03
By the time I stumbled into the back garden, Liana had already directed the groundskeepers to dig up half the frozen earth.
“Stop! All of you, stop!” I screamed, heedless of my appearance.
But the servants knew my place in this house. They paid me no mind.
I rushed to Liana.
“Tell them to stop! Make them stop now!”
Liana waved a dismissive hand, and two of her personal guards pulled me away.
She toyed with a string of pearls, a light, cruel laugh on her lips.
“A wretched little thing like that doesn’t deserve to be buried in the hallowed grounds of this estate.‘
“The frost is deep, and the beasts in the forest are hungry. Once we dig the little beast up, we can toss it to them. Consider it an act of
Her words struck me like a physical blow. I was filled with a blinding rage.
I don’t know where the strength came from, but I broke free from the guards and seized the front of Liana’s dress.
“Liana, you took my child from me. I’ll kill you!”
I pulled the simple wooden pin from my hair and lunged, aiming for her throat.
The pin had barely scratched her delicate skin when a powerful hand shoved me from behind.
I slammed into a stone bench, and in an instant, the cold steel of a dozen swords was at my throat.
Liana, feigning terror, collapsed into Damien’s arms, sobbing.
“Damien, my love, you came just in time! If you hadn’t, I would never have seen you again.”
Damien’s brow was a knot of fury, but his eyes were fixed on me, silent and unreadable.
I ignored the animosity between us, my voice a desperate plea.
“Damien, please. I beg you, make them stop.”
“Punish me however you want, I’ll accept anything, but that is my child!”
“Damien… he is our child…”
Ignoring the blades at my neck, I crawled step by agonizing step and knelt at his feet.
clutched the hem of his trousers, my voice a raw, ugly rasp.
