My Four Beast King Fathers Chose Her Over Me Chapter 05

My Four Beast King Fathers Chose Her Over Me Chapter 05

The dagger buried in my chest hurt worse than anything I’d ever known.

I almost couldn’t hold back the tears.

But this meant I could see Mother.

Through blurring vision, I watched the four fathers rush toward me.

First Dad ripped off his ceremonial pelt and pressed it to my chest to stem the bleeding.

Second Dad kicked the dragonbone dagger far out of my reach.

Third Dad pulled a spirit pill from his pouch and forced it into my mouth.

Fourth Dad kept calling my name.

“Nyssa! Nyssa, don’t close your eyes!”

The way they panicked carried me back to the time I’d fallen sick as a cub.

It was the winter solstice.

All four fathers had cleared their schedules to celebrate it with me.

I’d played too long in the snow and come down with a raging fever.

I refused to take my medicine, so they crowded around my bed, coaxing me with every sweet word they knew.

The four fathers used to be so good to me.

The finest people in my whole world.

Even after everything they’d done because of Isolde, I still remembered that goodness.

I looked at each of their faces one last time.

Burned them into my memory.

Then I closed my eyes.

A moment later, the pain faded away.

When I woke again, I was lying in Third Dad’s chamber.

My wounds had been tended.

The four fathers sat nearby, worn out, looking like they hadn’t slept in days.

Isolde was at my bedside.

She beamed when my eyes opened. “Sister’s finally awake!”

Third Dad came over and laid his hand on my wrist, reading my spirit pulse.

Finding it steady, he spoke coldly.

“You were lucky. The blade didn’t fully pierce your heart. That, and the revival pill, are the only reasons you survived. You’ve been unconscious for five days.”

Five days.

Third Dad had flown back to his master’s sanctuary on the fastest beast he could find, just to beg for that revival pill.

I smiled bitterly.

What a waste of something so rare.

I still wanted to die.

Second Dad leaned in.

“Nyssa, if you didn’t hurt Isolde, why not simply tell us the truth? Why go to such extremes and make everyone worry?”

The others nodded along.

They all blamed me for being reckless.

The only one who spoke up for me was Isolde.

“Please stop scolding her. It’s all my fault. I wanted to stop at the trading post first to buy Sister a gift, and I got lost. If I’d reached her sooner, none of this would have happened.”

Her eyes reddened as she spoke.

First Dad glared at me.

“Nyssa, Isolde was so worried about you she didn’t even celebrate her own birthday. And this is how you repay her? Apologize. Now.”

I nearly laughed.

“Apologize? For what? What did I do to her? She’s the idiot who got lost. She’s the one who skipped her own birthday. How is any of that my fault?”

Third Dad’s brow knit.

“You’re still this stubborn? Forget these past few days—what about everything you’ve done to her over the years? Don’t you owe Isolde an apology for that?”

Years of rage boiled over.

“I owe her nothing. I’ll say it again—I never hit her, never poisoned her, never sent anyone after her. She staged all of it. She framed me. Why do you always believe her? Why do you let her take everything that’s mine!”