Chapter 2
The floor was a graveyard of wolf carcasses.
Caleb carried me back on his shoulders, my blood soaking into his tunic. As I drifted in and out of consciousness, memories of my past life, my real life, resurfaced like a fever dream.
Before I transmigrated, my real brother, Bruno Bennett, the one who actually loved me, had lost his legs in a car accident. I had spent years on my knees in every church I could find, praying for a miracle until my forehead bled.
Then, the static of the System had whispered in my ear.
[If you can save the three High Kings of the White Elf Clan from their destined doom, you will earn a miracle for your brother.]
I asked, "How do I save them?"
The System replied: [Become their sister. Give them the love and family they've never known.]
A flash of light, and I was reborn as a high elf hatchling.
Our parents had died in the Great War. As the youngest, I was the light of my brothers' lives.
When I was seven, I was kidnapped by our enemies. My three brothers went absolutely berserk. They turned into demons of war, slaughtering the enemy camp and hanging the monsters who touched me from the city gates as a warning to the entire realm.
[Touch our sister, and we will burn your world to the ground.]
At that moment, the System progress bar hit 99%.
And then, Lila appeared.
She had "accidentally" taken a lethal blow meant for Caleb during a skirmish. Out of guilt, they took her in. They used to stroke my hair and promise me, "Don't worry, Yvette. You're our only sister. Always."
But one day, Lila showed them her arms, covered in self-inflicted lashes, and sobbed, "Yvette hates me for taking your attention, so she beats me every night. I don't want to live anymore!"
My brothers had panicked. The warmth in their eyes when they looked at me died instantly, replaced by a deep disappointment.
Then came the bigger lies. She claimed I had hired mercenaries to assault her. My brothers looked at me with pure loathing and banished me to the Sunless Catacombs, giving my sun-drenched estate to Lila.
The final straw was the prophecy offered by our clan's Oracle, whose pronouncements were considered fate itself.
"The signs have shown me," he whispered, "that Lila is born to be the hope of our people, but the trials for such a being are great. She needs a 'Vessel,' another of like destiny, to act as a magical siphon for her pain.
"And Yvette is so like her in age and power... I fear she is the only one who fits."
"Vessel" was just a pretty word for a human battery. My brothers stayed silent.
When Lila produced "forged letters" proving I was conspiring with the Shadow Elves to poison our wellspring, their last shred of affection vanished. They hammered the Cursed Nails into my marrow, locking me into a contract of servitude.
The familiarly bone-deep ache snapped me out of the memory.
My second brother, Julian Fox, was sitting by my bed. He was the greatest healer in our clan, usually aloof and untouchable, but now he looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. Healing people drained his life force. He rarely did it. But he had saved me.
When he saw me wake, a flash of relief crossed his face, quickly masked by the usual sneer.
"So, you're awake? Honestly, Yvette, these pathetic suicide stunts just to get attention? You aren't even a fraction of the woman Lila is.
"To make sure you don't cause any more trouble, I've spiked your joints with Stasis Nails. Stay put. Stop being a thorn in Lila's side."