Chapter 3

Stasis Nails?

I tried to move, but I couldn't even curl my fingers. My arms and legs felt like they were cast in lead. I was a prisoner in my own skin.

Trapped, I couldn't live, and they wouldn't let me die.

I started to laugh, a rasping sound that turned into heaving sobs.

"Who gave you the right?" I choked out. "Who gave you the right to keep taking my body away from me?"

Julian's face darkened as he yelled, "Your own malice gave us the right. You're a liar and a danger to Lila. You aren't worth our trust anymore."

It was almost funny.

When I was born, these three men swore a blood oath before the ancestors to love and trust only me. Otherwise, they would face the destruction of their souls.

Now, those heavy vows were dismissed with a casual "not worth their trust."

Across the room, Caleb woke up from his meditation. Seeing my swollen eyes, he hesitated and awkwardly reached out to pat my head.

"Yvette, we're doing this for your own good. Maybe we spoiled you too much as a child. That's why you're so stubborn. We're just trying to toughen you up for the long run..."

Before he could finish, the door was kicked open.

My third brother, Silas Fox, charged in, carrying a fainting Lila. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at me.

"Yvette! You heartless bitch! You hurt yourself on purpose to distract Caleb and Julian, just so Lila would feel guilty enough to go into the Shadow Realm to find herbs for you?

"She's nearly dead because of you! How much more do you want to take from her?"

Caleb and Julian turned pale. Their expressions shifted instantly to horror.

It was absurd. I had been locked in a wolf den, clinging to life. How could I have forced her to do anything?

I whispered in my mind: [System, do it. Trade my remaining life force from the real world. Melt these nails.]

[Confirmed.]

In an instant, the iron in my joints dissolved into nothing.

Across the room, Lila "weakly" opened her eyes, breathless and fragile.

"Please, don't blame Yvette... she just wanted to get better. That's why she sent me for the Frost Lotus..."

She squeezed out a few crocodile tears. The sound of my palm hitting her face echoed like a crack of thunder.

Lila froze, clutching her cheek in disbelief. My brothers exploded.

"You monster!" Silas yelled and shoved me hard, sending me sprawling to the floor. "She tries to save you, and you strike her? That's it. I'm stripping your magic. We'll see how much 'status' you have then!"

I just laughed and shook my head.

"Don't bother. It's too much work."

Before they could react, I lunged. I grabbed the sword from his hip and, in one fluid motion, buried the cold steel deep into my stomach.

Blood erupted, drenching the rugs. I felt my strength drain away as I fell backward.

Through the ringing in my ears, I heard their panicked screams. I felt hands grabbing at me, trying to stop the flow, but it was too late. I let my eyes drift shut for the very last time.

"There..." I whispered, the world fading to black. "Now you don't have to look at me ever again."

But I didn't stay dead.

Silas, the legendary warlord of the White Fox Clan, did the unthinkable. He severed his Primal Crest, the source of a century's worth of his power, and forcibly bound it to my soul to drag me back from the veil.

When I finally opened my eyes, I stared at the dull, lifeless shard of his power resting in my palm. Without a word, I tossed it into the nearby brazier. The flames hungrily swallowed the last of his sacrifice.