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A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
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AmusantTranscription
00:11:09half laughing, half in tears
00:11:11the good news could not be contained
00:11:13within days, learned court healers
00:11:15and priests came from across the realm
00:11:17to attend him, and so did
00:11:19Seraphina
00:11:20she swept into the chamber of recovery
00:11:22wrinkled her nose at the sleeping lord
00:11:24and seized my arm hard enough to bruise
00:11:28they say he's waking
00:11:29is it true?
00:11:31when I would not answer fast enough
00:11:33her palm cracked across my cheek
00:11:36you think you've climbed into
00:11:37House Aurorius, you think you can look down your nose
00:11:39at me? Alara, you fool, strike her
00:11:41back, I will stand behind you, strike her
00:11:43when he wakes, you crawl back into the gutter
00:11:45I will tell him I tended him all along
00:11:47he loves me, he will marry
00:11:49me, waking or not
00:11:53the ghost understood before I did
00:11:56so long as my mind
00:11:57keeps even a shred of this soul's
00:11:59memory, I will never
00:12:01wed her
00:12:03then he faltered, and his voice dropped
00:12:05never
00:12:08will I keep it
00:12:09when I wake, will the soul's memory
00:12:11and the body's memory truly join
00:12:13or will it all wash away
00:12:15and leave me believing lies
00:12:16if I forget
00:12:17if I rise and think Seraphina
00:12:19was the faithful one, gods, what then?
00:12:21I rubbed my stinging cheek
00:12:23and felt my own dread answer his
00:12:25whether he married Seraphina
00:12:27or a stranger was nothing to me
00:12:28but if she stole the credit
00:12:30for my six months of toil
00:12:31my fortune would vanish with it
00:12:33the ghost suddenly brightened
00:12:35my mother
00:12:37she has seen Seraphina's true face
00:12:39she will swear it was you who stayed
00:12:43as long as she lives
00:12:45Seraphina cannot rewrite this
00:12:46but Seraphina was not finished
00:12:49she went straight to the Duchess
00:12:51and spun her web
00:12:52you know his heart, my lady
00:12:53he chose me
00:12:55when he wakes
00:12:55will you truly force him
00:12:56to wed some stranger
00:12:57he does not know
00:12:58he has cheated death
00:13:00as his mother
00:13:01you should support his happiness
00:13:03not meddle in his marriage
00:13:04and to my horror
00:13:05the Duchess wavered
00:13:07she drew me aside
00:13:08her face heavy with apology
00:13:11he will not know
00:13:12who tended him in truth
00:13:13if I say it was Seraphina
00:13:14and they wed as everyone expects
00:13:16it spares the house a scandal
00:13:18I will compensate you richly
00:13:19only hold your tongue
00:13:20and no one need ever know
00:13:22it was you
00:13:22the ghost raged in my ear
00:13:25Elara
00:13:25have you no spine?
00:13:29why hand your triumph
00:13:30to that snake?
00:13:31I wanted to fight
00:13:32I did
00:13:34but I had been beaten down
00:13:35since I could walk
00:13:36with no name
00:13:38no power
00:13:38no one at my back
00:13:39what could I possibly fight with?
00:13:43the ghost looked at me
00:13:44cowards
00:13:45every single one of you
00:13:47my own mother
00:13:49trades my future
00:13:50for a piece of gossip
00:13:52and you
00:13:53you just bow your head
00:13:56Elara
00:13:57I will remember the truth
00:13:59on my own
00:14:00having swayed the Duchess
00:14:01Seraphina took no chances
00:14:03she fed the news
00:14:05to the court herself
00:14:05summoning scribes
00:14:07and gossiping nobles
00:14:08to the castle gate
00:14:09under my devoted care
00:14:11my beloved lord
00:14:12is waking at last
00:14:13we shall seal
00:14:15our betrothal
00:14:15the moment
00:14:16he opens his eyes
00:14:17soon
00:14:18I will be
00:14:20Lady Aureus
00:14:23I thank you all
00:14:24for your blessings
00:14:25and the whole realm
00:14:27came to believe
00:14:27that Seraphina's deep
00:14:28faithful love
00:14:29had worked the miracle
00:14:30with every court healers
00:14:32tending
00:14:32and the strength
00:14:33of Lucian's own will
00:14:34his signs climbed
00:14:35the color returned
00:14:36to his lips
00:14:37his breath deepened
00:14:38before half a year
00:14:39had passed
00:14:40the priests laid their hands
00:14:41upon his brow
00:14:42traded grave looks
00:14:43and declared his mind whole
00:14:44he could wake at any hour
00:14:46the closer that hour drew
00:14:47the more manic
00:14:48Seraphina's smiles became
00:14:49she believed she was about
00:14:51to successfully win everything
00:14:52even though she hadn't
00:14:53cared for him
00:14:54for a single day
00:14:55Alara
00:14:57I pray I remember
00:14:58all of this
00:14:58when I wake
00:15:01gods keep me
00:15:02from forgetting
00:15:03your kindness
00:15:05gods keep me
00:15:06from mistaking
00:15:07that snake
00:15:08for my savior
00:15:09I prayed for the same
00:15:11but none of it
00:15:13was mine to command
00:15:14then came the morning
00:15:15I woke
00:15:16and the corner
00:15:16of the room
00:15:17was empty
00:15:17no gray figure
00:15:19no drifting voice
00:15:21no cold
00:15:22I understood at once
00:15:24he was waking
00:15:25I cried out
00:15:26for the duchess
00:15:27and the court healers
00:15:28word raced
00:15:29through the castle
00:15:30and Seraphina swept in
00:15:31with her scribes
00:15:32and witnesses
00:15:32on her heels
00:15:33beneath a hundred
00:15:34breathless eyes
00:15:35the priests murmured
00:15:37the waking rites
00:15:37over his still form
00:15:38a long silence
00:15:40then lord Lucian Aurelius
00:15:42the sleeper
00:15:43of house Aurelius
00:15:44slowly opened his eyes
00:15:48no one dared breathe
00:15:49his fingers stirred
00:15:50his throat worked
00:15:52he squinted
00:15:52at the intricately carved
00:15:54vaulted ceiling
00:15:55as though dragging
00:15:55something up
00:15:56from a great depth
00:15:57I stood at the back
00:15:58fists clenched
00:15:59and prayed
00:15:59let him remember
00:16:01let him know
00:16:01who stayed
00:16:02and if he had forgotten
00:16:03then six months
00:16:04of my life were ash
00:16:05and I had stitched
00:16:05a wedding gown
00:16:06for Seraphina
00:16:07with my own hands
00:16:08Seraphina could not wait
00:16:09she flung herself
00:16:11to the bedside
00:16:11Lucian
00:16:12you're awake
00:16:13it's me
00:16:14you're Seraphina
00:16:15the one you love
00:16:16all these months
00:16:17it was I who tended you
00:16:18who never left your side
00:16:20you know it
00:16:21you remember
00:16:21don't you
00:16:23his eyes drifted to her
00:16:24clouded and lost
00:16:25he had forgotten
00:16:26he had forgotten
00:16:27everything
00:16:28my parents pressed close
00:16:29to whisper their poison
00:16:31in my ear
00:16:31stop dreaming
00:16:33you wretched thing
00:16:34the duchess
00:16:35herself said it
00:16:37if he doesn't recall
00:16:38then Seraphina
00:16:39nursed him
00:16:40crawl away
00:16:41before you ruin
00:16:42her moment
00:16:42I watched Lucian
00:16:44gaze and gaze
00:16:44at Seraphina
00:16:45and despair
00:16:45flooded my chest
00:16:46I lowered my head
00:16:48and turned to go
00:16:48and in the next breath
00:16:50Lord Lucian
00:16:50spoke his voice
00:16:51cold as a crypt
00:16:55was it truly you
00:16:56who cared for me
00:16:57his eyes had not softened
00:16:58they were full of open
00:17:00knife-edged doubt
00:17:01Seraphina's smile cracked
00:17:02he coughed
00:17:03weak but cutting
00:17:04and asked again
00:17:05colder still
00:17:06answer me
00:17:07was it you
00:17:08I had taken one step
00:17:10toward the door
00:17:10I did not take another
00:17:12because a man who doubted
00:17:13was a man who remembered
00:17:15even a shred
00:17:16even a whisper of the soul
00:17:17that had wept beside me
00:17:18and a shred was all
00:17:19the hope I needed
00:17:21of course my lord
00:17:24this is your betrothal
00:17:26your beloved Seraphina
00:17:29have you forgotten her face
00:17:31stop dreaming
00:17:32you wretched thing
00:17:36the duchess herself said it
00:17:38if he doesn't recall
00:17:40then Seraphina nursed him
00:17:43crawl away
00:17:44before you ruin her moment
00:17:46they crowded the bedside
00:17:48and I saw it
00:17:49arrange themselves
00:17:49to block his view
00:17:50of me
00:17:50so the waking lord
00:17:51could not find me
00:17:52in the room
00:17:53the duchess pressed my shoulder
00:17:54in apology
00:17:55and stepped forward
00:17:59enough
00:18:00stand back
00:18:01all of you
00:18:01do not crowd my son
00:18:04Seraphina withdrew
00:18:05reluctant
00:18:06and the duchess took
00:18:07Lucian's hand
00:18:08weeping with joy
00:18:14the duchess said the duchess
00:18:19newly awoken and frail
00:18:23Lucian silently watched his mother
00:18:25to conserve his strength
00:18:26scribes pressed in
00:18:27to sketch the scene
00:18:28a display of security
00:18:29the duchess desperately needed
00:18:30the realm to see
00:18:31a nameless outsider
00:18:32I was shoved further and further
00:18:34from the bed
00:18:37but I would not leave
00:18:39not yet
00:18:40edged aside
00:18:40Seraphina panicked
00:18:42she had waited for days
00:18:43just to claim credit
00:18:44the moment he woke
00:18:45if the scribes recorded it
00:18:46her marriage was sealed
00:18:47and it was slipping
00:18:48so she turned her venom on me
00:18:50Elara
00:18:52why are you still standing there?
