My head turned, jerking toward where the ghosts danced above their graves. I was drawn into their circle, into the cruel performance. My breath came fast and shallow. The world warped around me, heavy and cold. I could feel the ghosts. Their grief bled into the air. Their pain leaked into me like water escaping through cracks. Odette stood in the centre, her hand trembling in the prince’s. They were still dancing. Still crying.
I was the Black Swan now. Odile.
Their tormentor. The dark feathers shimmered on my dress in the pale moonlight.
Around me, the dead spun and dipped and stumbled in their endless ballet. I could see every detail up close now. Their half-rotted slippers clinging to their feet, the old jewels embedded in decomposed lace, the tear tracks etched into translucent cheeks.
Their mouths moved as they danced, but I couldn’t catch a word.
I tried to stop, but my body wouldn’t listen. My spine arched and my arms flared open into a pose I didn’t recognize. The prince turned to face me. His hands lifted.
I reached out against my will, my stomach turning. Panic flooded my chest. My body lunged forward into the prince’s arms. He recoiled like I burned. Odette reached for him, but my form spun between them, separating the lovers.
I was the wedge.
I was the weapon.
Their screams still didn’t come. Just wide, pleading eyes. Mournful music.
The forest watched.
My skin flared with heat, anger burning through me quickly. Because of my mum, because ofhimand the monster, dragging me like a puppet.
“Enough!”
The voice cracked like thunder. A silver streak flashed through the air and I fell. The wind was knocked from my chest as I slammed into the ground, my limbs collapsed beneath me. My knees scraped against the forest floor and my palms caught on cold stone. I gasped, choking on the sudden, breathless stillness.
The ghosts dropped too, like marionettes with their strings cut, collapsing inward and vanishing into the soil.
The clearing fell silent. Utterly, horrifyingly silent. A knife glinted, crammed into the ground not far from me, and Igrabbed it as though it could keep me safe. Only then did I look up.
Hudson stood at the edge of the clearing, moonlight casting silver flickers across the lines of his face. His hand was outstretched, holding an umbrella half-open. It was crackling faintly, as if the storm itself was trapped in its ribs.
His blue eyes were on the Monster, on Lilian, who had what looked to be a silver umbrella tip piercing its shoulder, sticking through the feathered gown. I breathed hard, the haunting melody of the ballet still vivid in my ears.
“Let go of my daughter,” Hudson said, his voice calm and as cold as a blade.
The Monster tilted its head. I couldn’t see its face, but I knew it looked anything but kind.
“Daughter,” it repeated, as if savouring the word. “I never thought you’d say it out loud.”
Hudson didn’t flinch. He stepped forward, his umbrella pulsing with power. The fabric was a gleaming obsidian, the seams glowing faintly with shapes I didn’t recognize. Shadows skimmed closer to him, their claws long and sharp, ready to strike.
I clenched the knife, its handle icy against my skin. The shadows scraped teasingly at the ground around Hudson’s feet, and I raised the knife. The Monster was distracted, focused on Hudson. My other hand dug into the frozen soil beneath me as I released my grip.
A flash of silver cut through the clearing, flying straight toward the Monster. The shadows recoiled, and Hudson moved swiftly—flipping something into the air like a coin. It arced above us, spinning toward me through the dark sky.
I reached for it, and the small object landed in my palm, cold and light. I opened my fingers to find his ring resting on my dirt-streaked skin, its silver gleaming. Tied to the band was a tinyfolded note, edges worn and delicate. From this close, the letter L was clear, but so was the tiny crow etched beside it, framed by entangled flowers. A small family crest.
I looked up, confused, to see Hudson kneeling across the clearing. His umbrella was discarded by his side. My brow furrowed. I searched for Lilian and found her a few metres away; the knowing smile she wore was bone-chilling. Gooseflesh spread across my back and I straightened instinctively.
“You should’ve paid more attention, pet.”
My head jerked back toward Hudson, a sinister feeling rising from the bottom of my stomach. That’s when I saw the pooling crimson around his knees.
I gasped.
Time seemed to slow. Blood thudded deafeningly in my ears.
