Chapter 1

Edward Hawthorne had a falling out with Princess Isabelle Sinclair, his childhood sweetheart.

Every time Isabelle got a new boy toy, Edward took a new mistress.

I was his seventh lover.

In my second year living in his house, Edward went missing on the frontier.

I risked my life to save him and stayed by his side as he won battles on the frontier.

At our closest, after we made love, he would hold me and whisper, "Sera, when we return to Valemont, I'll marry you."

I clutched the pendant at my chest, emotions surging inside.

After we returned to Valemont, the king offered Edward a reward.

But he said, "I have long admired Princess Isabelle. Your Majesty, please grant us permission to marry."

Everyone in Valemont laughed at my foolish dreams. Even Isabelle mocked me. "You're nothing but my replacement. Do you really think Edward would choose you?"

I endured all the ridicule and never thought of leaving, until Isabelle burned the bugs I raised, and Edward blamed me for scaring her.

I coughed up blood and passed out.

Once the mother bug died, the young could not survive.

Edward, you saved my whole clan, and I repaid you with my life.

We were even.

*****

When I woke up again, Edward was sitting by my bedside.

The dim candlelight outlined his sharp, cold profile.

As soon as he saw me open my eyes, he said, "Sera, you really shouldn't have used those bugs to scare Isabelle.

"She's timid and fragile. If she got bitten, she'd be in pain for days.

"This time, I told her not to hold it against you. But remember, don't do it again. Next time, even I won't be able to protect you."

My chest felt like it was being sliced open again and again with a dull blade, and the pain was so raw it numbed me.

I forced down the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat and said hoarsely, "She barged into my room and rummaged through everything, and she crushed the bugs I was raising.

"My bugs never bite anyone. They only save lives. What did they do wrong?"

Edward let out a long sigh, picking up the medicine bowl from the bedside. "You're just too stubborn. Fine, take your medicine."

He scooped up a spoonful and held it to my lips, his tone hardening. "There's only a month left until my wedding to Isabelle. Don't cause me any trouble."

The word "wedding" hit me like a punch to the gut.

I stared at the bowl of bitter, black medicine, snatched it up, and downed it in one shot.

The medicine burned going down, making me choke and cough so hard that tears streamed down my face, my chest aching with every breath.

Edward's patience finally ran out. He stood up and stormed out.

The door slammed with a thunderous bang. I collapsed onto the bed, my eyes empty as I stared up at the canopy.

Now that the mother bug was dead, the baby bug inside me wouldn't survive past half a year.

Edward, I probably wouldn't live to see you standing at the altar.

After half a day of lying in bed, my stomach was rumbling with hunger.

Like always, I called out for Luna Miller.

"Luna, I'm hungry," I said.

But this time, no matter how long I waited, no one came.

Bracing myself against the wall, I staggered out of my room, my body still weak and aching.

In the courtyard, a few servants were gathered around a tree, shovels in hand, burying something in the dirt.

I walked over and asked in a low voice, "What's going on here? Have any of you seen Luna?"

Everyone froze, looking at each other in silence, but no one dared to answer.

A sense of dread washed over me, and my voice grew sharper. "Can't you hear me? Where is Luna?"

At last, a timid servant finally spoke up, his voice shaking. "Madam, Luna upset Princess Isabelle, so she's already been..."

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms, gritting my teeth as I demanded again, "What happened to Luna?"

Before I could finish, one of the maids suddenly broke down in tears.

She explained, "Madam, after you passed out, Princess Isabelle forbade us from calling a doctor. Luna defied the guards and rushed out to find General Hawthorne for help.

"But Princess Isabelle had her executed for treason and dismembered her body.

"She even ordered us to bring back Luna's remains and bury them under this tree, saying it would make the flowers in your garden bloom better."

I stumbled back a few steps, blood suddenly pouring from my mouth and splattering across the front of my white clothes, turning them a shocking red.

When I looked at the field, now stained a deep, bloody red, my heart ached even more than if I had died myself.

I'd lived in Edward's house for four years, and Luna had always been by my side.

She was just fifteen. So young, so full of life.

And now, because of me, she was dead.