The Phoenix's Second Choice

I was the second princess of the Phoenix Court.

And I fell in love with a lowly black serpent.

In my past life, just to be with him, I purposely picked that black serpent during the Sacred Bonding ceremony when we each chose our companion beasts.

After that, we spent every night together.

I didn't care what the whole clan thought. I was determined to marry him.

But on our wedding day, that same serpent I'd given my heart to drove an arrow straight through me, killing me while I was three months pregnant.

As I lay dying, I heard him hiss bitterly in my ear, "If it weren't for you, I'd have been with Seraphine by now. You should've died a long time ago."

That's when I finally got it. All he cared about was power. And he'd been in love with my older sister all along—the sister who was next in line for the Phoenix throne.

When I opened my eyes again, we were back at that same moment—the Sacred Bonding ceremony.

Before everyone, he dropped to his knees and confessed he loved my sister. He begged not to be bound to me.

The whole clan looked at me with pity.

But I only smiled and pointed to a small white serpent resting quietly off to the side.

That black serpent thought clinging to my sister would make him powerful. What he didn't realize was that only the one I chose would become the true heir to the Phoenix Court.

The searing pain of an arrow through my heart made my entire body tremble.

Just when I thought I was going to die, consumed by hatred, the pain vanished.

I opened my eyes and found myself back in the Phoenix Court's secret realm.

My father, who had long since passed away, gently tapped my shoulder and whispered, "Althea, weren't you the one who insisted on forming a contract with the black serpent? Why are you just standing there in a daze?"

Forming a contract?

I was stunned. I'd come back—to the day of the Sacred Bonding ceremony.

"Father!" I began. But before I could say anything, Nyxar, the black serpent, suddenly bowed.

His eyes, full of devotion, turned to my sister, Seraphine.

"Lord Pyralis," he said, "I feel nothing for Althea. I only wish to spend this life and the next at the side of the First Princess, Seraphine."

Gasps echoed through the crowd. My father's face darkened.

Everyone knew the black serpent clan carried a diluted bloodline, part dragon but not pure. By the Phoenix Court's rules, Nyxar had no right to even stand here.

It was only because I favored him—because I insisted on choosing him—that he was allowed this opportunity at all.

And now, at this important ceremony, he humiliated me before everyone.

When his cold, hateful eyes met mine, I understood—he had been reborn too.

"Insolent!" my father snarled, his teeth bared. "Althea remains Second Princess of the Phoenix Court. You dare treat her like some common merchant haggling over turnips?"

The raw force of his divine aura exploded outward, forcing Nyxar to the ground.

Even so, he refused to lower his head.

"Lord Pyralis, how is it my fault? Must I bind myself to her just because she claims to like me? My heart belongs to the First Princess, Seraphine!

"Seraphine is diligent in perfecting her divine refinement and kind to others. Whereas the Second Princess is reckless and idle. Anyone would naturally prefer Seraphine."

Nyxar's voice was full of conviction, like he truly believed what he was saying.

But I knew the truth.

In our previous life, he had learned my sister was the preordained heir to the Phoenix Court. If he could form a contract with her, he would gain half of the Phoenix Court's divine power and evolve from a lowly black serpent into a black dragon.

It was all for power. Nothing more.

My father was seething now.

"A filthy black serpent dares to pass judgment on my daughter? You court death!"

Just as he raised his hand to strike, he was stopped.

Seraphine had been listening to every word Nyxar said. Her cheeks were flushed.

She looked up and said softly, "I'm willing."