When Nelle Wychthorn was forced to sign herself away in marriage, she should have read the contract's fine print. Because she signs not with ink, but with blood. And that changes everything.
Season 1 'Of Crows and Thorns'
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Fiery Nelle, the isolat...
WARNING: This story contains strong language, depictions of violence, depictions of childhood trauma, depictions of coercion, depictions of dubious consent, depictions of domestic violence, and depictions of sexual assault that may not be suitable for some readers.
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When I was fourteen years old, I was promised to another.
Promised to a sullen Crowther.
It had been me they'd wanted all along, not my elder sister.
Whenever the Houses had come together and I'd been allowed to attend, for some strange reason, my gaze had always been drawn to his. But I didn't think much of him and he felt the same.
Both of us were from powerful Houses.
House Crowther was old and ruthless.
Great House Wychthorn ruled over all of them.
While he was a young lord raised in the art of violence, I was a princess.
A princess of the underworld.
A princess whose subjects weren't just thieves and murderers, but stealers of souls, enders of lives.
***
Tonight, my sister, Evelene, was Great House Wychthorns' sacrifice.
"Shoes, Nelle...shoes," Evelene murmured while batting her fingers at my too-big dress and the tiny bristles hooked into the dirt and grass-stained fabric.
Glancing down, my bare feet greeted me. I wiggled my dirt-crusted toes and grinned.
Annalise, our eldest sister, tossed me a pair of ballet flats, her blue eyes rounding with a pointed look—now.
Scowling, I poked my tongue out in her direction and shoved my feet into the shoes. My entire body recoiled at the restricting sensation. I hated the feeling of confinement, of being separated from the ground.
Annalise rolled her eyes, before gracefully moving behind my short figure, trying to tame my wild hair. Her fingers plucked out leaves and snagged on a knot. I winced, yowling.
Evvie wiped something away from my forehead. Her thumb came away soot-stained. She urged, "She should change—"
"There's no time. They've already arrived," Annalise replied, fussing with my hair. She then hissed between her teeth, flinging up her hands in good-natured commiseration. "I give up, that's the best I can do, my wild, little sister."
