Chapter 1
My adopted sister is the apple of the White Elf Clan's eye.
I am the dud, the one with zero magical spark, forced by my brothers to become her blood vessel, a living sacrifice to bear her magical burdens.
After shielding her from that eighth brutal storm curse, the kind that rips through your very being, I haul my fractured spirit before them as I demand the truth.
My eldest brother just smirked.
"She's had it rough from day one, while you've been pampered like a princess your whole life. Taking a bit of her pain? Come on, how's that unfair?"
My second brother's gaze was like shards of ice, freezing me in place.
"You were never in her league, anyway. Propping her up to ascend to the higher realms is your one shot at meaning something. You should be damn grateful."
My third brother shoved me hard, slamming me to the dirt.
"It's not like we're telling you to lay down your life for her. We've kept a roof over your head and food in your belly all these years. Is this the thanks we get?"
With that, they haul me off to the forbidden Wolf Den, locking me in tight and telling me to think long and hard about my ungratefulness.
In that heart-stopping moment, as a snarling pack of wolves leaps for my throat, that electronic chime I had almost forgotten pings in my head.
[Your life signs are fading fast! Do you want to bail on the quest to rescue the three elf kings of the White Elf Clan and snap back to reality right now?]
Blood wells up on my lips, and as darkness claws at the edges of my vision, I muster every last ounce of strength to nod.
From that day on, we were worlds apart, with no bridges left to cross, in life or in death.
*****
[Scan Complete. You have burned through eight lifelines in the Lightning Trials. One final death is required to initiate the return sequence.]
[Rest assured. Your family has made a full recovery. They are waiting for your return in the real world.]
I let my eyelids flutter shut, a wave of relief washing over me as I surrendered to the encroaching cold.
Finally, I was so close to going home.
Boom!
The massive stone doors of the Wolf Den exploded inward. The shockwave shattered my peaceful delusion.
"Yvette Fox! Get your ass out here! Lila's critical. She needs your heart's blood now!"
It was my eldest brother, Caleb Fox.
Even with my consciousness fraying at the edges, the sound of his voice triggered a primal shudder through my body.
Whenever Lila Fox so much as winced, he was always the first to appear, driving a blade through my chest to harvest what she needed.
He would always use a Celestial Elixir to patch me back together afterward, but I couldn't take the cycle anymore.
I remember sobbing, begging him, "Please... just rip out my soul. Make me into a hollow puppet for her. That way, even if I'm gone, she'll have an endless supply of blood..."
For a split second, shock cracked his gaze, but it froze over just as quickly.
"Lila carries the destiny of our entire bloodline! The agony she endures from the Lightning Trials is a thousand times worse than anything you feel!
"She hasn't uttered a single complaint. What gives you the right to whine?"
But he seemed to forget that I was the one who took those lightning strikes for her. I was the one whose bones were crushed and skin charred over and over again.
I tried to speak, but the Spirit-Binding Lash hissed through the air, the lash catching me across the ribs and slamming me into the dirt.
"Don't think a few pathetic whimpers will get you my sympathy!" he roared. "And don't you dare think I'll go soft and let you take Lila's place!"
When I didn't answer, the whip cracked again against the stone walls, the sound echoing sharply in the gloom.
"Yvette! Quit playing dead! Get up!"
But when the dust settled, he finally saw the broken, mangled mess lying on the floor. His arrogant composure shattered.
"Yvette!" he yelled and lunged forward, his grip bruising as he clamped onto my shoulder. "How? I ordered the pack to be restrained with the Binding Lash..."
A bloody smirk touched my lips.
He didn't know that his innocent Lila had snuck in the moment he left and cut the leashes.
"You are not allowed to die. I forbid it! Your life belongs to this family!"
He roared and grabbed my wrist. A torrent of domineering spiritual power flooded into my withered veins.
The pain was like being set on fire. It jolted my eyes open.
He froze.
"Yvette..."
In that split second, I used every ounce of strength I had left to reach for the dagger at his waist and drove the blade straight into my own heart.
Warm blood sprayed across his face. The scent drove the nearby wolves, briefly suppressed by his aura, into a frenzy. Their eyes glowed a predatory green as they lunged.
I closed my eyes at peace.
This time, it was really the end.
But then, a searing heat draped over me. Caleb had thrown his own body over mine, shielding me from the pack. I heard the sickening sound of teeth tearing into flesh and a muffled groan of agony.
I stared up at him, bewildered. Caleb, usually so composed and cruel, was staring back at me with a look of obsessive madness.
"Without my permission," he hissed through gritted teeth, "you don't get to die."