Chapter 2

Not many people knew this—but when Lily first came to the city, I was the one who brought her into Kael's circle.

She was a nobody. People made fun of her for being poor. I stood in front of her every time.

Then she became everyone's darling.

And I became the monster who ruined her legs.

A small receipt fell out of my jacket pocket.

It landed face up in the snow. And Ryan's handwriting was on it.

"Zoe. Take care of yourself. Don't always make me worry."

Tears flooded my eyes instantly. I bent down to pick it up.

Lily flinched like I was about to attack her.

Kael stepped in front of her automatically. He grabbed my wrist.

"What are you doing? You already hurt her once. You want to do it again right in front of me?"

I looked at where his fingers were digging into my skin.

"Let go. I'm picking up the last thing my brother left me."

He paused. His grip loosened.

I picked the wet receipt out of the snow.

Then footsteps came running up the path.

A man ran over carrying a worn cloth bag. "Anyone here named Zoe Ray?"

"The funeral home down the mountain asked me to bring this. It's the deceased's belongings."

Every eye turned to the bag.

I reached for it.

The tips of my fingers touched the fabric. A short piece of old rope slipped out through a tear in the bag.

It was old. Frayed. The fibers were stained a dark red that wouldn't wash out.

Kael grabbed the rope before I could.

Three years ago, on the north slope of Mount Delsin, an avalanche hit. Me, Kael, Lily — all three of us got swept down the ridge.

When we woke up, Lily couldn't walk.

Everyone said I cut the rope to save myself.

Lily's voice shook. "Zoe... why do you still have that?"

One of the heirs slapped his leg. "See? Only guilty people keep the evidence."

The others nodded along.

I didn't care about their laughing. I stared at that rope.

Back then, I was unconscious. Ryan went to the rescue station and picked up everything they'd collected from the site.

Everyone was so quick to blame me. Only Ryan didn't believe it. He kept that rope. He said one day it would prove I wasn't guilty.

"Give it back," I said. "That's Ryan's."

Kael's fingers paused on the dark stain. His brow twitched. Then he smiled coldly.

"Stop using your brother as an excuse. This is evidence. You're not getting it."

"You said you already investigated this three years ago."

He pause, then glanced at me. "I did. But that doesn't mean you get to touch it."

I lunged for it.

He stepped back and grabbed my cracked wrist with his other hand. Not hard.

"Stop. You'll tear your wounds open."

"That's my brother's."

He let go. Put the rope in his jacket pocket.

"That's to make you face what you did—not to let you keep lying to yourself."

lying to myself?

Wasn't it because he just doesn't believe me at all?"

When the avalanche hit, Lily's left leg got tangled in the secondary rope. It was bleeding everywhere. I cut the secondary rope.

But when I woke up, she said it was my fault.

Kael said, "Lily wouldn't lie about her own legs."

He turned and walked back to her.

The wind blew ashes from the campfire onto my arms.

My jacket was still under Lily's feet. She glanced down at it. The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Kael, Zoe's hands are freezing. Can someone get her a coat?"

He nodded. An assistant brought me a jacket.

"No."

I walked back to the cloth bag and crouched down to look through Ryan's things.

A few old clothes. A pair of shoes with the soles worn flat. A notebook with "expenses" written on the cover.

And a photo.

Ryan standing in front of a blood donation bus. Giving a thumbs up to the camera. Grinning. His cheeks were sunken. His chin was sharp. But his smile was the same.

I pressed the photo to my chest. My nails dug into my palms.

Don't cry.

My tears would just be something else for them to bet on.

I tied the bag shut and stood up.

"Zoe."

Lily's voice stopped me.

She looked down at her legs. Then she smiled.

"You know what I hate most about these three years?"

She looked up at me. No more weakness in her eyes. Just pure satisfaction.

"I hate that you ruined my legs but you still get to walk right up to Kael on your own two feet."

Ten thousand kowtows? That's far from enough. Today, you're going to..."

She pointed at the wet snow beneath her wheelchair. "Kneel. Crawl to my feet. You took my legs three years ago. Today, you pay with your dignity."

The campfire lit up her innocent face.

Kael stood behind her. He didn't say no.

"What if I don't?" I asked.

I'm sick of this never-ending paying back.

Kael was quiet for a few seconds. Finally he said. "Then next month's winter supplies for the orphanage... I'll have to rethink it."

I froze.

Winter on the plateau. Thirty below. Twenty-seven kids in the orphanage. The youngest was four years old.

Not enough blankets. Not enough medicine. Not enough coal to last until spring.

For years, Kael controlled everything that kept me alive under the name of punishment.

He decided when to give and when to take away.

Now, the same old trick.

And I...I have no choice.