00:18:55still dreaming your little dream
00:18:57of marrying up?
00:18:58look at you
00:19:00death touched
00:19:01ill-omened
00:19:02a stain on the air
00:19:05get out!
00:19:08even if I refused him
00:19:11it would never be your turn
00:19:13something in me
00:19:14long buried
00:19:15finally bared its teeth
00:19:19don't crow yet
00:19:20Seraphina
00:19:21whether you marry him at all
00:19:23is still very much
00:19:24in question
00:19:26my parents gaped
00:19:28as if I had grown horns
00:19:33you dare talk back
00:19:36your wings have grown girl
00:19:40come outside
00:19:41I'll teach you better
00:19:43the three of them seized me
00:19:44and began to haul me
00:19:45toward the door
00:19:46I fought
00:19:47and lost
00:19:48my heels dragging
00:19:48across the stone
00:19:49then Lucian
00:19:50thrust his mother's hand aside
00:19:52his gaze locking onto us
00:19:56stop
00:19:58every body in the room
00:19:59went rigid
00:20:00Seraphina and my parents
00:20:02flushed with the same
00:20:02ugly mix of shock
00:20:03and resentment
00:20:04they exchanged a look
00:20:06then Seraphina
00:20:06threw herself
00:20:07in front of me again
00:20:08reckless
00:20:10pay her no mind
00:20:12my lord
00:20:12she's only a chamber
00:20:14of recovery
00:20:15dread
00:20:15who wandered into
00:20:16gawk
00:20:18I'll have her removed
00:20:20she dug her nails
00:20:21into my arm
00:20:21and hauled
00:20:22but Lucian
00:20:22looked clearer now
00:20:23and his voice
00:20:24came stronger
00:20:30let go of her
00:20:31his voice was low
00:20:33his voice was low and hard
00:20:33unlike the tender ghost
00:20:34of the past half year
00:20:35this was the rumored
00:20:37cold air
00:20:37I realized the waking lord
00:20:39and the sleeping soul
00:20:40were two different men
00:20:41before I could dwell on it
00:20:42he lifted one unsteady finger
00:20:44and pointed it straight at me
00:20:47you
00:20:49come here
00:20:51Seraphina panicked
00:20:52she glared at me
00:20:53with naked threat
00:20:55don't you dare
00:20:56take one step
00:20:57and I will end you
00:20:59have you forgotten
00:21:00the last twenty years
00:21:01I have a hundred ways
00:21:03to make you suffer
00:21:05stay where you are
00:21:06lord Lucian
00:21:08is not for the likes
00:21:08of you to covet
00:21:09for once
00:21:10something rebellious
00:21:11rose in my chest
00:21:12I shoved her hand off
00:21:14and stepped forward
00:21:22and what if I do go
00:21:23I would not let
00:21:24Seraphina rule my fate
00:21:26one more day
00:21:26so I raised my voice
00:21:28on purpose
00:21:28for the whole room
00:21:29to hear
00:21:32can't you see
00:21:33the lord is calling me
00:21:34you fought so hard
00:21:35to keep me from his side
00:21:37what is it
00:21:38you're so afraid
00:21:38I'll say
00:21:39the words landed
00:21:40exactly as I meant them
00:21:41the scribes turned
00:21:42suddenly hungry
00:21:43and in Lucian's eyes
00:21:45flickered a spark
00:21:45of suspicion
00:21:46Seraphina's cheeks
00:21:47went red
00:21:48she reached for me again
00:21:49then the duchess spoke
00:21:51her voice flat
00:21:51and finally
00:21:52let Alora come
00:21:53I caught the conflict
00:21:54in the duchess's face
00:21:55and understood
00:21:56she herself
00:21:57had not decided
00:21:58whether to give Lucian
00:21:59the truth
00:21:59which meant my odds
00:22:01had just climbed
00:22:01I pressed down
00:22:02the wild hope
00:22:03in my chest
00:22:03and walked slowly
00:22:04to the bedside
00:22:05Lucian narrowed his eyes
00:22:06and studied me in silence
00:22:07for a long moment
00:22:11what is your name
00:22:14Alada
00:22:14his brow furrowed
00:22:16that pained
00:22:17straining look
00:22:17a man clawing
00:22:18after a memory
00:22:19that would not surface
00:22:20my heart lurched
00:22:21between hope and ruin
00:22:22with every second
00:22:23in the dead silence
00:22:24his face suddenly eased
00:22:26he looked at me
00:22:27then at Seraphina
00:22:29what is it I want
00:22:30most to eat
00:22:31right now
00:22:34my breath caught
00:22:35and then my eyes
00:22:36began to shine
00:22:37he was holding out
00:22:38a secret
00:22:38a password
00:22:39only the one
00:22:40who had heard
00:22:40his soul could answer
00:22:41I ran back
00:22:42over our six months
00:22:43together
00:22:44the answer rose
00:22:44to my lips at once
00:22:47it's
00:22:48Seraphina shoved me aside
00:22:49rough and frantic
00:22:51you never spent a day
00:22:52with him
00:22:53you know nothing
00:22:54about him
00:22:55Alara
00:22:56step aside
00:22:57this is my place
00:22:59she planted herself
00:23:00in front of me
00:23:01and launched
00:23:01into her performance
00:23:02voice trembling
00:23:03with feeling
00:23:03we caught it
00:23:04three years
00:23:05no one knows him
00:23:07as I do
00:23:07and I know
00:23:08exactly what he craves
00:23:09it's the honeyed porridge
00:23:11I cook with my own hands
00:23:12when you fell ill
00:23:13last winter
00:23:16I made it for you
00:23:17and you wept
00:23:19and called it
00:23:19the finest thing
00:23:20you'd ever tasted
00:23:22you told me
00:23:23you wished to eat
00:23:24my porridge
00:23:25every time you were sick
00:23:27for the rest of your life
00:23:28and she squeezed out
00:23:30two glistening tears
00:23:31then turned to whisper
00:23:32to the scribes
00:23:33that this
00:23:33surely
00:23:33proved her love
00:23:34was no fortune hunting lie
00:23:36my parents eagerly joined in
00:23:38backing up her lies
00:23:39yes
00:23:40Serafina was raised
00:23:41like a princess
00:23:42she has never worked
00:23:44a day
00:23:44in her life
00:23:46yet for you
00:23:47she labored
00:23:48in the kitchens
00:23:49learning to cook
00:23:50just so you
00:23:51could taste her food
00:23:53the moment you woke
00:23:55the duchess
00:23:56off to the side
00:23:57quietly knit her brows
00:23:59she wore the look
00:23:59of a woman
00:24:00who had swallowed a fly
00:24:01I wanted to ask her outright
00:24:03are you truly certain
00:24:04you want your son
00:24:05to wed this two-faced
00:24:06scheming snake
00:24:07plainly
00:24:07she was no longer
00:24:09certain at all
00:24:09seeing the confusion
00:24:10still written on Lucien's face
00:24:12she cut Serafina's
00:24:13little play short
00:24:14enough
00:24:14we'll have no theater
00:24:16in this room
00:24:16you've answered
00:24:18now let Alara answer
00:24:20she drew me back herself
00:24:21and turned me
00:24:22to face her son
00:24:23I lifted my chin
00:24:24two small words
00:24:25and I let him
00:24:26fall into the silence
00:24:27blue veined cheese
00:24:28the one from the west cellar
00:24:30the air went dead
00:24:31then Serafina
00:24:32burst out laughing
00:24:34Alara you astound me
00:24:37I thought you might
00:24:38at least invent
00:24:38something plausible
00:24:40instead you sprout
00:24:42nonsense
00:24:42you've lost your wits
00:24:44I know him better
00:24:45than anyone
00:24:46and the one thing
00:24:47he loathes
00:24:48is that reeking
00:24:49crypt rotten
00:24:50flilth
00:24:51he won't go within
00:24:52thirty paces
00:24:53of that smell
00:24:54you expect us
00:24:55to believe
00:24:55the first thing
00:24:56he wants on waking
00:24:57is cheese
00:24:57Lucien kept his mouth
00:24:59shut
00:24:59his face unreadable
00:25:00for half a heartbeat
00:25:01I doubted my own memory
00:25:03but no I had not misheard
00:25:04the soul had told me
00:25:06again and again
00:25:07that the blue veined
00:25:07cellar cheese
00:25:08was a secret weakness
00:25:09the ghost had repeatedly
00:25:10confessed the secret craving
00:25:12his voice half ashamed
00:25:13and half reedy
00:25:14like a boy stealing tarts
