He gestured, and a servant brought forward a bloody, mangled mess.

I looked closer. It was Haze, the white fox familiar I shared a life bond with.

The little fox who used to play and cuddle with me was now covered in wounds. Its fur was stained crimson, and it was barely clinging to life.

I thought the pain I felt was a phantom sensation from my past life, but these two had been secretly torturing my familiar!

Haze gently licked my palm, its eyes full of agony as a single tear fell.

"Miriam Sutton, you knew we shared a life bond! You tortured Haze on purpose!

"If you're angry, come at me. What kind of person preys on a defenseless animal?" I choked out, sobbing.

"Sis, how can you make such a baseless accusation? You sent it to bite me in the middle of the night. I was terrified, so Julian just threw it out the window."

Haze was always gentle. It would never attack someone unprovoked. The gashes on its body were clearly made by the spiked whip Miriam usually used.

Rage surged through me, blinding my reason. I swung my hand, aiming a sharp slap at Miriam.

A jolt of pain shot through my wrist as Julian caught my hand mid-air, his gaze freezing.

Miriam hid behind him, acting timid. He shoved me back with enough force to knock me down, then ground his heel into my wrist.

Haze let out a whimper of pain. I looked at the fox through my tears, wanting to save it but unable to move.

"Life bond? Stop with the mystical nonsense. You're just trying to frame Miriam!

"Miriam was ready to look past your grudge and use a spell to save it, and you tried to hit her? Celeste, you really are a viper!"

Miriam drew a sigil in the air and cast it into a bowl of water, then forced it down Haze’s throat. Within minutes, the wounds on its body miraculously closed.

But I felt no relief in my own body.

A flicker of surprise crossed Victor’s face, and his expression softened.

"Father, Miriam is the true heir. Please, just let us be together!" Julian shouted urgently, sensing his father’s change of heart.

Victor let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I won't interfere anymore. The marriage contract is void."

He helped me up. "Celeste, you’ve been wronged. After what Julian did to you today, the bloodline debt between our families is settled. We are even."

Julian couldn't wait to throw the marriage contract into the brazier, where it instantly turned to ash.

Seeing no reaction from me, he snorted and grabbed a pen to draft a new one. On it were his and Miriam’s names.

Miriam lowered her head shyly, but her eyes glinted with triumph as she glanced at me.

I picked up Haze. The fox’s breath was paper-thin.

Miriam hadn't saved it at all. She had used an illusion spell to make the wounds disappear to the naked eye!

My parents had found Miriam as an orphan in a spell arena. My mother had been too kind-hearted to leave her alone, so despite my father's protests, she brought her home. She treated Miriam as one of our own and taught her the family’s secrets.

Perhaps it was the bloodline barrier, but Miriam only ever learned low-level illusion spells. She certainly couldn't handle the life transference spell

Julian Thorne, I won't lift a finger this time. I want to see how Miriam is going to save your life.

Miriam clutched her stomach and whispered something into Julian's ear, her face twisted in feigned agony.

"Stop. Who said you could leave?"

He stepped toward me and gripped my jaw tightly. "Celeste Shannara, you were reborn too, didn't you?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

I backed away in pain, but I couldn't break free from his grip.

"In our last life, you kept Miriam and me apart until death. In this one, you’re going to compensate her," Julian said.

"The blood of the Old Bloodline is the purest there is. Miriam’s pregnancy is at risk because she had to bow to you. You’re going to slit your wrists and give her your blood to stabilize the baby.

"Do as you're told, and I'll let you go in a month. If you don't, that familiar won't live to see another day."

Without another word, he had his men tie me up and lock me in the guest room next to his.

Not only was I forced to bleed for her three times a day, but he lit incense which causes insomnia every night, chaining me to the foot of the bed to watch them together.

Julian would kiss Miriam passionately, and the room filled with a lingering, suffocating intimacy.

In my past life, Julian only touched me when he was drunk, treating it like a rough, obligatory task. It turned out his tenderness was reserved solely for Miriam.

"Cece... I can finally be with you," he murmured.

I shuddered.

Every time we had been together in the past, Julian had whispered "Cece". It made me believe that perhaps, in some corner of his heart, there was a place for me.

But Miriam’s middle name was Macy. Cece was her nickname.

He had only been able to touch me by chanting her name.

Tears fell silently, mocking the pathetic self-delusion of my previous life. I didn't love Julian anymore, yet my heart still radiated a dull, fragmented ache.

A month passed, and I was barely clinging to life.

Even though I had fed Haze every remaining elixir I had, the fox was weak and exhausted from the shared agony of my daily bloodletting.

I held Haze and knelt before Julian’s door for three days and three nights.

Finally, he returned with Miriam by his side.

"The month is up. Unchain me and let me leave," I said.

Julian’s face darkened instantly, his voice dripping with displeasure. "You knelt here all this time just to get away from me?"

I let out a harsh laugh, my eyes cold and resolute. "What else? I’ve already stepped aside for you and Miriam. What more do you want?"

A sudden, sharp irritation flared in Julian’s chest.

"Is staying with the Thornes not good enough? I can't marry you, but since you've helped Miriam with the pregnancy, I can ensure you never want for anything again".

