Chapter 2
Duke Sterling stood on the platform at the center of the square.
He was dressed in black mourning clothes. And that was actually my father in the story.
"Today, before all of you," his voice thundered across the square, amplified by magic, "I, Duke Sterling, hereby renounce all blood ties with my traitorous daughter, Isabella."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"House Sterling doesn't have a girl like that!
"She's a disgrace to the family, a blight upon the kingdom!" Duke Sterling shouted.
My nails dug into the wooden window frame.
Three years ago, in the palace garden, a poisoned arrow flew straight at him.
I lunged in front of him, taking the hit myself.
The arrow tore right through my shoulder.
He held me close, his eyes shining with tears, and whispered, "Isabella, you'll always be my pride."
And now? He was up on that platform, telling everyone the Sterling family didn't have a daughter like me.
I crouched down, hugging my knees.
I felt like crap, but not a single tear came out.
[WARNING! Plot has deviated. Host must find the truth.]
"Shut up," I snapped at the System.
[WARNING! Plot has deviated.]
"Shut the hell up!" I grabbed a broken tile from the floor and smashed it against the wall.
It shattered into pieces.
Voices came from downstairs. "Someone's up there!"
I scrambled out the back window and dove headfirst into the filthy gutter.
*****
At night, I burned with a high fever. I curled up in a pile of hay inside an abandoned stable on the edge of town.
The wound on my shoulder had started to rot.
Torchlight flickered through the cracks in the door.
"Search everywhere!" The voice was Alaric's, my fiancé. I knew that voice too well.
He kicked the door open, his sword sweeping aside the filthy hay I was hiding under.
The torchlight hit me right in the eyes.
I looked up at him.
He looked down at me.
His blue eyes didn't even try to hide it. He was clearly sick of me.
"Isabella," he said, "look at you now. Guess you finally got what you deserve."
Enchanted chains coiled around my wrists.
The runes flared to life, and my skin let out a sharp sizzle.
I smelled my own flesh burning and hissed through my teeth.
"Hurts?" Alaric crouched down. "When you poisoned Seraphine, it was a hundred times worse than this."
"I didn't poison her," I said.
"Still denying it?" he scoffed.
"That wasn't poison."
He let out a cold laugh. "The royal physicians had it tested. It was a mix of third-grade poisonous herbs and snake venom, enough to make someone's skin split open."
I stared him down. "That's weird. So... has her skin split open now?"
"She has a special constitution. She pulled through."
I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Wow. Lucky her."
He slapped me hard across the face.
I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Take her away," he ordered.
The prison cart rolled through the main gate of the capital.
Crowds packed the streets on both sides.
Rotten vegetables, rotten eggs, and stones rained down on the cart.
A sharp rock sliced across my forehead.
Blood streamed down, blinding my right eye.
I didn't wipe it away.
I just sat upright in the middle of the cart, staring at the crowd with my one good eye.
Shouts and curses crashed over me, wave after wave.
"Cut her to pieces!"
"Skin her alive!"
"Burn her alive!"
Alaric rode alongside the prison cart.
Hearing the shouts, he just sneered.
I called out to him, "Alaric."
He ignored me.
"This isn't how the plot's supposed to go," I said.
He finally turned to look at me.
I added, "The System made me play this role. The book literally said—"
"Enough!" He kicked the side of the cart. "You're still rambling at a time like this? Isabella, you're hopeless."
"I'm telling the truth," I insisted.
"Shut up!" he snapped.
I closed my eyes.
They dragged me to the lowest level of the palace dungeon. Then I heard the iron door slam shut.
After that came light footsteps, accompanied by the faint jingle of golden bells.
It was Seraphine.
She wore a white dress, her golden curls spilling over her chest.
Alaric and two handmaidens trailed after her.
The moment she walked in, she started crying. "Isabella..."
She rushed up to the iron bars, tears pouring down her face. "Isabella, what happened to you? Your face is all bloody, and your clothes..."
She turned to look at Alaric.
"Please, Your Highness, I'm begging you — let her go. She was only led astray by others..."
Alaric placed a hand on her shoulder. "Seraphine, you're too kind."
His voice was so soft.
I'd never heard him use that tone with me.
When he talked to me, his tone was always all business.
Seraphine sniffled, turning back to look at me.
Tears were still clinging to her lashes.
But her green eyes were bone dry. Not a trace of tears.
She flashed me a smile. It lasted barely a moment. Her eyes curved slightly with it.
Then she turned away again, dabbing at her eyes.
A chill ran down my spine.
She came closer, leaning in through the bars until her lips were right by my ear. "Isabella, don't blame the prince," she breathed. "He just loves me too much."
I caught a whiff of her perfume.
It was a mix of gardenia, sandalwood, and a hint of musk.
The "poison" I gave her smelled just like this.
I handed that vial to the maid myself and watched Seraphine drink it with my own eyes.
Now she stood in front of me, her skin so flawless it could reflect light.
My mind went blank with shock.
"Why are you zoning out, Isabella?" She straightened up, slipping right back into her fragile, gentle act. "Make sure you rest and get better. I'll come visit you again tomorrow."