Chapter 1

I lay on the cold marble, a blinding agony tearing through my chest.

My heart was ruptured, and warm blood was rapidly flooding my chest cavity with every failing beat.

"Can’t you be careful? Are you trying to kill him?" My father's roared curse made my ears ring wildly.

Inside me, the tear in my heart widened, bleeding out with terrifying speed.

Across the hall, my younger brother, Orion, was curled into a trembling ball, hands clutching his head, letting out earsplitting shrieks:

"He did it on purpose! He wants me dead! Make him go away! Get him away!"

My mother knelt before him, stroking his back as she whispered tenderly:

"It’s alright, my darling, it’s alright. Mother is here. Your wicked brother is leaving!"

I tried to push myself up, but my shattered chest refused to move, and a wave of dizzy darkness dropped me right back to the cold floor.

Blackness began to eat away at the edges of my sight.

"Father... Mother..." My voice was a whisper, lost to the air.

Not a single soul turned around.

As my vision blurred, memories from the past began to flash through my mind.

I remembered the day I returned to the sanctuary, clutching a sacred golden laurel for being the top scholar of the academy. I had practically run all the way home.

"Mother, I got..." I threw the heavy doors open, the words burning in my throat.

Before I could finish, Mother frantically snatched the laurel from my hands and hid it away beneath a velvet altar cloth.

"Hush, do not let your brother see," she warned in a hushed, panicked breath. "You know your achievements only trigger his fits."

I stood frozen at the threshold, my hand still held out, my triumph turning into ice.

"But Mother, this is my very first victory!" My voice trembled. "The high priests said I could be recommended to the Grand Temple..."

"You are our sensible one." Mother touched my hair, her eyes briefly softened by guilt. "Your brother's illness requires the strength of us all. You are healthy and strong. Be patient with him, alright?"

I nodded silently, walked back to my quarters, and swallowed the bitter agony whole.

The massive internal bleeding was drowning me from within.

My breathing grew rapid and shallow. Blinding flashes of white light burst before my eyes.

"Mother... it hurts!" I reached out a hand, fighting for air.

Mother finally turned her head, her brows furrowed in irritation. "Stop causing a scene. Can't you see your brother is suffering? Wait your turn."

Orion’s screaming grew even wilder. "Make him leave! Throw him out!"

He seized a silver incense burner and hurled it at the wall, showering the floor with sparks and metal fragments.

Father immediately rushed over to embrace him, cradling him like the most precious jewel in the heavens.

"Hush now, Orion," Father's voice softened to a gentle whisper. "Father is here. It's over. I've pushed your wicked brother away. No one will harm you."

My limp fingers dragged uselessly across the cold stone, leaving a faint streak of red.