Chapter 3

2

I rushed forward like a madwoman.

A bodyguard expressionlessly kicked me in the chest again.

I collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, forced to watch the horror unfold.

My parents were terrified and confused. They had no idea what was happening.

My eyes burned with tears as I begged Lucian to let them go.

Lucian just sneered and tilted his head toward his thugs.

"Break their legs. I don't want them running away."

Two guards stepped up. Their baseball bats swung down on my parents' legs without mercy.

The sound of bones snapping, followed by my parents' agonizing screams, felt like knives piercing my heart.

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

The neighbors who had gathered to watch were pale with fear. They backed away, too terrified to look.

This man was a literal demon.

I glared at Lucian through bloodshot eyes.

"Lucian! Stop it!"

"I'll do anything you want, just let my parents go!"

Lucian stopped the assault. He walked over and used the tip of his shoe to tilt my chin up. He smiled like a devil.

"Give me the antidote."

I shook with rage. "Why won't you believe me? Your mother is dead!"

"If you let my parents go, I can help her. I can bring her back to―"

Before I could finish, he kicked me away. I hit the wall and coughed up blood.

"I don't like liars," he said with pure disgust.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice."

I knelt on the ground, sobbing, banging my head against the dirt in front of him.

"Please, Lucian. Just believe me this once. Everything I said is true!"

My father heard this from a distance. Despite the pain, he gritted his teeth and roared.

"Wynter! Stand up!"

"A daughter of the Vance family does not kneel to scum like him!"

My mother cried out as well.

"He's right! Someone like him isn't worth saving!"

Lucian's face went completely black.

"Still acting tough while you're at death's door?"

"Fine. Let's see how tough your bones really are."

"Take them to the back of the hill and bury them alive!"

"Isn't Wynter a Death-Scentsor? Can't she bargain with the Reaper? I want to see her do it with my own eyes!"

I completely panicked.

"Lucian! You can't do this!"

"I can only do the ritual once a year! This is the last chance!"

"Lucian! No!"

I banged my head against the ground until my forehead bled.

I just wanted him to spare my parents.

Seeing me so broken and pathetic only made Lucian feel more powerful.

He grabbed my hair and forced me to look up.

He smiled as he made me watch his men drag my parents into a deep pit on the hillside.

Then, they began to shovel dirt over them, layer by layer.

The cold earth covered their feet, then their shins, then their knees.

When the dirt reached their chests, their breathing became shallow and labored.

The light in their eyes began to fade, replaced by a hollow, dead silence.

I let out a desperate, guttural scream.

"Dad! Mom!"

The guards finally let go of me.

I crawled to Lucian's feet like a lunatic, frantically pulling a small wooden box from my clothes.

It was my scent-box. I didn't care about the cost anymore; I had to save them.

But in the next second, Lucian stepped on the back of my hand and snatched the box away.

"Still trying to play your games?"

I lunged for it. "Give it back!"

He shoved me aside and pulled out a bundle of incense sticks, waving them mockingly.

Something I said must have pushed him over the edge.

He pulled a lighter from his pocket. With a flick, he lit the entire bundle of incense.

"Stop wasting my time. You're just trying to stall, aren't you?"

"I'm not giving you another second."

He walked toward me with the burning incense, a twisted smile on his face.

I backed away in terror. "No, no... what are you doing? Stop!"

The incense produced a thick, choking smoke.

I tried to hide, but he grabbed my hair and pinned me to the ground.

He took the red-hot, burning tips of the incense and shoved them deep into my nostrils.