Chapter 4 The Pit Beneath the Shrine

Early the next morning, according to Silver Hollow tradition, the bride and groom were supposed to visit the Old Oak Shrine before the wedding.

There, they would hang a love knot together and pray for a blessed marriage.

I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection.

The ugly pig Abbie had painted on my face was now covered by a blooming iris. The deep purple ink framed my eyes instead, making my face look brighter and even more striking.

…

When I walked downstairs, Logan was already waiting in the yard.

The moment he looked up and saw me, surprise flashed through his eyes. "Julia," he said softly, "you look beautiful today."

Abbie stood behind him. Jealousy flickered across her face.

"It is just a flower painted on her face," she muttered. "She really thinks she is something."

I ignored both of them and walked straight ahead.

Logan stepped in front of me and blocked my way. "Last night, we found a snake den behind the hill. We can make good money from it, and I already promised Abbie I would help her catch them."

He took out a crooked, poorly woven love knot and handed it to me.

"You will have to go hang the knot by yourself," he said, softening his voice as if he was doing me a favor. "Once I catch the snakes, I will pick a good fat one and make snake stew for you."

At the words "snake stew," goosebumps rose across my skin.

When I was a child, I had almost been bitten by a venomous snake while resting beneath a tree. Ever since then, I had been terrified of snakes.

However, Abbie loved eating snake. Every time we gathered for a meal, she would order a huge bowl of it.

Whenever I was so frightened that I hid to the side, she would mock me for being dramatic and cowardly.

"No, thank you," I replied flatly. "I've never eaten a snake."

Logan froze for a second. Then, he gave an awkward smile. "Then, what do you like to eat? I will bring you something else."

I almost laughed from anger.

I looked straight at him. "Seven years, Logan. After seven years, you still do not know what I like to eat?"

Abbie immediately cut in, "Why are you being so difficult again? Logan is a grown man. How is he supposed to remember tiny things like that?"

"Yes," I retorted coldly. "He cannot remember what I like to eat, but he remembers when your period starts. He remembers that you do not eat garlic or ginger. He remembers your birthday, down to the exact minute."

I looked at them with disgust. "Logan, the way you play dumb, pretend to be innocent, and try to have it both ways is honestly sickening."

Logan's face darkened at once.

"Julia, you used to be gentle and easy to get along with," he said. "Why have you become so unreasonable? If you keep acting like this, maybe this wedding does not need to happen."

"Fine by me," I replied.

Logan choked on his words, his chest rising and falling with anger.

I, however, had no interest in wasting another second on either of them.

I took the love knot that the man from the phone call had rushed over to me and went to the Old Oak Shrine alone.

After I finished my prayer and stepped out of the shrine, a sudden force struck me from behind.

I pitched forward, rolled down the hillside, and crashed hard into a deep pit.

Pain shot through my body.

Before I could fully gather myself, two familiar voices came from above.

"Julia," Logan growled coldly, "Abbie is right. You have been far too difficult lately. You need to be taught a lesson."

Abbie let out a sharp laugh.

Then, she turned over the bulging cloth sack in her hands.

More than a dozen snakes dropped into the pit and landed all over me. They slid across my arms, wrapped around my neck, and coiled against my legs.

Terror seized me in an instant.

I thrashed wildly and screamed until my throat burned.

"How dramatic," Abbie sneered from above. "Their fangs have already been removed, and she is still putting on a show."

Logan's voice was completely without warmth. "Stay in there for one night and think about what you have done. I will come get you tomorrow morning."

The light above the pit slowly faded.

I clawed at the dirt walls again and again, trying to climb out, only to slide back down each time.

By the time I finally crawled out of the pit, my nails were ripped, my palms were bloody, and my whole body shook with fatigue.

I stumbled back to the village just as dawn began to break.

My mother and Lily had been searching for me all night.

I patted their hands and tried to comfort them, but my eyes were filled with a burning rage I could no longer hide. "Do not worry. Everything they owe me, they will pay back."