00:25:15he had vowed countless times
00:25:17to devour a whole wheel
00:25:18the moment he woke
00:25:19a ghost had no reason
00:25:20to lie to a girl
00:25:21who could not even
00:25:22answer him aloud
00:25:23so which was it
00:25:24had my own memory
00:25:25failed me at the one moment
00:25:26it mattered most
00:25:27or had the spirit
00:25:28been lying to me
00:25:28all along for some reason
00:25:30and was I about
00:25:30to make a fool
00:25:31of myself
00:25:32before house Aurelius
00:25:35in a standoff
00:25:36the duchess leaned
00:25:37close and murmured
00:25:38gently awkwardly
00:25:39child I have never
00:25:41once seen my son
00:25:42eat that cheese
00:25:43he guards his noble
00:25:44dignity
00:25:45he refuses such
00:25:46punch and common
00:25:47things on principle
00:25:48I understand you
00:25:49feel wronged
00:25:49but the truth
00:25:50of the matter
00:25:51is plain
00:25:52Elara I know
00:25:53your worth
00:25:53but my son's
00:25:54betrothed is Serafina
00:25:55some things are not
00:25:56ours to undo
00:25:56let us keep to
00:25:57what we agreed
00:25:58for everyone's sake
00:25:59so you are not
00:25:59made a spectacle
00:26:00the more I heard
00:26:01the lower my heart sank
00:26:02so the soul had handed
00:26:03me false coin
00:26:04and I had spent
00:26:05my confidence on it
00:26:06like a fool
00:26:06she could not bear
00:26:08to see me humiliated
00:26:09I think
00:26:10on the spot
00:26:10she pressed 500 gold
00:26:12into my hands
00:26:12and promised to send
00:26:13for me later
00:26:14with more once I had gone
00:26:15it was no small sum
00:26:17enough to leave
00:26:17this place behind
00:26:18to study the craft
00:26:20I had always dreamed of
00:26:21perhaps even to travel
00:26:22beyond the sea
00:26:23and learn from
00:26:23distant masters
00:26:24and yet
00:26:25looking at that face
00:26:26so familiar
00:26:26and so strange
00:26:27I felt nothing
00:26:28but a thick
00:26:29choking refusal
00:26:30why
00:26:30I remembered
00:26:31the ghost
00:26:31at my ear
00:26:32urging me on
00:26:33through all those
00:26:34long nights
00:26:34remembered
00:26:36to be acknowledged
00:26:37that is what you are
00:26:39owed Elara
00:26:41will you truly let
00:26:42Serafina
00:26:43trample you forever
00:26:45if I forget
00:26:47you stand your ground
00:26:48you speak the truth
00:26:50do not be a coward
00:26:51and let her
00:26:52steal what is yours
00:26:53or I swear
00:26:54I will despise you for it
00:26:57the memory of those words
00:26:59put a strange new iron
00:27:00in my spine
00:27:01and just then
00:27:01I saw Lucian narrow his eyes
00:27:03his lips parting
00:27:04as if to speak
00:27:07Serafina was too pleased
00:27:08with herself to notice
00:27:09she grabbed Lucian's sleeve
00:27:11and crowed
00:27:12you see
00:27:12the woman's a fraud
00:27:14let me have her thrown out
00:27:15this instant
00:27:16she flashed her parents
00:27:17a signal
00:27:18and they lunged for me
00:27:19eager as ever
00:27:20to toss me aside
00:27:21like refuse
00:27:21then Lucian
00:27:22his strength returning
00:27:23by the minute
00:27:24snapped at Serafina
00:27:25in a low growl
00:27:26be quiet
00:27:28it was the first time
00:27:29since waking
00:27:29that I saw plain disgust
00:27:31in his eyes
00:27:31and it was aimed at her
00:27:32that one word
00:27:33put steel in my blood
00:27:34Lord Lucian
00:27:36clearly has
00:27:37something to say to me
00:27:39until he tells me
00:27:41to go himself
00:27:41I am not leaving
00:27:43the duchess had not
00:27:44expected such hardness
00:27:45from me
00:27:46surprise crossed her face
00:27:47and beneath it
00:27:48the first glint of approval
00:27:50Lucian stared
00:27:50Serafina down
00:27:51until she sullenly
00:27:52gave up her place
00:27:53at the bedside
00:27:53then he raised
00:27:54a finger to me again
00:27:57come
00:27:57read me the dispatches
00:27:59a page or two
00:28:01Serafina and I
00:28:02both understood
00:28:03in the same instant
00:28:03he had not believed
00:28:05her at all
00:28:05he carried a blurred
00:28:06memory enough to doubt
00:28:07not enough to be sure
00:28:09so he was staging
00:28:10the scenes again
00:28:10replaying them
00:28:11to draw out the truth
00:28:12Serafina nearly came apart
00:28:15Lucian what is the point
00:28:16of this
00:28:17I am your betrothed
00:28:18the whole realm
00:28:19knows we were vowed
00:28:20if your own promised wife
00:28:22wasn't at your side
00:28:23who would it be
00:28:24some stranger
00:28:25she came to the
00:28:26chamber of recovery
00:28:27yes
00:28:28as a higher drill
00:28:29I called in to help
00:28:30that changes nothing
00:28:31between us
00:28:35be quiet
00:28:36or leave
00:28:37this time
00:28:38the duchess silenced her
00:28:40unable to stomach
00:28:41the ugliness
00:28:41for another second
00:28:42she snapped
00:28:43I seized the opening
00:28:45from the bedside table
00:28:46I drew the parchment
00:28:47practiced insure
00:28:48and read him the house
00:28:50dispatches without a tremor
00:28:51Lucian's face
00:28:52betrayed nothing
00:28:53but Serafina's
00:28:54grew uglier
00:28:55by the line
00:28:56when I finished
00:28:57Lucian had gathered
00:28:58more strength still
00:28:59he signaled the attendant
00:29:01to prop him up
00:29:02with several plush
00:29:02velvet cushions
00:29:03so he could sit upright
00:29:05then he fixed
00:29:06both of us in his stare
00:29:07and his voice
00:29:08fell like a blade
00:29:09I'll ask once more
00:29:12who tended me
00:29:13these six months
00:29:15who
00:29:17Serafina flinched
00:29:18and this time
00:29:19I refused to cower
00:29:20I had done the work
00:29:22even if every soul
00:29:23in this room denied it
00:29:24the castle's own people
00:29:26had seen me
00:29:26the truth was on my side
00:29:28so after only
00:29:30a breath's hesitation
00:29:31I stepped forward
00:29:32of my own
00:29:33for the first time
00:29:34in my life
00:29:35it was me
00:29:38I am the one
00:29:39who stayed beside you
00:29:42who tended you
00:29:43these six months
00:29:48every day I gave you music
00:29:49gave you the operas
00:29:51you love
00:29:52read you the dispatches
00:29:54washed you
00:29:57turned you
00:30:00all of it
00:30:01all of it
00:30:01was me
00:30:04Alara
00:30:10it had wandered far
00:30:12from the plan
00:30:12I'd made
00:30:12but the duchess
00:30:13watching me stand brave
00:30:14let out a breath
00:30:15that sounded
00:30:16almost like relief
00:30:17Lucian curved his lips
00:30:18slow and amused
00:30:19as if my answer
00:30:20pleased him deeply
00:30:21in the instant
00:30:22our eyes met
00:30:23a thought struck me
00:30:25he had remembered
00:30:26the soul's month
00:30:27the moment he woke
00:30:28he had only
00:30:29feigned the fog
00:30:30to see whether
00:30:31I would fight
00:30:31for myself
00:30:32that was why
00:30:33he had dragged it
00:30:34out this long
00:30:34I only wondered
00:30:36if he had remembered
00:30:37the fortune too
00:30:37if he had
00:30:38could he kindly
00:30:39order the servants
00:30:40to carry them
00:30:40in right now
00:30:41nothing would gall
00:30:42Serafina more
00:30:43she saw the tide
00:30:45turning
00:30:45desperate
00:30:46she made one
00:30:47last grasp
00:30:48at the wheel
00:30:48no
00:30:49don't listen
00:30:50to her lies
00:30:54Lucian
00:30:55you know
00:30:55this sister
00:30:56of mine
00:30:59she's bullied
00:31:00me since
00:31:01we were girls
00:31:01always stealing
00:31:03what's mine
00:31:03now she'd
00:31:05steal a man
00:31:05she should have
00:31:06held her tongue
00:31:07the moment
00:31:08that particular lie
00:31:09left her lips
00:31:10Lucian's gaze
