Chapter 3

The pig-headed man stood there with his mouth hanging open for three full seconds before he suddenly shot to his feet.

The chair legs screeched against the floor.

"What did you say?" Dwayne roared.

He slammed his hoof onto the table, rattling the bowls and plates. His nostrils flared as wide as they could. The hot air blasted out so hard it hit me square in the face.

The health bar above his head kept dropping with sharp little clicks, turning from red to black, like he was a phone about to shut itself off.

I went on, "I said you're ugly. You're ugly on the outside and on the inside. You have a pig's face and a greedy heart. It's a perfect match, honestly."

The pig-headed man trembled with rage, his ears sticking straight up and shaking wildly. "I dare you to say that again!"

"I can say it ten more times. You—"

"Ruthie!" Thalia cried, hurriedly standing up.

Her snake tail whipped behind her as she swayed over to stand between us, reaching out to pull me back.

She said, "Dwayne is a doctor. He's just harsh with his words, but he cares about you. Don't..."

The moment she moved closer, I finally got a clear look at her. I hadn't dared look at her properly before. I'd been too busy avoiding the three snakes.

Now that she was standing close, I could see that her cheeks were covered with countless tiny scales. They were bluish-gray, and their edges glinted with a cold light. They stretched all the way to her ears and neck.

And that long, silky black hair of hers was actually three snakes. Each was as thick as a person's wrist, and they were coiled around the top of her head.

The snakes' heads were facing me, hissing and flicking their tongues. Each tongue darted in and out, almost touching the tip of my nose.

I took half a step back and said, "Don't come any closer."

Thalia froze. "What?"

I complained, "Don't you know you have scales all over your face?"

The words slipped out before I could stop them. "And your hair is made of snakes. When you came over, those three snakes almost bit me. I..."

Thalia's lips trembled, and her eyes turned red instantly. Huge drops of tears rolled down her cheeks, one after another, splattering onto a flower motif on the tablecloth.

She buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders trembled.

Lorraine slammed her fork onto the table and scolded, "Ruthie, you've gone too far! Thally was only trying to stop the fight. How could you—"

I blurted, "You're even scarier!"

"Enough," a voice came from the entrance to the dining room.

It wasn't loud, but everyone at the table immediately fell silent.

I turned my head and saw a man standing in the doorway.

Wearing the most basic white shirt, he stood just outside the reach of the chandelier's light. Even so, I could see a soft golden glow surrounding him. It was like the last ray of sunlight lingering along the horizon after sunset.

His eyelashes were long and sparkling with tiny flecks of light in the golden glow. He had a tall, straight nose, and his lips were slightly pursed.

The health bar above his head was a brilliant gold. It was so full it looked ready to overflow.

He was the only person in the entire room who had a human face—the only one.

I shoved my chair aside and rushed toward him, covering the distance in three quick steps before stopping right in front of him. I tilted my head back and stared.

He looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

My eyes lit up as I asked, "Who are you? Are you an angel? This isn't actually hell, is it? It's heaven, right?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I'm Chester Shaw."

"Who's Chester?"

"Dwayne's older brother."

I looked back at the pig head still huffing and puffing at the table, then turned back to the handsome face glowing softly in front of me.

"You two don't look like family at all," I said with complete seriousness. "You're ten thousand times more handsome than that ugly monster."

A furious roar came from behind me.

Chester's hand paused around the glass of water. He lowered his eyes to look at me, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

"Why do you think this is heaven?"

"Because you're handsome," I said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Thalia had stopped crying by then.

She came around behind me and put on a soft, delicate voice as she addressed him, "Chester."

Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes as she leaned toward me with a fragile expression. I immediately dodged sideways with an exaggerated little twist. Thalia lost her balance and fell straight to the floor.

The pig-headed man charged at me, trying to shove me.

I quickly sidestepped and tripped him.

This time, both of them ended up sprawled on the floor.