Chapter 1

My sister Elise Sinclair came home with a few long gashes across her back. Luckily they were shallow, nothing that touched the bone.

She said she'd found some rare flower deep in the forest, growing right on the edge of a cliff. It glowed under the moonlight.

She'd wanted to pick it for our mother. However, Elise slipped and fell. A tree branch caught her before she hit the ground. Her back got cut up in the fall, and she never even got the flower.

She told the story with her eyes shining, like it was the best adventure of her life. Our parents, Levitt Sinclair and Maya Langley, were beside themselves with worry. They ordered her to rest at the Royal Healing House until she healed.

I spent that entire month in agony, so bad I thought I might actually meet the Moon Goddess. But somehow, I clawed my way through it.

I didn't understand it. Why was I the one carrying this sickness? Why did I have to suffer for my sister's pain?

The pain felt like my body was being torn apart. After I survived that stretch of torture, I dragged myself out of bed, shaking, and made my way to my parents' room.

I found Mom, Dad, and Elise sitting together, cutting into steaks on their plates like one big happy family.

For the whole month I'd been stuck in bed, not one of them had come to check on me.

My eyes stung, but I forced a smile anyway and walked in.

Elise noticed me first. Her hand jerked, and the knife she'd been using slipped and cut right into her palm.

Mom and Dad rushed to bandage her hand, then turned on me with open disgust.

"What are you doing here? The second you walk in, you scare your sister so bad she can't even hold a knife straight. I bet you've been bullying her for years."

My own arm throbbed in pain and tears welled up in my eyes, but I bit down hard and refused to let myself cry out.

Dad looked at me and scoffed.

"Who are you trying to fool with that pitiful look? Nobody in this family laid a finger on you."

Elise spoke up softly. "Dad, don't talk to her like that. Maybe she really doesn't feel well. I know she doesn't have any marks on her, but still..."

Mom finished bandaging Elise's hand and shot me a cold glance.

"Elise, don't waste your breath on her. She's a liar, plain and simple. She just can't stand watching the two of us care about you."

I sat down carefully at the table and reached for a piece of meat. After a month of agony, I hadn't been able to cook for myself, and no one had brought me a single meal.

I was starving.

Elise covered her mouth, looking shocked.

"Thalia, Mom and Dad are talking to you. How can you just ignore them like that? Don't you think that hurts their feelings?"

Dad's temper snapped. He grabbed the plate in front of him and smashed it on the floor.

"What's this pathetic act for now? Your sister spent days at the Healing House and you didn't even bother checking on her!"

I looked up at him, tears sliding down my face without my permission.

"She spent a few days at the Healing House. Do you know I spent an entire month in bed in so much pain I couldn't even stand up?"