Evelyn~
The explosion magic placed on the palace wall wasn’t just any ordinary spell, it was high-level, the kind that could kill soone in seconds or at least leave them horribly burned from head to toe.
The deafening blast echoed through the air, and not long after, I could hear footsteps rushing toward the eastern side.
People were yelling, their voices blurred and muffled. I couldn’t make out what they were saying because my ears were ringing too much from the explosion.
I couldn’t move a single muscle.
It felt like my whole body had been set on fire. My skin was blistering, like soone had poured a bucket of boiling water all over .
Honestly, I didn’t expect to get burned this soon.
I could barely breathe. But unfortunately, I knew better than to hope for death.
Even if my lungs were charred, even if my skin was peeling off, even if most of my organs were destroyed in the explosion ...
I would still survive.
"He’s coming," my wolf whispered.
Who?
"Your mate," she replied with a dark chuckle, sounding a little too pleased with my misery. "Just pretend to be weak. Who knows? Maybe he’ll give you sothing nice. Like a big house, if that’s what you want."
Why would he ever give sothing like that?
We barely spoke. We hardly interacted. So how on earth would Theron be dumb enough to fall for so act and just hand a house?
My wolf laughed softly. "Oh, Evie ... you have no idea."
"What happened here?!" Finally, a voice broke through my ears, and it was Theron’s. He was shouting.
Was he mad because I blew up his precious palace wall?
One of the soldiers answered, "Your Majesty! Lady Evelyn, she—"
But Theron cut him off right away. "What are you waiting for?! Call the doctor, now!"
A doctor? Why would he want to do that?
From a normal person’s point of view, I must’ve looked like a piece of overcooked at, just waiting to die. There was no use calling a doctor for soone like .
If anything, Theron should’ve been glad I was dying.
That way, he wouldn’t have to be tied to soone like , soone cursed, soone who brought nothing but misfortune to those around her.
"Evelyn!"
Theron dropped to his knees beside . His hands hovered above like he wanted to hold , but didn’t dare. Maybe he was afraid touching would only make it worse.
"No ... no, no!" he whispered, his voice full of panic. "I should’ve told you about the wall ... I should’ve warned you!"
So I wouldn’t have accidentally blown it up, right?
I didn’t want to see the look on his face—whether it was guilt or anger—so I just closed my eyes and quietly folded my arms over my chest.
Who would’ve guessed that such a simple action would send him into a panic?
"EVELYN!" he cried out in a frenzy.
Was he really that furious because I damaged his palace wall and tried to run away by pretending to be dead?
But ... I didn’t even have money to fix it.
"Where’s the doctor?!" he yelled again, louder this ti.
He probably just wanted to keep alive long enough to make pay for the damage.
Honestly, I’d rather die than be forced to pay for a broken wall.
Faintly, I heard Theron whisper, "Is living here really that unbearable ... that you’d rather run away?"
Unbearable?
I never thought this place was bad. On the contrary, it was too good. Too perfect. Too much like a dream.
That’s why I needed to escape.
I knew Heaven had shut its doors on a long ti ago. I wasn’t ant for beautiful things.
And deep down, I knew ... if I stayed in this heavenly place, sothing terrible would co for .
"No ... maybe it’s not this place," Theron muttered. "It’s , isn’t it? You just don’t like ..."
He gritted his teeth so hard I could hear the sound of it.
His hands clenched into fists, and he dug his nails into his palms until they started to bleed.
"If I had known you hated this much ..." he said through gritted teeth, "I would’ve let you go from the very beginning. But ..."
He must’ve thought it was too late now because I was already on the verge of death, just waiting for the grim reaper to co and collect my soul.
But what he didn’t know was that even death didn’t want anymore.
The grim reaper probably hated so much he wouldn’t even bother to show up.
Honestly, I could imagine him rolling his eyes and yelling, "Oh, it’s you again? Ugh. Go die sowhere else!"
When Theron couldn’t finish his sentence, I slowly opened my eyes and said, "Is that true?"
He looked startled, but before he could respond, I continued, "Would you really have let go if I told you I didn’t want to stay here? We don’t even have to reject the bond. Maybe just ... put it on hold for a while, or maybe ... forever."
Theron stared at in complete disbelief, looking pale, like he’d just seen a corpse rise from the grave.
"You ... you’re alive?"
He turned to the doctor who had just arrived, and I could see the confusion written all over his face, like he wanted to ask, "She looks like she was roasted alive. How is she still breathing?"
"Yes, I’m alive."
I pushed myself up into a sitting position and tried brushing the ash and dirt off my clothes, though honestly, my clothes were pretty much torn to shreds.
If not for the charred skin covering , I’d basically be naked.
"I know you’re probably about to accuse of using dark magic, but save it, alright?" I tried to stand, but my legs were still weak, so I awkwardly sat back down in front of him.
Clearing my throat, I continued, "You don’t need to worry. I won’t bring any more bad luck to your palace, and you don’t need to bother burning at the stake either. Just let go, and I’ll take the curse with ."
"So ... you’re alive," Theron repeated again, softer this ti. "You’re really alive."
I frowned. "Yes. I’m still breathing. You don’t have to keep saying it like it’s a spell."
"And your wounds ..." His eyes widened as he watched my body heal faster than a rifle being reloaded. "I’ve never seen anything like this."
I let out a long, tired sigh.
People always said the sa thing whenever they saw how fast I could heal.
Then, without fail, they’d grab their torches, pitchforks, and build a wooden stake while screaming, "SHE’S A WITCH! BURN HER! BURN HER TO ASHES!"
Seriously. Get new lines, people.
"Listen," I said, "before you order your soldiers to light on fire, can I just leave now?"
My gaze shifted to the charred wall behind . "And since I don’t have money to pay for the damage, feel free to add it to my debt list."
Like hell I’d ever pay that debt. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t.
"No." His answer was firm and imdiate.
My eyes widened. "W-What? Didn’t you say earlier you’d let go if that’s what I wanted?"
Was it because I didn’t die? Should I pretend to be dead again?
"You don’t even have money to pay for the wall," he said, his voice calm but firm. "How are you supposed to survive out there? Dig through trash? Beg for food?"
He shook his head as he looked up and down. "If you leave in this condition ... No. I can’t let you go."
Before I could say a word, he suddenly picked up, lifting like a princess who had just scraped her knees after tripping over a tree root.
"What are you doing? Put down." I looked him straight in the eyes. "If you’re planning to throw into a pit of fire, just let walk there myself."
I’d rather walk into the flas on my own than be tossed like so giant sack.
"My Lady ..." Theron took a deep breath, looking like he was already tired of dealing with . "No one is going to throw you into a pit of fire."
I frowned, not even bothering to hide how confused I was.
This ... was new.
No one had ever carried like this without tossing off a cliff or into sothing burning.
"Then ... what exactly are you doing?" I asked.
Theron didn’t answer right away. He just kept walking, carrying through a crowd of maids and soldiers who were all staring at , like I was so kind of strange creature that had escaped from a cage.
"I don’t think rejecting or postponing our bond is an option anymore," Theron finally said. "If I let you go, I’m afraid you’ll only suffer out there."
"I’ve been suffering for years," I replied calmly. "What’s the problem with a few more?"
Theron closed his eyes for a mont before speaking again, "That’s exactly the problem, My Lady."
He let out a sigh. "I can’t just stand by and let my mate suffer alone. And besides ..." he glanced down at , "if you go wandering the streets like a beggar, people will think I’m so broke man who can’t even take care of his own mate."
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