Chapter 4

The wooden basin clattered violently across the stone floor, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the cramped cell.

Kevan flinched so hard he nearly fell over. He yanked his hands back, his face draining of all color until he looked like a corpse.

Daulton didn't hesitate. He threw himself into the cell, placing his body squarely between Ella and his brother. He bared his teeth, a vicious, desperate snarl ripping from his throat.

Ella looked at the fiercely protective wolf boy. Internally, she wanted to praise him for his bravery. Externally, she curled her lip in an ugly sneer.

She lifted her foot and used the tip of her expensive leather boot to kick a dirty, blood-soaked rag toward Daulton.

"Look at you," she mocked, her voice laced with poison. "A pathetic stray dog barking at its master."

[Ding. Animosity Points from Daulton +50. Fear Points from Kevan +30. ]

Ella let out a tiny, hidden sigh of relief. The points were rolling in. But a quick glance at the transparent blue System interface floating in her vision told her it wasn't nearly enough for the serum.

She had to push harder.

She lunged forward, grabbing Kevan by the collar of his ragged shirt. She hauled him halfway to his feet.

Kevan didn't fight back. He just squeezed his eyes shut, his body going completely limp as he waited for her to slap him or pull out a dagger.

The pain didn't come.

Instead, Ella leaned in close, her voice a harsh, demanding hiss.

She frantically sifted through the original Ella's chaotic memories, searching for anything related to local trauma medicine. Two names surfaced in the dark corners of the tyrant's mind.

"Go to the greenhouse behind the estate. Bring me five-year-old Blood-Stop weed and the roots of the White Fresh plant. Now."

Kevan's eyes snapped open. His pale gray irises dilated in pure shock.

Those weren't torture devices. Those were incredibly rare, highly potent medicinal herbs used to treat severe trauma.

Daulton's growl died in his throat. He stared at Ella, his mouth slightly open, a pathetic, confused whining sound escaping his lips.

Ella saw their brains short-circuiting. If they realized she was trying to save Cordaro out of kindness, the Animosity Points would stop. She needed a cover story.

She shoved Kevan backward, wiping her hands on her dress as if he had infected her with a disease.

"Don't look at me like that, you idiot," Ella spat. "Cordaro is a useful tool. I haven't finished breaking him yet. If he dies now, it's a waste of my investment."

The sheer, callous objectification in her words hit the men like a physical blow. To her, Cordaro wasn't a living being; he was a toy she wasn't done playing with.

A fresh wave of revulsion washed over Daulton's face.

[Ding. Animosity Points +100. ]

Ella mentally patted herself on the back for her Oscar-worthy performance.

"Move!" she screamed at Kevan.

Kevan scrambled to his feet. He didn't care that the deep cuts on his palms had torn open again, dripping fresh blood onto the floor. He bolted out of the cell, sprinting toward the greenhouse.

The cell fell into a suffocating, tense silence. It was just Ella and Daulton now.

Ella began to pace the small space, pretending to be impatient and annoyed. In reality, her eyes never left Cordaro's chest. She was watching his respiratory rate. It was getting shallower. He didn't have much time.

Daulton's eyes tracked her every movement. He was hyper-vigilant, trying to figure out what twisted game she was playing.

He noticed something strange. Ella was pacing, complaining about the smell, but she hadn't once reached for the rusted whips or branding irons hanging on the wall. That was completely out of character.

Ten agonizing minutes later, Kevan came sprinting back. He was gasping for air, his chest heaving. Clutched tightly to his chest was a massive bundle of fresh, dirt-covered herbs.

He dropped to his knees and held the herbs up over his head, offering them to Ella. His wrists shook violently from the pain and exhaustion.

Ella snatched the bundle from his hands. She pulled so hard it jerked Kevan forward, making him suck in a sharp breath of pain.

She didn't even look at them. She walked over to a small, flat stone table in the corner of the cell. She grabbed a heavy, smooth rock and began to smash the herbs.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

She crushed the stems and leaves with brutal force. A thick, pungent, intensely bitter smell filled the damp air of the dungeon.

Daulton and Kevan exchanged a look of utter bewilderment.

The cruelest woman in the valley, a matriarch who wouldn't even dirty her hands to eat, was currently grinding herbs with a rock to make a poultice for a consort she had nearly beaten to death.

Just as the herbs turned into a thick, green paste, a bright golden button illuminated on the System panel in Ella's vision.

[Sufficient points reached. High-Tier Healing Serum available for purchase. ]