00:31:10turned to flint
00:31:11as though it had
00:31:11Jared loose
00:31:12a flood of other
00:31:13memories
00:31:13his face went
00:31:14black as a storm
00:31:15front
00:31:17Serafina
00:31:18I do not want
00:31:19to look at you
00:31:21get as far
00:31:22from me
00:31:23as the world
00:31:24allows
00:31:24at his word
00:31:25the duchess
00:31:26raised her hand
00:31:27and summoned
00:31:28the houseguards
00:31:28they closed
00:31:29on Serafina
00:31:30to drag her out
00:31:31then Lucian
00:31:32spoke once more
00:31:33wait
00:31:38Serafina's face
00:31:38lit with hope
00:31:39she thought
00:31:40he was relenting
00:31:41for old love's sake
00:31:42instead he murmured
00:31:44something low
00:31:44at his mother's ear
00:31:45then lifted his head
00:31:46and smiled at me
00:31:48Alara
00:31:49in gratitude
00:31:50for your faithful care
00:31:52these six months
00:31:54I grant you
00:31:55a chest of gold
00:31:57the deed
00:31:58to an estate
00:31:58of your own
00:31:59and a writ of freedom
00:32:00releasing you
00:32:01from all claim
00:32:02of house thornward
00:32:03let all present
00:32:04bear witness
00:32:05that they are
00:32:05freely given
00:32:06these are yours
00:32:07take them
00:32:08without fear
00:32:09in the next breath
00:32:10at the duchess's nod
00:32:11a steward
00:32:12stepped forward
00:32:13and pressed the sealed deed
00:32:14and the writ
00:32:14into my hands
00:32:15the chest of gold
00:32:16carried in behind
00:32:17the room spun
00:32:18I nearly fainted
00:32:20from sheer joy
00:32:21but Serafina's shriek
00:32:22dragged me back to earth
00:32:24her face twisted
00:32:25with envy
00:32:26Alara by what right
00:32:28that fortune
00:32:30should be mine
00:32:31Gaze this
00:32:32now
00:32:33if I hadn't handed
00:32:34you the chance
00:32:35you would never
00:32:36have stumbled
00:32:37into such luck
00:32:38give them to me
00:32:40give them here
00:32:41she lunged
00:32:42claws out
00:32:43the guards
00:32:44caught her
00:32:44and my parents
00:32:45with her
00:32:46and hauled
00:32:46all three
00:32:47away
00:32:47without mercy
00:32:48her wild
00:32:49undone face
00:32:50was sketched
00:32:50by every scribe
00:32:51in the room
00:32:51small
00:32:52sweet revenge
00:32:53served on my behalf
00:32:56once the scribes
00:32:57had asked their
00:32:58last questions
00:32:58and drifted out
00:32:59the chamber
00:33:00of recovery
00:33:00finally fell quiet
00:33:01the duchess
00:33:02did not scold me
00:33:03she only gave
00:33:05my hand
00:33:05a kind squeeze
00:33:06and withdrew
00:33:06telling us
00:33:07gently to talk
00:33:08and now
00:33:09facing a living
00:33:10breathing Lucian
00:33:11instead of a
00:33:12drifting ghost
00:33:13I felt suddenly
00:33:14absurdly shy
00:33:15for six months
00:33:16I had poured
00:33:17my soul out
00:33:18to his silent form
00:33:19sharing my darkest
00:33:20secrets
00:33:20and shamelessly
00:33:21eating cheese
00:33:21by his bedside
00:33:22I had completely
00:33:24forgotten that this
00:33:24man would one day
00:33:25wake up and remember
00:33:26every single word
00:33:28he watched me fidget
00:33:29and rub the back
00:33:30of my neck
00:33:30and his eyes
00:33:31glinted with mischief
00:33:34Alara
00:33:35how did you know
00:33:36the cheese
00:33:37from the west
00:33:37cellar
00:33:38is my favorite
00:33:39thing in the world
00:33:41what
00:33:41I was still
00:33:42drunk on the fortune
00:33:43and slow to follow
00:33:45Lucian gave a cold
00:33:46little laugh
00:33:47to keep my noble
00:33:48figure
00:33:48and my discipline
00:33:51and because
00:33:51Serafina turned up
00:33:52her noses at it
00:33:53I told the whole
00:33:54world for years
00:33:55despised
00:33:56that I despise
00:33:57that cheese
00:33:59and for the six months
00:34:00you tended me
00:34:01I could not speak
00:34:02a single word
00:34:04so tell me
00:34:04Alara
00:34:06how did you know
00:34:07be honest with me
00:34:08now
00:34:10while my soul
00:34:11was parted
00:34:11from my body
00:34:12you saw it
00:34:13didn't you
00:34:15you saw my spirit
00:34:20well
00:34:21so his questions
00:34:22had never been
00:34:23a simple password
00:34:24he had been testing
00:34:25his own wild theory
00:34:26all along
00:34:28I
00:34:29that is
00:34:30you talked in your sleep
00:34:31my lord
00:34:32I was in that room
00:34:33day and day
00:34:34I happened to overhear
00:34:35my eyes darted
00:34:37everywhere but his
00:34:38did I now
00:34:41and what did my
00:34:42sleep talking say
00:34:46you said you were
00:34:47starving for that cheese
00:34:49that the moment you
00:34:50woke
00:34:50you'd wrap your arms
00:34:51around a whole wheel
00:34:52and devour every bite
00:34:53I clapped both hands
00:34:55over my mouth
00:34:56ruined
00:34:56what kind of
00:34:58comatose man
00:34:58sleep talks an entire
00:35:00perfectly formed
00:35:01vow like that
00:35:01I had let my tongue
00:35:03run wild
00:35:04he saw the blood
00:35:05rush to my face
00:35:06saw me caught
00:35:07between terror
00:35:07and shame
00:35:08and lord Lucian
00:35:09Aurelius smiled
00:35:09his first true smile
00:35:10since waking
00:35:11Alera
00:35:13I suspected
00:35:14from the start
00:35:16that you could
00:35:16hear me
00:35:17how else
00:35:20I'd think of
00:35:20that cheese
00:35:21one day
00:35:21and the next
00:35:22you'd carry a
00:35:22wheel to my
00:35:23bedside
00:35:26I'd wish for
00:35:27a certain opera
00:35:27and you'd have
00:35:28it playing
00:35:28before the hour
00:35:29was out
00:35:31I told myself
00:35:32we were simply
00:35:33of one mind
00:35:34but it was
00:35:35never that
00:35:35was it
00:35:36you could see
00:35:37my soul
00:35:39so tell me
00:35:40true
00:35:40did you hear me
00:35:41promise the fortune
00:35:43is that why
00:35:44you leapt forward
00:35:44to take
00:35:45Seraphina's place
00:35:46at that
00:35:46I could only
00:35:47laugh
00:35:48sheepish and
00:35:49caught
00:35:49to love gold
00:35:50is only human
00:35:51Lucian wanted
00:35:53for nothing
00:35:53surely he would
00:35:54not begrudge
00:35:55me that one
00:35:56small sin
00:35:56I scrambled
00:35:57to defend
00:35:58myself
00:35:58but of all
00:36:00the souls
00:36:00in the world
00:36:01only I could
00:36:02see your spirit
00:36:03only I could
00:36:04hear what
00:36:05was in your
00:36:05heart
00:36:06that has to
00:36:07count for
00:36:07something
00:36:09doesn't it
00:36:10fate
00:36:11even
00:36:17and as the
00:36:18words left me
00:36:19I felt the air
00:36:20between us
00:36:20shift
00:36:21grow warm
00:36:21and close
00:36:22like the hush
00:36:23before chapel
00:36:23bells
00:36:24I had
00:36:25perhaps
00:36:26overstepped
00:36:27a death
00:36:28touched
00:36:28girl
00:36:28hired off
00:36:29the gutter
00:36:29speaking of
00:36:30fate to the
00:36:31air of
00:36:31house
00:36:31Aurelius
00:36:32I dropped
00:36:33my gaze
00:36:33to my own
00:36:34hands
00:36:34and waited
00:36:34for him
00:36:35to remember
00:36:35himself
00:36:36and the
00:36:36gulf of
00:36:36blood
00:36:37and gold
00:36:37between us
00:36:38and put me
00:36:38back in my
00:36:39place with a
00:36:39single cold
00:36:40word
00:36:40but Lucian
00:36:41only nodded
00:36:42as if I had
00:36:42said something
00:36:43wise
00:36:45you're right
00:36:47it means the
00:36:48bond between
00:36:48us runs
00:36:49deeper than
00:36:49most
00:36:50then with
00:36:51great effort
00:36:51he lifted
00:36:52his arm
00:36:52dragged it
00:36:53across the
00:36:53blanket inch
00:36:54by inch
00:36:54and closed
00:36:55his thin
00:36:55hand gently
00:36:56around mine
00:36:57Lara
00:36:59I like
00:37:00you brave
00:37:02I like
00:37:03you bold
00:37:05no one
