Crimson Shadows, Broken Chains

Synopsis

All across the realm, they curse my name. I'm filthy. I'm ruthless. I'm mad. I'm cheap. But to my lord, I am the most loyal, the most obedient, the most devoted dog he ever owned. Whoever he wants dead, I kill — even if it costs me my own life, I won't hesitate. All for a single reward: when the task is done, that flawless, breathtaking face of his would break into a smile, and he'd praise me — "Good Scarlett." Then I awoke. Only then did I learn that this world is nothing more than a tale spun on parchment. My lord is the hero. Elara Hartwell, the miracle healer, is the heroine. His blight-stricken legs will one day be cured by her hands. Through the long months of healing, fondness will take root between them, until they become the immortal couple the entire realm envies. And I — consumed by jealousy of Elara — will descend into madness and die by my lord's own palm. I am not afraid of death. What I fear is leaving this world, just as the script foretold, without ever having tasted him. So the very night I woke from that cursed story, I slipped Nightshade dust into my lord's wine. And I climbed into his bed.