Chapter 1

My family is cursed. Every descendant is fated to die before turning twenty-seven.

But the curse has a cure.

If the person I truly love climbs Mount Elme and picks a stalk of the Everroot for me, drinking it will heal me completely.

Mount Elme only reveals itself once a year.

Keith Ryder had gone up five times to pick it for me.

And I had waited five years for him to succeed.

But every time I drank what he brought back, I collapsed almost instantly, foaming at the mouth and convulsing as I fell from my wheelchair.

Each time, his eyes would go red as he looked down at me.

"I'm sorry, Tori. I picked the wrong one again. But I promise, next time, I'll bring you the real Everroot."

I believed him.

This year, I turned twenty-seven.

I drank the medicine with my whole heart set on it, and when I collapsed again, Mindy Bloom pointed at me and laughed.

"Look at her twitching like that. It's like she's having a seizure! If it weren't for the weed Keith grabbed off the ground, I'd never have gotten to see a show this good."

I stared at Keith, stunned.

"What did she just say? A weed?"

He looked back at me like I was the one in the wrong.

"Mindy wanted to see it happen. What's the big deal?"

My eyes went wide. My heart felt like it had been stabbed with a needle.

"But you know I'm already," I started, only for him to cut me off.

"Twenty-seven," he said, brow furrowing with irritation. "Isn't that exactly why you want me to marry you sooner?

"Come on, Tori. Mindy's got depression. If I marry you right now, she'll feel insecure.

"But I promise, once she's better, I'll bring you every miracle cure there is. Deal?"

I looked quietly at his face while the wetness at the corners of my eyes dried on its own.

He had no idea. I wasn't going to make it that long.

Chapter 1

My nanny had just helped me into my wheelchair when I heard one of the clan members who'd come for the ceremony mutter under his breath.

"What happened this time? Did he pick the wrong one again?"

"What a waste. It's been six full years. Even a fool would've gotten it right by now, and he's supposed to have a doctorate in medicine?"

At that, Mindy Bloom stepped forward, hands on her hips, clearly offended.

"Who says Keith picked the wrong one? He goes up that mountain every year and brews me a stalk of the Everroot with his own hands. Don't believe me? Look."

She pulled out her phone, beaming with pride. In the photo, the herb was pure white from root to tip, its leaves glowing faintly blue, nothing like the ordinary weeds Keith always brought back for me.

I dug my nails into my palms. My heart ached in slow, sour waves.

I should have seen it sooner.

Mindy now looked nothing like the girl I'd first met six years earlier. Her skin had turned porcelain-pale, and her figure had filled out into something far more striking.

I'd told myself she was just growing up. Now I knew the real reason.

What I couldn't stomach was that Keith had been the one pushing it along the whole time.

He was always finding excuses for her, telling me she was young and struggling with depression, and that I should give her room.

On my birthday one year, Keith had given me a bracelet, one he swore he'd designed himself, one of a kind anywhere in the world.

Mindy took one look at it and said she wanted it too.

When I refused, she swallowed a bottle of pills that same night and sent Keith a suicide note.

Keith tore into me on the spot, warning me that if anything happened to her, he'd never forgive me.

The birthday dinner fell apart in an awkward silence. Keith didn't come home that night, and his phone went straight to voicemail. Just as I was starting to panic, the two of them strolled back in together, laughing.

Mindy flashed me a look the moment she stepped through the door and raised her wrist.

The same bracelet, identical to mine, sat there on her arm.

The second she said it out loud, the older relatives in the room couldn't hold back.

"What the hell?"

"That's Tori's life we're talking about!"

"You just handed it to someone else? How could you do that?"

At that, Mindy pouted, sniffled, and let tears the size of beans roll down her cheeks right on cue.

Before she could even speak, Keith stepped in front of her and glared at me, furious.

"Tori, it's just a stalk of grass. It's not like I'm never picking you one again. Why are you setting these people on Mindy? I'm telling you right now, apologize to her."

I almost wanted to laugh.

Just a bracelet. Just a stalk of grass.

All those years, every time the sickness hit and the pain became unbearable, he'd stayed by my side, buried in medical texts, eyes bloodshot, refusing to stop until he found an answer.

He'd promised me he'd cure me.

Turns out the whole thing had just been a joke, and I was the punchline.