00:37:06of house
00:37:06thornwood
00:37:07will ever
00:37:07lay a
00:37:07hand on
00:37:08you again
00:37:10I swore
00:37:11to settle
00:37:11your account
00:37:11with them
00:37:12and I
00:37:13am a man
00:37:13who keeps
00:37:14his word
00:37:16the warmth
00:37:16of his palm
00:37:17traveled up
00:37:18my arm
00:37:18steady and
00:37:19real
00:37:19for the
00:37:20first time
00:37:20in my life
00:37:21the world
00:37:22beneath me
00:37:22did not
00:37:23tilt
00:37:23and in that
00:37:24same heartbeat
00:37:24I looked into
00:37:25his living
00:37:26eyes for the
00:37:26first time
00:37:27yet it felt
00:37:28as if I had
00:37:28known him
00:37:29for years
00:37:29and years
00:37:30night after
00:37:31night
00:37:31I had
00:37:32read to
00:37:32him
00:37:32cared for
00:37:33him
00:37:33and whispered
00:37:34my secrets
00:37:34into his
00:37:35silence
00:37:35well if
00:37:36my maude
00:37:37swears it
00:37:38then I'll
00:37:39be watching
00:37:39for the
00:37:40day
00:37:41you bring
00:37:41the storm
00:37:42down on
00:37:42my enemies
00:37:43he was the
00:37:44only one
00:37:44who had
00:37:45ever listened
00:37:45he was
00:37:46pleased
00:37:47plainly
00:37:48that there
00:37:48was no
00:37:49distance
00:37:49left
00:37:50between us
00:37:50the cold
00:37:51air had
00:37:52thawed back
00:37:52into the
00:37:52fretting
00:37:53tender soul
00:37:53I knew
00:37:54and he
00:37:54flushed
00:37:55faintly
00:37:55as he
00:37:55made
00:37:56his
00:37:56vow
00:38:01as for
00:38:02the betrothal
00:38:02my mother
00:38:03promised
00:38:04the sealed
00:38:05contract
00:38:05the chapel
00:38:06blessing
00:38:07when I am
00:38:07whole again
00:38:08I will
00:38:09honor every
00:38:10word of it
00:38:10the tips
00:38:11of my ears
00:38:12went hot
00:38:14I believe
00:38:14you
00:38:16shall I
00:38:17go and
00:38:18cut you a
00:38:18slice of
00:38:19that cheese
00:38:19now
00:38:19he laughed
00:38:20aloud at
00:38:20that openly
00:38:21and I could
00:38:22not help
00:38:22but laugh
00:38:23with him
00:38:23sweet and
00:38:24bright
00:38:24after all
00:38:25the fortune
00:38:26was real
00:38:26gold
00:38:27an estate
00:38:27my freedom
00:38:28pressed into
00:38:29my own
00:38:30two hands
00:38:30the young
00:38:31lord of
00:38:32house
00:38:32Aurelius
00:38:32was a man
00:38:33who did
00:38:33exactly as
00:38:34he said
00:38:34and he
00:38:35was not
00:38:36finished
00:38:36exacting
00:38:37retribution
00:38:37in the
00:38:38weeks that
00:38:38followed
00:38:39Lucian
00:38:39rose from
00:38:40his sick
00:38:40bed
00:38:40by slow
00:38:41degrees
00:38:41and house
00:38:42Aurelius
00:38:43turned its
00:38:43full weight
00:38:44upon house
00:38:44Thornwood
00:38:45before the
00:38:46magistrate
00:38:46our own
00:38:47servants
00:38:47testified to
00:38:48how I was
00:38:48starved
00:38:48while Serafina
00:38:49was pampered
00:38:50the sealed
00:38:51writ was drawn
00:38:51and my name
00:38:52was struck
00:38:53from my
00:38:53family's line
00:38:54forever
00:38:55Serafina's
00:38:55lies
00:38:56once carved
00:38:56into the
00:38:57court's record
00:38:57by her own
00:38:58eager scribes
00:38:59became the
00:38:59noose that
00:39:00hanged her
00:39:00exposed as a
00:39:01fraud
00:39:02she was shunned
00:39:03by the realm
00:39:03and every noble
00:39:04house shut its
00:39:05gates to her
00:39:06forever
00:39:06my parents
00:39:07who had traded
00:39:08their true
00:39:09daughter for
00:39:09an orphan's
00:39:10flattery
00:39:10lost the favor
00:39:11of house
00:39:11Aurelius
00:39:12and every
00:39:13door it had
00:39:13once opened
00:39:14I did not
00:39:15gloat
00:39:15I had a chest
00:39:17of gold
00:39:17in a state
00:39:18of my own
00:39:18and a future
00:39:19no one could
00:39:20strip from me
00:39:20for the first
00:39:21time
00:39:22the cold
00:39:22clinging to me
00:39:23since birth
00:39:23felt less like
00:39:24a curse
00:39:24and more like
00:39:25armor
00:39:25it was what
00:39:26let me see
00:39:27the unseen
00:39:27and stand
00:39:28firm when
00:39:29everyone else
00:39:29fled
00:39:29but I confess
00:39:30I slept
00:39:31easier knowing
00:39:31the people
00:39:32who had
00:39:32broken me
00:39:33for 20
00:39:33years would
00:39:33never again
00:39:34sleep easy
00:39:35themselves
00:39:35and every
00:39:36few days
00:39:37a sealed
00:39:37letter arrived
00:39:38from the castle
00:39:39in a strong
00:39:40impatient hand
00:39:41asking when
00:39:41exactly
00:39:42the death
00:39:43touched
00:39:43girl meant
00:39:44to come
00:39:44back
00:39:44and read
00:39:45him
00:39:45his
00:39:45dispatches
00:39:49I went
00:39:50back
00:39:50of course
00:39:51the chamber
00:39:52of recovery
00:39:52became a
00:39:53sunlit
00:39:53solar
00:39:54the wasted
00:39:54sleeper
00:39:55became a
00:39:55lord who
00:39:56could walk
00:39:56the long
00:39:56galleries
00:39:57on my
00:39:57arm
00:39:57slower than
00:39:58he liked
00:39:59complaining
00:39:59the whole
00:40:00way
00:40:00we were
00:40:00wed beneath
00:40:01the chapel
00:40:01bells of
00:40:02house
00:40:02Aurelius
00:40:03in the
00:40:03cold and
00:40:03beautiful
00:40:04hall
00:40:09on the
00:40:09morning
00:40:10of the
00:40:10vows
00:40:10i thought
00:40:11of all
00:40:11the years
00:40:12they had
00:40:12called
00:40:12me
00:40:13cursed
00:40:13death
00:40:14touched
00:40:14bill
00:40:15omen
00:40:15a stain
00:40:16on the
00:40:17air
00:40:17a girl
00:40:18her own
00:40:18mother
00:40:18could not
00:40:19bear to
00:40:19look upon
00:40:20they had
00:40:20been so
00:40:21certain
00:40:21my gift
00:40:22was a
00:40:22punishment
00:40:23let them
00:40:23look
00:40:24now
00:40:24let them
00:40:25look at
00:40:25the lord
00:40:25who had
00:40:25crossed
00:40:26back
00:40:26from the
00:40:26edge
00:40:26of
00:40:27death
00:40:27and
00:40:27chosen
00:40:27me
00:40:27the only
00:40:28soul
00:40:28in all
00:40:28the world
00:40:29who could
00:40:29see him
00:40:29when he
00:40:30was
00:40:30lost
00:40:30who could
00:40:31hear him
00:40:31when he
00:40:31had no
00:40:31voice
00:40:32who had
00:40:32stayed
00:40:39for mine
00:40:40are you
00:40:41ready
00:40:41my lady
00:40:43i've been
00:40:43ready
00:40:43since the
00:40:44day
00:40:45i haggled
00:40:46my way
00:40:47into your
00:40:47house
00:40:48for a
00:40:49chest
00:40:49of gold
00:40:51and now
00:40:53now i'd
00:40:53marry you
00:40:54for free
00:40:55don't let
00:40:56it go
00:40:56to your
00:40:56head
00:40:56he laughed
00:40:58that warm
00:40:58living laugh
00:40:59i had once
00:41:00only heard
00:41:00from a ghost
00:41:01and pressed
00:41:01a small
00:41:02wrapped parcel
00:41:02into my
00:41:03hands
00:41:03the reek
00:41:04of it
00:41:04was
00:41:05unmistakable
00:41:06blue
00:41:06veined
00:41:06cheese
00:41:07from the
00:41:08west
00:41:08cellar
00:41:09so she
00:41:10never
00:41:10forgets
00:41:11how this
00:41:11began
00:41:11i smiled
00:41:12until my
00:41:13eyes
00:41:13stung
00:41:14whoever
00:41:14said that
00:41:15seeing souls
00:41:15was a
00:41:16curse
00:41:16had never
00:41:16seen
00:41:17what i
00:41:17saw
00:41:17my gift
00:41:18was no
00:41:19curse
00:41:19at all
00:41:19it was
00:41:20the greatest
00:41:21blessing
00:41:21of my
00:41:21life
00:41:30my first
00:41:31morning as
00:41:32lady
00:41:32aurelius
00:41:33i woke
00:41:33up to a
00:41:34heavy weight
00:41:34pressing down
00:41:35on me
00:41:35i opened
00:41:36one eye
00:41:37lucian had
00:41:38thrown an
00:41:38arm
00:41:38across
00:41:38me
00:41:39in his
00:41:39sleep
00:41:39heavy
00:41:40i'm
00:41:40recovering
00:41:40you recovered
00:41:41three weeks
00:41:42ago
00:41:42relapse
00:41:43very serious
00:41:44outside
00:41:44the morning
