward unconscious for a full day and night before waking this time he drops the desperate
25:14siege tactics instead he starts appearing at every place i frequent engineering coincidences the herb
25:20market in crown city the alchemy workshops even the small towns near serpents reach severin's 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
25:46picking at a slice of cake when a shadow falls over me i look up edmund stands in front of
25:51me i have
25:52no idea when he got this close i stand to leave how did i never notice how revolting he is
25:56the
25:57contempt in my eyes wounds him he calls out voice shaking oh i'm not here to bother you
26:03i just thought you should know severin went into the east tower with a woman just now
26:08my step falters i glance instinctively toward where severin was sitting only his allied house
26:13representative remains drinking alone edmund moves closer he does this right under your nose
26:19and you're still going to stay with him my brow furrows that's between me and my husband
26:24it has nothing to do with you logic tells me severin would never but the unease claws in
26:29anyway 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
26:40feels 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
26:56is taking 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 clothes on for now edmund's face goes white i turn the full weight of my contempt on him edmund
27:36was that woman you're doing you disgust me it wasn't me l how could you think that of me i
27:42don't
27:42bother responding whether it was him or not doesn't matter anymore severin notifies the gathering's
27:47organizers then takes my arm to leave edmund chases us to the door mouth open still scrambling
27:52for words the banquet doors explode inward a filthy disheveled shifter woman barrels through the crowd
27:57and hurls herself into edmund's arms i'm carrying your child you can't throw me away i look closer
28:04she is dahlia the hall drops into dead silence then the whispers begin dahlia doesn't care about
28:10appearances she wails at full volume in front of every bloodhouse representative in eldra spilling
28:15everything this is how i learn what happened after the truth trial edmund severed dahlia's tail
28:19threw her out of gray hollow father and mother cut her off entirely bolted the doors of thornfield
28:24manor and ignored every plea for weeks dahlia begged for scraps at the edges of market towns
28:29then her belly started to swell that is when she realized edmund tries to pry her off she locks her
28:35arms around his legs like a drowning woman gripping driftwood this child is her only leverage her only
28:40way 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 for the honor of house gray holland
28:54take her home as they drag dahlia out she twists around for one last look at me the jealousy and
29:00bitterness in her eyes warp her features into something barely human back at serpent's reach severin
29:05draws a hot bath for me his fingertips trace along my neck and shoulders the serpent blood runs cool
29:11and somehow that coolness unwinds every knot in my muscles when you threw that woman out you said
29:17you'd you'd waited seven years for your wife what did you mean a long pause when he speaks his expression
29:24is more open than i've ever seen it i've been in love with you for seven years do you remember
29:28years
29:28ago in the deep forest you found a small black serpent half dead in the mud that was me my
29:33enemies had
29:34hunted me down i was wounded feral trapped in my beast form you saved me with your elixirs i was
29:39dying and then you appeared you didn't flinch you picked up a venos and a serpent with your bare hands
29:45and poured your elixirs into its mouth i think i think i fell for you before i even knew your
29:49name
29:50by the time i found you again you were already promised to someone else i stare at him that little
29:55black snake was you all these years i thought it was just a wild serpent i never imagined i'd accidentally
30:01saved the heir of house vithris 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 and wrap my
30:21arms around him severin he freezes color floods his face racing down his neck he presses my hand to his
30:28cheek and holds it there and the light in his eyes is so bright he can barely contain it again
30:32please
30:34after that confession severin becomes impossibly clingy he caches in every unused rest day he has
30:40accumulated over the years and takes me across eldra the warm coastline near serpents reach the eastern
30:46mountain passes hidden valleys i've only read about in books with no sign of edmund for once we have the
30:52sweetest stretch of days i can remember one winter night i find severin curled by the fireplace serpent
30:58blood runs cold the chill hits him harder than most i walk over and wrap my single remaining tail around
31:03him he stiffens you don't have to i want to he says nothing more just buries his face in the
31:10fur and
31:10lets his breathing slow that tail keeping him warm and the eight made into a cloak they're the same thing
31:15the difference is one was taken the other is given rumors about gray hollow drift in from time to time
31:21dahlia and edmund fight constantly two people who despise each other chained together by an unborn
31:26child a kind of forever i suppose i think the worst is behind me that i can finally have peace
31:33i 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 lord
31:46gray hollow the elder expels dahlia from the estate and edmund once again appears at my door
31:51his eyes carry something new something unhinged
31:54el the bond is severed the child is gone there's nothing standing between us now
32:02a chill crawls up my spine it's not the words it's the way he says them like the baby's death
32:07is just another obstacle cleared from his path i open my mouth to respond and dahlia explodes from
32:12the shadows beside the road the wall died a dagger clenched in her fist aimed straight at me
32:16this is your fault all of it you have one life left i took eight and i'll take the last
32:26edmund's
32:26pupils shrink to pinpoints he throws himself between us a thump the dagger buries itself in his abdomen
32:31edmund clutches the wound and crumples blood spills from the corner of his mouth that blade the healer
32:36tells him later has permanently destroyed his ability to sire children royal guards arrive and
32:41sees dahlia on the spot while edmund recovers the crown council launches an investigation
32:45dahlia's testimony from the truth trial is formally prosecuted eight counts of coercing
32:50aloan into severing her tails attempted enslavement of a bonded mate as thrall and years of systematic
32:55abuse against aloan edmund is stripped of his noble title and confined to the royal dungeon
33:00three 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 severin's
33:13a pair of tiny emerald slit pupils the barren heir of house vithyrus rumor dies on its own a new
33:18one
33:18takes its place severin vithyrus 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 on the twins naming ceremony nearly every blood house sends a representative gifts arrive in
33:37an endless 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
33:46we open the box inside rare gemstones enchanted artifacts and a document exclusive trade rights to the
33:52two wealthiest counties in gray hollow territory at the very bottom beneath everything sits a ring the
33:58bonding ring i hurled from the city wall into the river he found it pulled it from the riverbed dot
34:02but the ring lost its meaning a long time ago i close the box and rewrap it have a rider
34:06return this to
34:07grey 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 i lean back into him i've been fine for a long
34:30time dirt that
34:31night the children are asleep i'm holding my daughter pressing a kiss to the tiny soft ears on
34:36her forehead her nine little tails twitch in her dreams a faint itch prickles at the small of my back
34:42i look down next to my single remaining tail a tuft of new fur pale as spider silk almost invisible
34:48i go still i don't tell anyone i just smile and hold my daughter a little closer
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