Miriam's internal alarms blared. She put on a sweet, compliant smile.

"Since sis is so desperate to go, just let her leave," Miriam said.

"But I heard familiar meat is incredibly nourishing for pregnant women. Why don't you let me have a taste before she goes? Consider it a parting gift for me, Jules..."

He hesitated, but Miriam gave a sharp look to the side.

A servant lunged forward and snatched Haze from my arms.

"No! It'll die! Haze has been with me for eighteen years. It’s the only family I have left in this world! You can't be this cruel!"

Miriam crossed her arms and looked down at me, a sadistic smile playing on her lips.

"Am I not family to you, Sis?"

I threw myself forward, grabbing Julian's leather shoes.

"That fox is half my life... I'll give you as much blood as you want! Just let Haze go!"

"I'm begging you!"

It was the first time in two lifetimes I had ever been so small, so desperate before him.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Julian's eyes, his knuckles turning white.

"Forget it—"

Before he could finish, Miriam threw herself into his arms, weeping uncontrollably.

"Sis, you’re being so hurtful! I’m only trying to save Julian. I thought the meat would help the baby!"

Suddenly, she clutched her stomach. "It hurts! Jules, help me..."

"Miriam! What are you all standing around for? Slaughter the fox!" Julian screamed, frantically catching her as she collapsed.

The servants pinned Haze down and raised the blade.

In an instant, pain like a thousand steel needles pierced every single nerve in my body.

I curled up involuntarily, my body trembling as I thrashed across the floor.

Hearing Haze's agonizing screams, an uncontrollable surge of pain exploded from my heart, nearly causing me to black out.

Julian stared at the woman on the ground, her face deathly pale, and a sudden tightness seized his chest.

Could the life bond Celeste mentioned be real?

"Stop!"

I didn't know when I lost consciousness.

When I woke, the first thing I saw was the cold, sterile ceiling of a hospital room.

Haze seemed to have been bandaged as well. The fox lay quietly by my leg, fast asleep.

I struggled to sit up through a splitting headache, only for a sharp jolt of pain to radiate from my wrist.

A deep, new wound had been added to the others.

Miriam walked in, looking triumphant.

Her complexion was rosy as she stroked her stomach.

"You think playing hard to get will win Julian back?

"You're nothing more than a blood bank for my child. Every time I say my stomach feels uncomfortable, Julian takes your blood to make supplements for me—even while you're unconscious."

Seeing that I remained unmoved, she pulled out the Shannaras' practice sigils and threw them at me. They were covered in layers of dust.

"Last time, I mentioned that using the ashes of one's closest kin was best for practicing spellwork. Julian actually went out in the middle of the night and brought me your parents' ashes. Didn't expect that, did you?"

A rush of heat flooded my mind.

"What do you mean? Weren't my parents' ashes supposed to be resting safely in the Thornes' cemetery?!" I practically shrieked the words out.

"Julian said since they're already dead, we might as well put them to good use. If it strengthens my power, I'm sure the two elders would be... relieved in the afterlife!"

Julian Thorne, you've gone too far!

Recalling how my parents had doted on Miriam when they were alive, sometimes so much that even I felt jealous, the sheer rage made me cough up a mouthful of blood.

"My parents might not have given you life, but they raised you as their own! Miriam Sutton, you have no heart!"

Finding a sudden burst of strength from somewhere, I lunged forward and pinned Miriam to the hospital bed, my hands locked around her throat.

Her face turned a deep crimson, and her eyes began to roll back.

"Celeste, what are you doing?!"

Julian's roar exploded in my ear, and he delivered a stinging slap to my face, his eyes bloodshot.

I didn't back down. I glared at him with murderous intensity and screamed, "Where are my parents' ashes?"

He looked genuinely confused. "Aren't they resting in the Thornes' cemetery?"

"Stop acting so damn hypocritical!" I ripped the IV out of my arm and hurled the glass bottle at him.

Julian reflexively shielded Miriam.

Just as he was about to speak, a flicker of guilt flashed in Miriam's eyes. The next second, she burst into tears.

"Jules, my stomach hurts again... What if something happens to the baby? I'm so scared. I still have to save your life with our baby..."

Julian frantically picked her up to find a nurse, completely ignoring the large spray of scarlet blood I had spat onto the bed.

A moment later, a man radiating an air of nobility arrived with a team of bodyguards and secured the room.

I was taken to a private estate to recover.

In the blink of an eye, ten months had passed.

The old phone I had brought from the Thornes' residence was ringing incessantly today.

I opened it to see a string of messages.

March 13th: [Where are you? Stop playing these disappearing games.]

April 21st: [Get back here immediately. Miriam's baby is kicking frequently. She needs your blood.]

June 25th: [My patience is limited. I'm giving you three days to crawl back here, or you'll never set foot in the Thornes' residence again.]

The final text was from June 28th at 11:59 PM.

[Celeste, don't regret this.]

I assumed Miriam had already given birth by now.

Perhaps it was someone else who should be feeling regret.

Just as I was about to toss the phone away, it rang again.

"Celeste... Celeste, please save me..."

"Argh! It hurts so much-"

Julian was on the other end of the line, howling in absolute agony.