00:41:45bells rang
00:41:46somewhere below
00:41:47a steward was likely pacing holes into the floor
00:41:49i shoved at lucian's shoulder
00:41:51he did not budge
00:41:53the dispatches won't read themselves
00:41:54let them stack
00:41:55wait half a year to wait beside you
00:41:56i am collecting interest
00:41:57cuddling is not an administrative duty
00:41:59it should be
00:41:59i was smiling when the knock came
00:42:01three quick raps
00:42:03then the steward strained voice through the oak
00:42:06my lord
00:42:07my lady
00:42:08a rider has come from the northern marches
00:42:11urgent
00:42:12lucian groaned into the pillow
00:42:15this had better be a war
00:42:18it was not a war
00:42:19at breakfast
00:42:20cassandra read the letter twice
00:42:22and all warmth left her face
00:42:24in a northern village
00:42:26nearly a dozen people had fallen into a deep unwaking slumber
00:42:30no fever
00:42:31no wound
00:42:32their bodies breathed
00:42:34but their eyes would not open
00:42:35my hand tightened around my cup
00:42:37lucian looked at me
00:42:39that sounds familiar
00:42:40exactly familiar
00:42:42the court healers who studied your case
00:42:45are gone
00:42:47no one there will know what to look for
00:42:49but i would
00:42:52lucian's mouth opened
00:42:53i saw the protective refusal forming
00:42:56i covered his hand with mine
00:42:59they have no one
00:43:01after a long silence
00:43:02he exhaled
00:43:04then we leave at dawn
00:43:08we rode north with a healer
00:43:10twelve guards
00:43:10and a husband who complained
00:43:12i had won the argument too easily
00:43:14you are getting dangerous good at that
00:43:15i learned from outwitting a ghost
00:43:17who thought himself clever
00:43:18i was clever
00:43:19you were simply underhanded
00:43:21efficient
00:43:22the road thinned into pine forest
00:43:24and cool green hills
00:43:25for a few hours
00:43:27with his shoulder brushing mine
00:43:29i almost felt like a bride on a journey
00:43:31instead of a death-touched girl
00:43:32riding toward a curse
00:43:33then we reached the village
00:43:35the laughter died first
00:43:37no children ran in the lane
00:43:39no dogs barked
00:43:41doors hung half open
00:43:42meals gone cold inside
00:43:44by the well
00:43:45an old woman sat slumped on a stone bench
00:43:47breathing softly
00:43:48eyes sealed shut
00:43:49i slid from my horse before it stopped
00:43:52do not drink the water
00:43:53lucian repeated the order to the guards
00:43:56i walked past the baker's door
00:43:58a man lay face down in spilled flour
00:44:01beside his body
00:44:02his soul stood gray and trembling
00:44:04staring at his own hands
00:44:06am i dead?
00:44:08not yet
00:44:09tell me what happened
00:44:11you can see me?
00:44:12yes
00:44:13quickly
00:44:13his eyes widened
00:44:15one by one
00:44:16i questioned them
00:44:17the baker
00:44:18the old woman
00:44:19a stable boy
00:44:20a girl who had dropped her kale by the well
00:44:22every soul told me the same thing
00:44:25they had drunk from the well
00:44:27the well was fed by a spring in the hills above the village
00:44:30the baker's soul pointed toward the darkening pines
00:44:34we heard shouting there last night
00:44:38then the dog stopped barking
00:44:40i turned to lucian
00:44:43someone poisoned the spring
00:44:48and whoever did it is still here
00:44:57the village well smelled like ordinary water
00:44:59lucian drew up a bucket
00:45:01sniffed
00:45:02and frowned
00:45:03nothing
00:45:03of course not
00:45:04this poison does not touch the tongue
00:45:06it touches the soul
00:45:07that is worse
00:45:09usually
00:45:09a scout returned from the northern path before dusk
00:45:13he had found a camp near the spring
00:45:15three tents
00:45:15a dying fire
00:45:16boot prints pressed deep into the mud
00:45:18lucian's expression went cold
00:45:20you stay here with half the guard
00:45:21and if they put you under
00:45:23who talks to your soul then
00:45:27i hate when you are right
00:45:29you married me
00:45:31you should get used to it
00:45:32we climbed through the pines together
00:45:35the air grew colder with every step
00:45:37not with mountain chill
00:45:38but with the grave cold i had known since birth
00:45:40yet this was sharper
00:45:43hungrier
00:45:43there were souls ahead
00:45:45not sleeping
00:45:46trapped
00:45:47a bitter smelling pot hung over the fire
00:45:50beside it
00:45:51wrapped in rough wool instead of silk
00:45:53seraphina
00:45:54allura
00:45:55i wondered when you would come
00:45:57lucian's hand went to his sword
00:45:59seraphina laughed
00:46:02don't bother
00:46:02i am not the one you should fear
00:46:05a man stepped from the largest tent
00:46:07elderly
00:46:07silver bearded
00:46:08robed in black
00:46:09holding a staff top with smoky crystal
00:46:11the air around him crawled with wrongness
00:46:15this is magnus
00:46:16he understands what you are
00:46:18magnus bowed
00:46:21lady alara
00:46:23the souls fear at last
00:46:29magnus spoke as politely as if we had met over tea
00:46:32i studied the boundary between body and soul for thirty years
00:46:36the court called me a heret
00:46:38small minds always fear doors they cannot open
00:46:41the smoky crystal on his staff pulsed
00:46:45thin gray threads drifted from it into the spring
00:46:47vanishing beneath the water like worms
00:46:50lucian's voice dropped
00:46:52you did this to the village
00:46:53a controlled experiment
00:46:55and to me
00:46:56magnus smiled
00:46:58a trace of tonic in your horse's water
00:47:01just enough to loosen the soul from the flesh
00:47:04i required a noble subject
00:47:06someone the court would spend a fortune trying to save
00:47:09you were ideal
00:47:11for one heartbeat
00:47:12i thought lucian would kill him where he stood
00:47:14wait
00:47:18your husband was only the proof
00:47:21you lady alara
00:47:23are the answer
00:47:25a woman who can perceive a soul parted from its body
00:47:29hear it
00:47:30guide it back
00:47:31i have searched for you since the first rumor reached me
00:47:35a thornwood daughter
00:47:36who spoke to empty rooms
00:47:39you mean the cursed girl hidden in the house
00:47:42hidden yes
00:47:43cursed no
00:47:45valuable
00:47:47do not flatter her too much
00:47:49she has always had a talent for looking pathetic
00:47:52come with me willingly
00:47:54i will wake every villager before sunset
00:47:56refuse and their sleep deepens until no prayer
00:47:59no physician
00:48:00no husband can call them back
00:48:02lucian stepped in front of me
00:48:07you are not taking my wife
00:48:11magnus only lifted his staff
00:48:13the gray threads in the spring tightened
00:48:17if i refuse they die
00:48:19not die
00:48:20death is crude
00:48:22they remain exactly as they are
00:48:24breathing
00:48:25aging
00:48:26unreachable
00:48:27a mercy
00:48:28compared with what ignorance does to gifted people
00:48:31seraphina rose
00:48:32impatience bright in her eyes
00:48:34enough talking
00:48:35take her
00:48:36and give me what you promised
00:48:37patience
00:48:39i have been patient for months
00:48:42you said once she was gone
00:48:43i would have my name back
00:48:44my place
00:48:45my life
00:48:47his silence told me everything
00:48:49i asked for three minutes to think
00:48:51magnus granted two
00:48:53lucian dragged me behind the largest pine
00:48:55you are not considering this
00:48:58i am considering how to get near the crystal
00:49:00his face went still
00:49:03listen
00:49:03there are no dead souls in that village
00:49:06what
00:49:07everywhere has a few
00:49:08old age
00:49:10fever
