cold and sharp, raked over me, then the shattered plate

low and dangerous. "You dare te

e calm despite the storm brewing in hi

She's been... difficult. Hostile. I think... I t

bbed my arm, his fingers digg

way with it?" He dragged me towards the

lurking nearby, mater

ed, his voice like ice. "To the c

nicured courtyard. A few residents, drawn by the commotion, peered from their windows. Papa

ask of cold fury. Clara clung to hi

ar and a manipulator. She attempted to defraud my family. When her schemes fai

dismissive wave. "She i

nodded to

ngs. I doubled over, gasping. Another followed, then another. Th

n shot throug

ise. "Make sure she understands the consequences of her actio

d to ensure Eleanor could never use me as a broodmare for t

ckness crept in at th

passive face, Clara's feigned look of horror quickly morphing i

c beep of a heart monitor filled the silence.

a chair beside my bed, h

" she said, he

tered in my lower abdomen. I tried to sit up,

a flicker of something – annoyance? Reg

ernal damage. They've done what they can." A beat of silence. "They are... hopeful... t

plan, if Ethan's miraculous self-recovery f

s. The game was

lavish wedding plans were detailed in every society column. Ethan, they reported, was looking healthier by the day, his

st in me, the Appalachian anomaly, clearly waned

already working, plotting my next move. The image of J