Judith let go of Wilfred's hand and gathered her wedding dress, walking toward me.
Her eyes were rimmed red, her voice feather-light and sweet.
“Sister Maureen, please stop making a scene, okay?”
“Today is mine and Wilfred's big day. Say you're sorry, and we'll let the whole thing go.”
She reached for my wrist as she spoke.
On the surface, a gentle plea. Underneath, her nails dug into my skin.
I didn't move.
She leaned closer, her smile still perfect, but her whisper turned sticky and cold.
“What's the matter? Ten days in the basement wasn't enough to starve you?”
“Didn't I give orders? No water. No food. You really don't know when to die.”
“Those ten fingers of yours should've been ruined a long time ago. You got lucky in the walk-in freezer. Should've frozen to death.”
“But it was worth it. You on the floor, clawing at the door like a dog. What a sight.”
My fists tightened slowly, knuckles whitening, veins rising hard across the backs of my hands.
Inside my sleeve, the brood burned hot and restless.
Judith looked up at me, savoring my rage like it was a gift.
“And the baby you lost. You still blame me for that, don't you?”
“But what can I do? Wilfred said it himself. You didn't behave, so you needed to be taught a lesson.”
She finished speaking and smoothed my hair for me, the gesture so tender it made my stomach turn.
“Maureen, accept it. Wilfred already doesn't love you.”
“Kneel down and apologize now, and I'll still let you go on living.”
She paused. When she spoke again, the venom was sharper.
“Unless you've forgotten you still have a little sister back in the Blackthorn Highlands?”
“Don't behave, and I'll have people drag her out of those mountains. Flay the skin off her and strip the bones out, right in front of you.”
“How many cuts do you think that little body of hers can take?”
My eyes snapped up to hers.
Judith had clearly never been to the Blackthorn Highlands.
Otherwise she would have heard the name Wallis Manning.
A hundred miles in every direction, that name was a nightmare.
How dare she. How dare she use me to threaten my sister.
Judith thought she'd found my weakness. Her smile widened, gloating.
Then, in a single breath, she stepped back half a pace, tears appearing on command, her voice shooting up for the room to hear.
“Sister Maureen, I was only trying to calm you down. Why are you glaring at me like that……”
“Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry. I apologize.”
Wilfred was at her side instantly, shielding her, glaring at me.
“Maureen! She already backed down. What more do you want?”
“Are you not going to stop until you've pushed her over the edge?”
I stood where I was. Said nothing.
The fire in my chest was about to burn me hollow.
Slowly, I reached behind my back and drew out the ebony flute.
The body was old, its far end wrapped in a length of red thread gone pale with age.
My sister had tied it there with her own hands.
Wilfred blinked, then let out a cold laugh.
“This spooky act again——”
He never finished the sentence.
The first note tore through the air.
A low, keening wail——
The crystal chandelier above the hall shuddered.
From a flower arrangement at the edge of the red carpet, a single black beetle the size of a fingernail crawled out.
Then a second. A third.
After that, every crack in the tile, every baseboard shadow, every pillar, every gap behind the ventilation grates began to rustle.
At first the guests didn't register what was happening.
Not until someone glanced down and saw a dense, crawling line of insects scaling the side of her stiletto. The scream ripped out of her.
“Bugs! There are bugs!”
“Oh God——run!”
The room detonated into chaos.
Chairs toppled. Glass shattered. The crowd crushed toward the doors like animals.
And then the brood came pouring out in a black, living tide.
Paper-thin wings, red abdomens, bone-white bodies with pitch-black mouthparts—they tumbled over one another in a living tide, surging down the red carpet toward the stage.
Wilfred's face changed instantly. His first instinct was to shove Judith behind him.
“Guards! Take her down!”
The bodyguards barely made it two steps before the swarm hit their legs.
Screams ripped through the hall.
They swatted and clawed at themselves, trousers shredded to rags in seconds, skin already beading with blood that spread into wide crimson patches before they could even process the pain.
Judith finally stopped smiling.
She stumbled backward in her wedding gown, voice shaking.
“Maureen! You've lost your mind! Make them stop!”
I lowered the flute and looked up at her.
“You love teaching people to behave, don't you?”
“Your turn.”
