Chapter 1
Just when I thought I was going to die, consumed by hatred, the pain vanished.
I opened my eyes and found myself back in the Phoenix Court’s secret realm.
My father, who had long since passed away, gently tapped my shoulder and whispered, “Althea, weren’t you the one who insisted on forming a contract with the black serpent? Why are you just standing there in a daze?”
Forming a contract?
I was stunned. I’d come back—to the day of the Sacred Bonding ceremony.
“Father!” I began. But before I could say anything, Nyxar, the black serpent, suddenly bowed.
His eyes, full of devotion, turned to my sister, Seraphine.
“Lord Pyralis,” he said, “I feel nothing for Althea. I only wish to spend this life and the next at the side of the First Princess, Seraphine.”
Gasps echoed through the crowd. My father’s face darkened.
Everyone knew the black serpent clan carried a diluted bloodline, part dragon but not pure. By the Phoenix Court’s rules, Nyxar had no right to even stand here.
It was only because I favored him—because I insisted on choosing him—that he was allowed this opportunity at all.
And now, at this important ceremony, he humiliated me before everyone.
When his cold, hateful eyes met mine, I understood—he had been reborn too.
“Insolent!” my father snarled, his teeth bared. “Althea remains Second Princess of the Phoenix Court. You dare treat her like some common merchant haggling over turnips?”
The raw force of his divine aura exploded outward, forcing Nyxar to the ground.
Even so, he refused to lower his head.
“Lord Pyralis, how is it my fault? Must I bind myself to her just because she claims to like me? My heart belongs to the First Princess, Seraphine!
“Seraphine is diligent in perfecting her divine refinement and kind to others. Whereas the Second Princess is reckless and idle. Anyone would naturally prefer Seraphine.”
Nyxar’s voice was full of conviction, like he truly believed what he was saying.
But I knew the truth.
In our previous life, he had learned my sister was the preordained heir to the Phoenix Court. If he could form a contract with her, he would gain half of the Phoenix Court’s divine power and evolve from a lowly black serpent into a black dragon.
It was all for power. Nothing more.
My father was seething now.
“A filthy black serpent dares to pass judgment on my daughter? You court death!”
Just as he raised his hand to strike, he was stopped.
Seraphine had been listening to every word Nyxar said. Her cheeks were flushed.
She looked up and said softly, “I’m willing.”
