Chapter 2 Sold to the monster gods

“Grandma.” I moved my eyes because it was impossible to turn my head without help. “Do something, Grandma. Please do something.”

It had been an hour since the doctor left, and my parents followed without a single word to me.

My grandmother, the elder of her coven and the most powerful witch since three generations past, shook her head sadly now.

“I cannot help you," She clutched the hand I couldn't feel. “You know I would give my life for you, but not even gods can fix this, sweet Lys.”

I shrieked in frustration, hot tears streaming in torrent down my cheeks. This couldn't be it. This could not be the end.

“Sweet Lys,” Dad burst in through the door at that moment. “Dad has a surprise for you.”

Sweet Lys, That was what I had been to everyone before last night. Lys the treasured. Lys the moon-kissed, with a life every girl in the seven districts coveted.

But in one second, I became a reject. Was this how Gianna felt all these years? Did that justify doing something so vile to me, her own sister?

Through the veil of my tears, I watched him pull the door wider, studiously avoiding the hateful glare of his mother-in-law. A nurse guided in a smart wheelchair, padded with lush cushions.

“This here, my girl is a science miracle. The smartest piece these engineers have made. You can do just about anything with its voice control.”

I sniffed, my chest heaving in confusion at this sudden friendliness after their unconcealed contempt from the moment I fell. “What’s the correct command for nerve healing?” I asked.

His head jerked back in surprise, staring at me where I lay like some lifeless eggplant. And for half a second, his eyes were unable to mask his disgust. Then he laughed warmly, just as Mom walked in.

“You’ve still got the humor.” He hurried to my bed, and pushed a button that moved me into a sitting position. More air instantly rushed to my lungs.

Mom stopped at the foot of the bed, staring down at my toes peaking out from beneath the covers. And suddenly, goosebumps coated my skin. For the second time in the last few days, I felt a strong sense of approaching disaster.

“That chair cannot give you your body back, but there is someone willing to.” Dad sat on the bed space beside me.

Coming from my father, I knew this was not the good news it was supposed to be.

Rhea stirred within me, shifting just beneath my ribcage, and my father carefully placed his hand on the spot.

“You can go on to complete the Grand Ascension and make Dad and Mom very proud.” He nodded in the affirmative as my pulse started to kick. “Rhea is a strong girl,” his hand moved over my ribcage and I had no doubt that he could almost feel her. “She will help you heal faster than any other young woman has.”

“What’s this about, Jonas?” Grandma cut in.

“Let him finish, mom.”

“We love you and want the best for you. The Heartthrown Alphas made a request for you, and your mother and I consented.”

“What?” Grandma flew off her seat.

The door crashed open, and Arthur burst into the ward. “You’ll not sell my sister as a whore!” He roared, and time seemed to stop.

Slowly, all the heads in the ward turned towards the door where he stood, unsteady on his feet as his loose necktie dangled. The smell of alcohol clinging to him was overwhelming even from this distance.

“Did you miss your way to the bar?” Mom's voice came out icy. He squinted as if trying to concentrate on her face, and then he started laughing, laughing at her.

My brother was beautiful in that moment, red-rimmed eyes and staggering, but laughing at our aristocratic mother in her 2-piece tweed suit that could pay many people’s annual rent.

“I never knew y’all had it in you.” Arthur moved closer. “You know what those monster gods are famous for, right? They only fuck a woman if they can do so together. They’ll not touch a chic they couldn't press their cocks into at the same time.”

I flinched.

“Enough!” My father rose to his full height, red in the face and more outraged than I’d ever seen him. A sudden gust of wind rushed in through the window, knocking a wooden vase down and blowing my hair in my face.

I blinked repeatedly, spitting hair out of my mouth, my hands useless beside me.

“How much lower can you get, speaking such filth in the presence of your sisters?”

I looked towards the door and found Gianna standing quietly with folded arms.

“Filth?” Arthur bellowed, yanking my attention back. “You’d rather keep her in the dark? How’s my saying the words worse than your plans?”

“Arthur, stay out of this,” Mom called a warning. He snatched a bottle of red wine from the pile of gifts fans had sent to my ward, and she shrieked as Dad jumped in front to shield her with his body.

But Arthur spun around and sent the bottle flying at a wall.

“I’ll not let y'all destroy Lys the way you did Gianna. She’s the remaining good thing in this family,” he growled, and the hospital seemed to hum under his wolf's strength.

Rhea howled, but my mind stayed blank. Arthur and I had never been friends, not because I treated him with disdain like the rest of my family, but because Arthur did not spare me in his hate for our family regardless.

“Want to sell her out to your sex gods, you’ll have to kill me!”

“She’s a grown woman.” Gianna’s quiet voice cut through the mayhem, as effectively as if she had yelled. “You should ask her what she wants, before making a fool of yourself.”

Everyone turned to me with an expectant look.