His medicine was fake. His promises were fake. Even his love had been fake.

I forced down the pressure building in my chest and gave him a smile.

"Fine. I'll apologize, to you and to Mindy both. You're right. It's just a stalk of grass. Not worth fighting over."

Keith studied me for a long moment before a smug little smile crept across his face.

"Mindy's right. You're so in love with me you can't function without me. Even after knowing the truth, you'd never make things hard for me."

He shook his head, laughing to himself, looking almost pleased with how irresistible he apparently was.

But inside my chest, it felt like a draft had blown straight through me, and every last bit of warmth had gone with it.

Chapter 2

I turned to see Mindy Bloom yawn and loop her arm through Keith's, pouting.

"Keith, I'm so bored. Come take me out somewhere, okay?"

Keith didn't hesitate. He ruffled her hair fondly, smiling like she was the most precious thing in the room.

"Sure."

The two of them turned to leave, hand in hand.

That was the moment a wave of sickly-sweet heat rose in my throat.

Before I could stop it, blood spilled from my mouth. My body went slack in the wheelchair, my vision darkened, and the whole world spun.

Keith's eyes went wide. He shouted my name in alarm and rushed over, pressing two ice-cold fingers to my wrist to check my pulse.

Three seconds later, his voice came back, sharp with anger.

"Are you still trying to guilt-trip me?"

The room went silent.

He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Your pulse is completely normal. Why are you faking it?"

Faking it? When had I ever faked anything?

I tried to tell him he was wrong, but the pain had locked up every muscle in my body, and I couldn't get a word out.

Mindy's eyes turned red, and fat tears started rolling down her face right on cue.

"It's all my fault! I'm nothing but a burden. Tori can't stand me, and now she's faking being sick just to steal Keith's attention from me. I might as well just die."

With that, she turned and ran off without looking back.

"Mindy!"

Keith called after her, panicked. Then he shot me a look of pure disgust.

"Stop faking it. I mean it. If something happens to Mindy because of this, I will never pick that herb for you again, and I will never marry you."

He hurried off after her without another word.

The whole time, the pain was so overwhelming I couldn't speak. My chest felt like it was being crushed in a fist, and the air around me thinned with every breath.

Maybe this was what dying felt like.

I fought to keep breathing, but the moment Keith walked out, everything went black, and I lost consciousness completely.

When I woke again, night had already fallen.

"I..."

I pushed myself up slowly, staring in disbelief at the elders gathered around my bed.

"I'm not dead? Does that mean the curse didn't take hold?"

"No."

The Elder stepped forward from the crowd, his expression heavy as he looked at me.

"The curse took hold exactly as it always does. It was your mother who saved you."

He gestured toward the wooden box sitting beside my bed.

"Your mother was always afraid you'd be deceived. Before she passed, she spent the rest of her life crafting a single elixir for you: the Reprieve Elixir. It buys you three days.

"If you get married within those three days, our family's rules allow an exception. Your groom would be permitted to enter Mount Elme and gather your dowry himself.

"This is the most precious gift your mother ever left you, and it's also your last chance. Only..."

He didn't need to finish. I already understood.

Mount Elme was a dangerous place, and most people couldn't find the true Everroot on their first attempt.

That was exactly why I'd given Keith so many chances before this.

Which meant this elixir, for all the hope it offered, was still a long shot at best.

In the silence, someone I never expected stepped forward.

"Marry me."

Noah Tinsley knelt down without hesitation and gently took my hand in his.

In the flickering light, his eyes were brighter than the stars outside.

Noah was the son of my family's housekeeper. My parents had always treated him like family, so growing up, he'd had everything I had.

But now, hearing him offer to marry me...

The tips of his ears reddened. When I didn't answer right away, his voice grew urgent.

"I'm not after your family's money. We can sign a prenup. I just want to help you get that herb. Once you're well, you can divorce me whenever you want. Please. Will you marry me?"

I looked at his face, smiled faintly, and closed my hand around his.

"Yes."

Chapter 3

Time was short, but with the clan's help, the wedding came together quickly.

While we were getting the wedding chamber ready, a mocking voice rang out.

"Seriously, Tori? You're really that desperate to marry me? You even got the wedding gown ready."

I ignored him.

Then Mindy jumped up and down, practically squealing.

"Ooh, that dress is gorgeous! I want to try it on!"

