Chapter 3

And yet, I had been so naive.

To think that as long as I endured, as long as I waited, as long as I was always there, he would one day let go of his hatred and see the truth.

It wasn't until tonight that I finally understood: some people aren't blind; they simply refuse to see.

He never cared about the truth, and he never planned on forgiving me.

All he cared about was the intoxicating sense of control he felt when he had me crushed beneath his heel.

Damon was immensely pleased by my silence.

He sneered at me, grabbing my wrist and yanking me in front of the table of silver daggers.

"You want to sever the bond? Fine."

"Elliana, touch these silver daggers, and I'll allow you to leave."

An entire table of pure silver blades lay before me.

Everyone knew that for a werewolf to touch silver was a death sentence.

But I didn't even blink.

I replied flatly,

"Fine."

"I'll touch them."

The air in the grand hall seemed to freeze.

My voice was quiet, but it was enough to silence the entire hall in an instant.

Damon was clearly stunned. He had expected me to cry, to back down, to beg for mercy.

Just like I always had before, looking up at him meekly and whispering a submissive, "I'm sorry."

But I didn't.

I no longer even had the interest to spare him a glance. I walked straight to the table, picked up one of the silver daggers, and clasped it in my palm.

The bone-chilling silver poison instantly assaulted me, like a knife stabbing through my skin and deep into my veins.

I tightened my grip on the dagger, letting the silver poison corrode my palm.

Blood dripped onto the floor. Excruciating pain spread from my palm throughout my entire body, but I didn’t even frown.

The second one.

The third one.

The fourth one.

Damon finally snapped back to his senses, the smug look on his face slowly freezing over.

He clenched his fists imperceptibly, watching as I gripped the fifth dagger.

"Elliana!" he roared in a low voice. "Are you insane?!"

I looked up at him, my palm dripping with blood, a smile so faint it was almost transparent on my lips.

"Didn't you say you'd let me go once I touched them all?"

"Then I'll touch them for you to see."

I coughed twice, my chest searing with excruciating pain from the silver poison. My entire body felt as if it were being pricked by a million needles, yet I forced myself to stand perfectly straight.

The sixth one.

My hand began to tremble violently, my knuckles turning white. I could barely hold the dagger steady, but I kept going.

The people around us finally realized that I was serious.

Panicked, noisy chatter erupted in my ears:

"Is she crazy? Those are pure silver daggers! If she touches that many at once, the silver poisoning will attack her heart!"

"How could the Alpha dare to let her do that? What if she dies?"

"Look at her, her face is as white as a sheet, but she's still going..."

But all of that...

I didn't want to hear any of it.

My world had been reduced to nothing but the searing pain of silver poison burning through my veins.

Damon panicked. He reached out, trying to stop me.

But I gently sidestepped him, avoiding his touch.

"Damon."

I said, my voice low.

"It's been three years. I've been trapped in this purgatory called the 'mate bond,' this hell of 'love.' I stopped being afraid of death long ago."

"Do you really think a few silver blades would be enough to make me back down?"

A hot tear trickled from the corner of my eye.

This would be the last tear I ever shed for Damon.

Damon's gaze was fixed on my face.

At that moment, an unprecedented wave of panic washed over him.

His mind in chaos, he lunged forward, reaching to snatch the dagger from my hand.

"Elliana! That's enough! Don't you touch it again!"

But he had barely taken a step before Lydia blocked his path.