00:49:10accidents
00:49:11but here
00:49:13none
00:49:14he can force souls out
00:49:16he can trap them
00:49:20but i do not think he can kill with that tonic
00:49:25he is bluffing about permanent sleep
00:49:29you are guessing
00:49:32i am reading the dead by their absence
00:49:36it is a very specific talent
00:49:38he looked as if he wanted to argue
00:49:40kiss me
00:49:41lock me in a carriage
00:49:42and go to war all at once
00:49:43what is the plan
00:49:46i agree
00:49:48he wakes some villagers as proof
00:49:50when the crystal draws the soul poison back
00:49:53we strike
00:49:55and if it strikes you first
00:49:56i squeezed his hand
00:49:58then catch me
00:49:59before he could stop me
00:50:01i walked back into the firelight
00:50:03i will come with you
00:50:04but first
00:50:05wake them
00:50:06magnus smiled
00:50:07wise girl
00:50:09magnus raised his staff over the spring
00:50:11and murmured words too old for any chapel
00:50:13the crystal flared
00:50:14gray threads curled out of the water
00:50:16and slithered back into the smoky shard
00:50:18from the village below came a distant cry
00:50:20then another
00:50:21then the confused shout of a man waking to find flour pasted to his face
00:50:25my throat tightened
00:50:26half the village at least
00:50:28was stirring
00:50:29magnus lowered the staff
00:50:31the rest when we are safely away
00:50:33your word
00:50:34you already know what my word is worth
00:50:36yet you still have little choice
00:50:37seraphina strode to me and seized my arm
00:50:41finally
00:50:42back where you belong
00:50:44it was the same grip she had used a thousand times before
00:50:47in corridors
00:50:47before guests
00:50:48behind closed doors where no one cared how i bruised
00:50:51this time
00:50:52i did not flinch
00:50:53then the crystal brightened again
00:50:55and i saw them
00:50:56not threads
00:50:57not light
00:50:58souls
00:50:59a dozen faint figures clung inside the smoky shard like moths trapped in glass
00:51:03they were old
00:51:04thin
00:51:05almost worn away
00:51:06one wore the face of a merchant i had seen at the village gate
00:51:09the one who had guided seraphina north
00:51:11seraphina saw him too
00:51:13her fingers loosened
00:51:17he said that man left us
00:51:19he did not leave
00:51:20magnus used him
00:51:21across the clearing
00:51:22magnus pleasant mask thin
00:51:24seraphina
00:51:25step away from her
00:51:27she did not move
00:51:28i caught lucian's eye and gave the smallest nod
00:51:30now
00:51:33lucian lunged
00:51:34not at magnus
00:51:35but at the staff
00:51:36his shoulder struck the shaft
00:51:37the great threads lashing the spring snapped clean
00:51:39magnus snarled
00:51:40as if struck himself
00:51:42guards poured into the clearing from both sides
00:51:44magnus swung the staff in a wide arc
00:51:46forcing lucian back
00:51:47the crystal screamed with a sound
00:51:49no living throat should make
00:51:51look at it
00:51:52really look
00:51:54she tried to jerk free
00:51:55then froze
00:51:56inside the crystal
00:51:57the trapped souls pressed against the glassy dark
00:52:00one lifted a hand
00:52:01the merchant
00:52:02he told me he had moved on
00:52:03he told you what he needed you to hear
00:52:05magnus turned on us
00:52:07i fed you when the court shut its doors
00:52:10i clothed you when you had nothing
00:52:13this is how you repay me
00:52:15seraphina's voice came out very small
00:52:17you said you loved me
00:52:20magnus laughed
00:52:22i said you were useful
00:52:24bitter
00:52:25ruined
00:52:26desperate to hurt your sister
00:52:28a perfect little tool
00:52:30something in her seemed to break without making a sound
00:52:33i released her wrist
00:52:36tools can choose to stop working
00:52:38if i cannot have the soul seeker
00:52:40i will have the husband
00:52:42let her watch him fall twice
00:52:45i stepped between them
00:52:46the gray light struck my chest
00:52:50cold swallowed me
00:52:51not winter cold
00:52:53not grave cold
00:52:55something older
00:52:56hollow and endless
00:52:57as if the world had been scraped clean of every living sound
00:53:00for one terrible breath
00:53:02i could not feel my hands
00:53:03then lucian's arms closed around me
00:53:07alara
00:53:08stay with me
00:53:09his voice was warm
00:53:11living
00:53:11mine
00:53:12i dragged in a breath
00:53:14the gray light shattered across my skin and vanished
00:53:19that should have worked
00:53:20i was shaking so badly i could barely stand
00:53:23i only knew magnus did not understand either
00:53:25and that ignorance frightened him
00:53:26so i smiled
00:53:27i have been touched by death since the day i was born
00:53:30did you really think your little parlor trick would frighten me
00:53:33lucian's arm tightened around my waist
00:53:35magnus looked for me to the dimming crystal
00:53:38and hunger dawned in his face
00:53:39not merely sight then
00:53:41resistance
00:53:42immunity
00:53:43you are not a window
00:53:45you are a shield
00:53:49and you
00:53:50are out of power
00:53:51the guards had forced his mercenaries to their knees
00:53:54seraphina stood at the edge of the clearing
00:53:57the staff in magnus hand trembled
00:53:59its smoky heart had gone dull
00:54:01lucian stepped forward
00:54:02sword drawn
00:54:04drop it
00:54:05for a moment magnus looked almost old
00:54:08then the staff slipped from his hand
00:54:10it struck the stones
00:54:12the crystal shattered
00:54:14a dozen pale souls rose from the shards like mist in morning light
00:54:17free at last
00:54:20magnus was bound in iron chains before sunset
00:54:22his silver beard was singed
00:54:24his eyes no longer bright
00:54:26the shattered crystal's hold on the spring was broken
00:54:28below the village woke in waves coughing crying shouting names across the streets
00:54:34i heard a child sob into her mother's skirts and had to turn away
00:54:37seraphina stood apart from everyone arms wrapped around herself
00:54:41no one had tied her
00:54:43there was nowhere for her to run
00:54:46why did you go to him
00:54:47for once
00:54:49she had no performance ready
00:54:51because i had nothing
00:54:53every door was shut
00:54:54every noble who once smiled at me looked through me
00:54:56you had gold a title a future
00:54:58i had scraps
00:54:59i did not take those things from you
00:55:01you threw lucian away
00:55:03you lied
00:55:04you tried to steal
00:55:06what you refused to earn
00:55:08magnus said he saw something special in me
00:55:10he saw someone easy to use
00:55:12a long silence passed between us
00:55:14for the first time in my life
00:55:16she looked less like a monster than a ruined girl who had mistaken worship for love
00:55:20it did not make her innocent
00:55:21it did not make me forgive her
00:55:26what happens to me now
00:55:28i looked toward the road
00:55:29where lucian was giving orders to send word to the magistrate
00:55:32that is not up to me
00:55:33you could ask them to spare me
00:55:36i could
00:55:40but i will not lie for you
00:55:44not anymore
00:55:47we remained in the village three days
00:55:49the court healer watched over the sleepers as they recovered
00:55:52the guards locked magnus notes
00:55:54tonics and crystal shards in an iron chest
00:55:57his notebooks were filled with cramped diagrams of souls
00:56:00sleeping bodies
00:56:01and on one page that made lucian go very still
00:56:04sketches of my face
00:56:06on the second evening
00:56:07lucian found me sitting on the well's stone rim
00:56:09you are thinking too loudly
00:56:11magnus called me a shield
00:56:13lucian sat beside me
00:56:14close enough for our shoulders to touch
