Chapter 1

"Juliette, bring the roast meat! Hurry up!"

My adoptive mother, Martha, slapped the back of my head. Sizzling grease splashed onto the back of my hand, leaving an angry red burn.

"What are you standing around for?" she hissed. "Lord Crassus is here today. If you mess this up, I’ll skin you alive."

Biting my lip, I picked up the silver platter and strode into the grand hall.

It was brightly lit, packed with the city’s elite. My adoptive father, Gerard, wore a sickeningly flattering smile. His biological daughter, Cassia, was wearing a silk dress I could never afford, pouring wine for an old man.

That old man was Lord Crassus.

He was in his sixties, balding, with a massive birthmark stretching from his eye to his jaw. Every time he smiled, the birthmark twitched.

I set the platter down and was about to retreat to the kitchen.

"Juliette, stay right there," Gerard suddenly called out.

My heart dropped.

"Lord Crassus, this is the girl I mentioned to you," Gerard said, his face wrinkling as he smiled. "She’s easy on the eyes, isn't she?"

The entire hall went silent for a second.

Lord Crassus’s cloudy eyes roamed over me like he was inspecting livestock. He reached out a liver-spotted hand and pinched my chin.

"Her skin is soft enough," he smacked his lips. "A bit skinny, but fatten her up and she can still bear children."

My ears started ringing.

"Gerard, what are you talking about?"

"You're getting married next month," Gerard said, raising his goblet. "Lord Crassus is paying thirty gold coins for your dowry. It’s the blessing of a lifetime for you."

Thirty gold coins.

Seventeen years of my life, priced and sold to a monster old enough to be my grandfather.

Cassia covered her mouth and giggled. "Juliette, you have to serve Lord Crassus well. Our family is counting on you."

The guests whispered among themselves. Their laughter felt like needles in my ears.

"Isn't that the orphan?"

"Gerard is so generous. He raised her all these years, at least he’s getting his money's worth."

I glared at Martha.

The woman I had called Mother for ten years was looking at me with pure satisfaction, examining a piece of merchandise ready to be shipped off.

Ten years.

I woke up before dawn to chop wood, tend the fires, and wash the clothes. I slept in the woodshed by the stables, my fingers cracking from the freezing winters. When Cassia broke the porcelain, I was the one who knelt and took the whip.

I never fought back.

Because the priests said suffering was a test from the gods, and the devout would eventually be blessed.

Every night, I knelt by my window, praying in the direction of Mount Olympus. Praying to Apollo—the God of Light and Truth—to reach out his hand to me just once.

Ten years. Not even once.

And now, they were selling me to this old creep.

I slowly raised my head.

"I won't marry him."

Gerard’s smile froze. "What did you say?"

"I am not livestock. You have no right to sell me."

A loud crash echoed as Martha hurled her wine goblet at my feet. She rushed over and grabbed me by the hair. "You ungrateful brat! We fed you for ten years for nothing?!"

"Martha, don't get so worked up," Lord Crassus said slowly, a repulsive gleam in his old eyes. "I like them with a bit of fire. It's much more fun to break them in."

I shoved Martha away, grabbed a wine jug from the table, and smashed it hard against the floor.

Glass shattered everywhere.

Everyone froze.

"Juliette, you're insane!" Cassia shrieked.

"Yeah, I'm insane," I started laughing, though tears were streaming down my face.

I scanned the room.

"I won't marry this disgusting man! And I'm going to ask the god Apollo himself why he allows such vile things to rot under his glorious light!"

Gerard lunged at me to cover my mouth. "Shut up! Do you want our whole family cursed?!"

I pushed him back hard and turned toward the door.

"If the gods won't come to me," I wiped my tears, "then I'll climb the mountain and find him myself. I'll tell Apollo exactly what kind of filth is festering in his city!"

The hall was dead silent, and then it erupted into roaring laughter.

"She's lost her mind!"

"Climb Mount Olympus? Her?"

Lord Crassus laughed so hard his birthmark shook. "Let her go, Gerard. Once she starves for three days and crawls back, I'll marry her then."

Gerard and Martha were red with embarrassment, but in front of so many nobles, they didn't dare say another word.

I took one last look at this so-called home and stepped out into the freezing night.

The wind was harsh, whipping through my thin dress. In the distance, the silhouette of Mount Olympus pierced the clouds under the moonlight.

Behind me was a city full of mockery. Ahead of me was the unreachable mountain of the gods.

I clenched my fists and looked up.

"Apollo, I am going to find you. I want to see if the gods high above truly don't care about their people!"