Chapter 2

I see my mother pull a pin and press it against her own throat.

My chest caves in.

I force down everything I feel. I turn away from her.

"You die, and you lose your title as lady of this house."

She cries harder.

""I spent years letting him walk all over me, terrified he'd divorce me. All of it was for your future. Now you're headed to a brothel. What do I have left to fear?"

I nod. "Then you don't need to take his shit anymore. Ask for the divorce yourself."

My mother collapses to the ground.

"Elara, what spell do they have on you?"

My father storms over, throws a writ of divorce at her, and orders the servants to shove me out the gate.

I clench my jaw and don't look back.

My mother's wailing echoes in my ears.

I tell myself: at least she's divorced now. She's free of the Thornwoods.

Dorian doesn't trust my mother to stay quiet. He rides in a carriage behind the officers escorting me to the brothel.

He bribes the Madam with a bag of silver for a few minutes alone with me.

She leaves. Then Dorian opens the door and lets three men in.

"She's supposed to be Mira Ashford," he tells them. "Mira's no virgin. Make it convincing."

He turns to me. His eyes are soft.

"I'm sorry, Elara. It has to be real."

The three men smirk. One looks at my face and laughs.

"This ugly thing? They'd better be paying double."

The first one shoves me onto the cot and rips my dress open.

I scream.

Something inside me snaps.

Not just skin and flesh. Deeper. I feel my magic drain. The elven blood in me thrashes, then dims.

The second one flips me over, grabs my hair, and slams my face into the mattress.

I bite the mattress until my teeth crack.

Another wave of power bleeds out of me.

I want to beg. But who would I beg?

My eyes find Dorian in the doorway.

He's leaning against the frame, arms crossed, watching like it's a show.

The third one is the roughest. He grabs my hips so hard I hear something crack.

When it's over, my underclothes are soaked in blood. My tongue tastes like iron.

I used to be half-elf. Now I'm just half of nothing.

The three men leave without a word.

Dorian watches from the doorway the entire time.

He pours me wine. I take a sip. It burns my bitten tongue and I cry out.

Dorian kneels beside me, wiping my face with his sleeve. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

I can't feel my legs.

I slump in the chair. My voice is barely there. "What else do you want to say?"

Dorian glances at the window. "Should be any moment now."

I blink. "What?"

Before he finishes, someone bursts through the door in a hooded cloak.

It's Mira.

She drops to her knees, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Elara, you're willing to take my place in the brothel. I'll repay you tenfold."

Dorian rushes to help her up. "You're hurt. Why did you come so fast?"

My numb heart cracks open again.

"Blame yourself," Mira murmurs, leaning into him. "You fucked me so hard I can barely walk."

She melts into Dorian's arms.

His hand slides over her waist, lingering. But he remembers to explain:

"Elara, Mira's only been close to me because she has to act like you now."

"Don't worry. You're the one I love."

I nod. "Very close indeed."

I force myself to stand. I open the door, call in the Madam's people, and have them escorted out.

The moment they're gone, the Madam drags me to the punishment room. She says I need to see what happens to highborn girls who think they're better than everyone else.

Screams fill the air.

The women being beaten blur together with the memory of my mother.

In Thornwood Manor, my father beat my mother too.

I remember what she used to say to me, bruised and broken.

She told me: don't be like me. No one in this world will be your shield.

If you want a good life, you fight for it yourself.

So I worked. I trained. Swordplay, lore, music, painting, poise, beauty. All of it.

I wanted to claw my way to a future worth having. I wanted to save my mother.

And today, all of it turned to dust.

At the peak of my family's power, I ended up in a brothel.

My father's betrayal. Dorian's lies.

Each one cuts like a blade.

I want to cry.

But I know crying won't save me.

"Mother," I whisper. "Wait for me."

Next morning, I stand at the front door in see-through silk, calling to men like the other whores.

The street is packed. Horns blaring, banners flying, a wedding procession.

People whisper:

"Is that the Duchess of Ashgrove marrying into House Hale?"

"Yes. They say she saved the Dragon King's life. Fed him, healed him, gave him coin when he was half-dead."

"A true heroine…"

That's my story. But it's not mine anymore.

Tears roll down.

Someone in the crowd asks: "Didn't Dorian Hale used to go boating with Lord Thornwood's cousin? She's in the brothel now. Why didn't he save her?"

Dorian's face goes cold. "Watch your tongue. That woman threw herself at me shamelessly. I want nothing to do with her."

The crowd cheers.

People pile on congratulations, one after another.

"I hear you and the Duchess grew up together, Dorian! How many children are you planning?"

Dorian turns.

The wind catches the carriage curtain. Their eyes meet through the window, his and Mira's, tender and deep."

I watch this perfect couple, and somewhere along the way, the sharp stabbing in my chest goes numb.