00:56:16he also called poisoning villages research
00:56:18i would not treat him as a reliable scholar
00:56:21but the light failed
00:56:22but the light failed
00:56:24that is not an explanation
00:56:26lucian pulled a warm rye loaf from inside his coat
00:56:30did you steal that
00:56:32i requisitioned it nobly
00:56:34i laughed despite myself
00:56:35the magistrate arrived the next morning
00:56:38ink stained and exhausted
00:56:40he had been hunting magnus for eight years
00:56:42three villages had suffered similar soul sleep outbreaks
00:56:46each time magnus vanished before the law came
00:56:50we never knew what he wanted
00:56:53now we do
00:56:54he looked at me
00:56:57you
00:56:58magnus had heard rumors years ago
00:57:01of a thornwood girl who spoke to the dead
00:57:03only when i married lucian did my name become visible
00:57:06so my family's neglect protected me
00:57:09that is the bleakest silver lining i have ever heard
00:57:12please save the marital commentary for after the deposition
00:57:15lucian looked deeply offended
00:57:17our commentary is valuable
00:57:19for the first time in days
00:57:21i laughed freely
00:57:24serafina's questioning took longest
00:57:25she had not brewed the tonic
00:57:28she had not known how to bind souls
00:57:30but she had led magnus to the village
00:57:32stood by as he poisoned the spring
00:57:34and waited to be rewarded for my ruin
00:57:36the magistrate asked if she had anything to say
00:57:39she sat with her hands clasped until the knuckles whitened
00:57:42i blamed alara because it was easier
00:57:45i blamed lucian the duchess my parents the court everyone
00:57:50but i was the one who ruined my life
00:57:52no one spoke
00:57:53i felt no forgiveness bloom in me
00:57:56forgiveness was too large
00:57:58too clean a word for what lay between us
00:58:01but i understood something i had not before
00:58:03i had been told i was worthless until i believed silence was survival
00:58:07she helped us in the clearing
00:58:09she showed the magistrate the camp
00:58:11that should be recorded
00:58:14lucian stared at me
00:58:16you are defending her
00:58:19i am being fair
00:58:20there is a difference
00:58:22if the sentence came at dawn
00:58:24magnus would be taken to the capital
00:58:26tried before the king's bench
00:58:28and imprisoned for life
00:58:29his research would be burned
00:58:31serafina would serve five years in a northern convent
00:58:34gardens
00:58:35kitchens
00:58:36sick rooms
00:58:37honest labor
00:58:38when the cart came
00:58:39she paused beside me
00:58:41i do not know how to be nobody
00:58:43i remembered a girl shoving me forward
00:58:45before a room of nobles
00:58:46it suits you
00:58:48you deserved that
00:58:50you deserved worse
00:58:52but i have better things to do now
00:58:55the ride home was gentler
00:58:57no poison springs
00:58:59no screaming crystals
00:59:00only wildflowers
00:59:02bad inns
00:59:02and lucian accusing me of cheating at cards every night
00:59:05you read my face
00:59:06then control your face
00:59:08i am handsome
00:59:09it has never needed discipline
00:59:10at the third inn
00:59:11after supper
00:59:12he found me by the hearth
00:59:14the fire painted everything gold instead of grey
00:59:16when magnus attacked me
00:59:18you stepped in front of him
00:59:20i noticed
00:59:21you did not know the soul poison would fail
00:59:23i looked into the flames
00:59:24no
00:59:25then why
00:59:26because the answer was simple
00:59:27it was hard to say
00:59:28because you were the first person who ever listened to me
00:59:30even before you had a voice
00:59:32i was not gonna let him take that from me
00:59:34lucian went very quiet
00:59:36then he pulled me up and kissed me in the middle of the inn
00:59:38while the one-eyed innkeeper pretended with heroic failure not to watch
00:59:42when we reached aurelia's castle
00:59:44cassandra was waiting on the steps
00:59:46she embraced me first
00:59:47then lucian
00:59:48then me again
00:59:51by order of the crown
00:59:52elara erostius is recognized as the realm's first soul witness
00:59:56with authority to investigate soul sleep and disturbances of the dead
00:59:59i nearly choked on pheasant
01:00:01i am not qualified
01:00:02you bargained your way into my house for a chest of gold
01:00:05this is mild by comparison
01:00:06the guards cheered
01:00:07the servants smiled
01:00:09cassandra's eyes shone
01:00:11slowly
01:00:12i nodded
01:00:13fine
01:00:14but i want a badge
01:00:16something shiny
01:00:19not cheese shaped
01:00:20cheap skip
01:00:22the badge arrived three weeks later
01:00:25it was a silver pin shape like an open eye
01:00:27set with a chip of clear blue crystal
01:00:29lucian had made very sure of that
01:00:32the king's seal was stamped on the back
01:00:34i pinned it to my collar
01:00:36and spent the morning catching my reflection in windows
01:00:38you have looked at yourself eighteen times
01:00:41nineteen
01:00:43pruning
01:00:43i have never owned
01:00:46proof before
01:00:48his teasing faded
01:00:50proof of what
01:00:51i touched the little open eye
01:00:53that i am not cursed
01:00:55that what i see is real
01:00:58that i was never the stain on the air they said i was
01:01:01he kissed my temple
01:01:04you never were
01:01:05summer came and with it visitors
01:01:07a farmer whose son had slipped into soul sleep
01:01:09a priest who wanted to know if the voice in his chapel was a ghost or a draft
01:01:13a noble woman who only wanted to stare at me
01:01:15a young man from the eastern marches arrived with his 12 year old sister
01:01:19her name was lira and she sat in my solar with her knees drawn up
01:01:22they said i was lying
01:01:23they said i wanted attention
01:01:24what do you hear
01:01:26old women arguing in the graveyard
01:01:29a soldier humming
01:01:32a boy asking for his mother
01:01:34i crouched before her
01:01:37you are not lying
01:01:39then what is wrong with me
01:01:42nothing
01:01:42you have the gift
01:01:44you just do not know how to carry it yet
01:01:48one year to the day after i first entered lucian's chamber of recovery
01:01:51the sanctuary opened its doors
01:01:53it was not grand
01:01:55a stone house at the edge of the aurelius estate
01:01:57with a garden
01:01:58lira was the first to move in
01:02:00the farmer's son came next
01:02:02then a woman who saw her drowned husband in mirrors
01:02:04then an old soldier who drank for 20 years to silence his dead comrades
01:02:08i visited every day
01:02:10i taught lira how to listen without fear
01:02:13i sat with the soldier while he spoke to the dead
01:02:15and watched him laugh for the first time
01:02:17when one of them complained that he still snored like a war horse
01:02:20that evening lucian walked me home through the lavender garden
01:02:24fireflies rose around us
01:02:28any regrets
01:02:29the ghost who had become my husband
01:02:31the man who had listened when he could not answer
01:02:34the lord who had kept every promise
01:02:36none
01:02:36you
01:02:37one
01:02:38i regret
01:02:39i cannot haunt house thornwood one more time
01:02:42i had excellent material
01:02:48i laughed until my eyes stung
01:02:50the dead still whispered at the edges of my sight
01:02:52they always would
01:02:54but the living were louder now
01:02:56warmer
01:02:57far more interesting
01:02:59i took lucian's hand and walked toward home
01:03:01the life i had built with nerve
01:03:03stubbornness
01:03:04and a very suspicious amount of cheese
01:03:06my gift was not a curse
01:03:07it had never been a curse
01:03:09and a life was not a curse