The Witch He Abandoned
The Thornes built their aromatherapy business generations ago, but their ancestors made a fatal mistake and brought down a divine curse.
For ninety-nine generations, every Thorne heir drew their punishment on their eighteenth birthday.
Julian Thorne was the last. He drew the worst punishment: death from hemorrhage in ten months.
The only way to break it was to marry a witch from the Old Bloodline and complete the life transference ritual. The witch inscribes a sigil on a parchment and infuses the child's blood essence on it, and the curse transfers to the parchment.
I was that witch. My family owed the Thornes a blood debt going back three generations, so I married Julian, gave him a child, and performed the ritual to save his life.
I was terrified of missing the ritual window, so I didn't even use anesthesia as the baby was cut out of my womb.
However, Julian drove ninety-nine soul spikes into my body while I was still bleeding from the delivery, then set me on fire.
"Miriam is the real heir. You're nothing but a fraud who wanted to marry up.
"You drove her into the wilderness to protect your position. She went into labor alone and died with the baby. Even dying, she thought of me. She finished the ritual and saved my life.
"You deceived my father. I'm destroying your soul. You'll pay for what you did to them."
He ignored my screaming while he drained our newborn's blood essence.
I watched helplessly as my child's life faded.
Then I was nailed to a cross and burned until there was nothing left.
When I opened my eyes, I was back on my wedding day.