My brow furrowed, and I threw myself in front of the gown, blocking her.

"No."

Mindy's temper flared instantly. She pointed at me, crying and carrying on.

Keith couldn't stand it and cut in, scolding me.

"Why are you being so harsh? It's just a dress. It's not like Mindy's going to ruin it. What's the big deal if she tries it on?"

I looked at him calmly, more amused than angry.

"Just a dress? This is the wedding gown my mother embroidered by hand before she died. Even I've never worn it. And you think she should just try it on?"

Keith froze and said nothing more.

Seeing that, Mindy cried even harder.

"Keith! I just wanted to try it on! Didn't you say Tori and I are going to be as close as family once you get married? So why does she keep drawing lines between us?

"The way I see it, she's never really thought of me as family at all. If you're all going to treat me like this, I might as well just go die."

Watching her cry so pitifully, Keith gritted his teeth and lunged forward to grab the dress.

But at that moment, Noah appeared out of nowhere and snatched the gown away first.

Keith, with nothing left to grab, lost his balance and hit the floor, crying out in pain.

"You! The two of you!"

His face went red with fury.

"Tori! You just let your little guard dog attack me like that? Fine! Don't blame me if I decide not to marry you after all!"

That same threat, again.

Something in me snapped, and I shot back.

"Then don't. It's not like you were ever the groom anyway."

Keith's pupils shrank. A beat later, something clicked, and he sneered.

"You're not going to marry me? Who else is there for you to marry? Don't tell me you've already forgotten what happened back then."

A jolt ran through me, and my fists clenched on their own.

A few years earlier, when Keith and I were still deeply in love, I'd gone to visit him at the hospital where he worked.

He wasn't at his desk.

A coworker told me he'd gone into surgery.

So I waited outside the operating room, and waited, until a body covered in a white sheet was finally wheeled out.

In that instant, every happy memory we'd shared came flooding back, and I collapsed over the gurney sobbing, inconsolable.

It wasn't until Keith walked up to me, laughing, that I realized he'd only been in there helping his mentor.

Someone in the crowd had filmed the whole thing, and it ended up online.

I got branded with the nickname "the Weeping Widow," and for a long time I couldn't leave the house without a mask on.

Keith clicked his tongue and sneered.

"After that went viral, the whole world knew exactly how obsessed Tori is with me. Who else would ever want you besides me?"

I looked at him evenly, and this time, not even a ripple stirred inside me.

It was only now that I understood: the love I'd given him without holding anything back was the very thing he'd used to hurt me.

How pathetic.

Beside me, Noah's fists clenched, and the air around him turned ice-cold.

He stepped forward like he was about to say something, but I held him back.

There was no point wasting words on someone like that.

But Mindy must have thought I was backing down again, because she smirked and rolled her eyes, twirling a strand of hair.

"Hmph. Fine, it's just a ratty old dress. Who cares if I don't wear it.

"Although, that embroidered pattern on it is kind of pretty. Why don't you just cut it off and give it to me? I'll put in a good word with Keith for you.

"He always listens to me, you know."

She picked up a pair of scissors and strutted over, all smug, grabbing the corner of the gown and raising the blade to cut.

I fixed her with a cold stare and said calmly, "Just so you know, there are cameras in this room. My mother was the most celebrated embroiderer in the country before she died. A piece of her work is worth a fortune. If you damage it, I'll call the police myself and sue you for everything you own."

The room went dead silent.

Maybe it was the first time anyone had seen me stand my ground like that, because Keith looked genuinely stunned.

Mindy glanced between the two of us, furious, then dropped the scissors, spun around, and ran off in tears.

Only then did Keith snap out of his daze. He saw Mindy gone and, out of habit, opened his mouth to threaten me again. But faced with my cold stare, he couldn't get a single word out. After a moment of visible conflict, he turned and walked away.

Chapter 4

That night, Keith had nightmare after nightmare, every one of them replaying the moment Tori coughed up blood.

When he jolted awake, he was drenched in sweat, like he'd been pulled straight out of a river.

He suddenly remembered a story Tori had told him once.

Her aunt had been betrayed at twenty-seven, and the curse had taken her.

Tori had been there. She'd watched her aunt cough up a mouthful of blood, collapse, and never wake up again.

Tori had made him swear he'd find the Everroot for her before that happened to her too, or else.

"Or you'll never see me again."

An uneasy feeling rose in his chest, and he couldn't shake it.

Without waiting for sunrise, Keith rushed straight to my family's house.

When he saw the wedding decor on the doorway, he let out a breath of relief, grabbed one of the clan members helping set up, and said with a grin, "This is Tori's surprise for me, isn't it?

"Fine, since she's so eager to get married, I suppose I'll just have to accept. Where is she? Rehearsing her proposal?"

The clan member yanked his hand away and rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide his contempt.

"Whose proposal? Tori was already carried off to the ceremony by her groom!"

Keith went rigid.

"What did you say? The ceremony? Without me? What ceremony could there be without me?"

"Please," the man scoffed, not sparing him a shred of courtesy.

"Tori is beautiful and kind. Plenty of men would want her even without you. But you? Not only did you never treasure her, you toyed with her, gambled with her life like it was nothing. Do you have any idea that if her mother hadn't left her that life-saving elixir, she'd already be dead?"

Keith's face went white as the memory of me coughing blood flashed through his mind.

"That's, that's not possible! I checked her pulse myself; it was completely normal! You're lying to me! You and Tori cooked this up together, didn't you?"

He grabbed the man by the shoulders, his expression bordering on manic.

The clan member, who'd never liked him to begin with, shoved him hard to the ground and jabbed a finger in his face.

"Our family's curse has been passed down for generations. If there were any way around it in the outside world, do you think we'd just stand by and let our own people die?

"Tori told you the truth the very first year you were together, and you're the one who never believed her. You thought you were such a brilliant doctor that you dismissed her pain as an act, when the truth is you never trusted her, not for one single day.

"Do you even remember that day she coughed up blood? What did you do? Was her life worth less to you than one of Mindy's tears?"

Keith's mind felt like it was about to split open.

"No, no, it wasn't like that. I have to find Tori. I have to explain. I can't let her marry someone else. Where is she? Where is Tori right now?"

All he got in return were more contemptuous stares.

Nobody wanted anything to do with him.

At that, Keith grabbed a pair of scissors, pressed the tip to his own throat, and stared down the clan member like a man losing his mind.

"Tell me, or I'll die right here."

By the time Keith made it to the ceremony, all he could see was me standing there in my wedding gown, Noah at my side.

"The ceremony is complete. Now, the groom may kiss his bride."

"No!"

A furious shout rang out. Keith came stumbling and scrambling through the crowd, completely unhinged.

He tried to lunge at me, but the bodyguards Noah had arranged in advance held him back.

Unable to break free, he shouted at me instead.

"You can't do this, Tori! I won't allow you to marry him! You're mine! How could you marry someone else?

"And besides, what about the Everroot? Don't you still need me to pick it for you?

"Isn't that your family's rule? You can only marry whoever picks the herb for you, or you'll be branded as bad luck. Isn't that right?"

I looked at him coldly, disgust rising in my chest.

"Keith, I've given you so many chances already."

"Let this be the last one!"

He cut me off before I could finish, his voice turning pleading.

"Please?"

At that exact moment, a birdcall rang out.

It was the signal that Mount Elme had opened.

Keith jumped to his feet, practically shaking with excitement, and pointed at the shimmering gateway.

"See? Even the mountain is giving me one more chance!"

I frowned, but before I could respond, the Elder stepped forward and patted the back of my hand, his voice steady.

"In that case, let both Noah and Keith go in together. Whoever brings back the Everroot will be Tori's true match."

Noah said nothing, only gave me a reassuring smile.

The two of them stood side by side at the mountain's entrance.

Keith, his eyes bloodshot from a sleepless night and his hair a mess, still managed a smug taunt at Noah.

"Don't bother struggling. Family, background, character, I don't know how many times over I've got you beat.

"And more importantly, Tori loves me.

"So there's no question who's coming back with the herb. It's going to be me."

Noah didn't respond.

The two of them walked into the mountain, one after the other. An hour later, two stalks of herb lay before me.

One glowed faintly blue, pure white from top to bottom.

The other looked like nothing more than an ordinary weed.

Keith looked at the two of them and smirked, full of himself.

"Ha. Watch. Tori's going to choose me..."

The next second, I picked up the plain weed and swallowed it whole.

The whole room gasped.

"Three, two, one..."