Chapter 1

On our eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, my younger sister received a core Essence share of the Silverbark Tree, a purebred Moon-Wing stag mount and the deed to a private spring grotto......

And I? I received a blood purity verification scroll.

It stated I had zero blood ties to our family.

Mom smiled coldly. "Briar, since you aren't our biological daughter, you must repay the cost of nourishing you these past seventeen years."

Dad snorted. "From today, you are a servant in this house. I'll give you fifty Glimmer Coins a month to pay off your debt. No extra moon dew or meals included."

I didn't scream or ask how that was possible.

Lumina and I were twins. We looked almost exactly alike. How could I not be their daughter?

Instead, I just nodded calmly.

Because last night, I had stood outside the study door and heard everything.

Lumina had held their hands, whining in her sweet, spoiled voice. "Mom, Dad, my birthday wish is to be the only daughter of our family. I want all your love to myself. Just let Briar be a servant for a year, please?"

My father had looked at her with pure adoration. "Alright. Whatever you want."

My mother had chimed in with a warm smile. "For this year, Mom and Dad belong only to our precious Lumina."

After the guests had left that night, I looked at the leftover cake on the table. I lit a single candle and made my own wish.

I am leaving House Silverthorn. Not for a year, but forever.

...

Back in the banquet hall, Lumina covered her mouth and gasped.

"Sister! No wonder your magic is so weak and you look so plain! You don't look like Mom or Dad at all. You really are a fake!"

She acted like she completely forgot we were twins, sharing the exact same facial features.

"Oh, wait, you aren't my sister at all," Lumina sneered. "You're just some filthy stray sprite who crawled out of the dirt."

Mom's face was distant and cold. "Briar, now that the truth is out, you aren't a child of House Silverthorn. This banquet was prepared solely for our precious Lumina. You have no right to be here."

I looked up at Lumina's smug face.

She wore a custom-made silk gown, and on her head sat a crystal crown worth an entire private spring grotto.

I looked down at my own faded tunic and frayed leggings.

A bitter smile crept onto my lips.

The right to be here. I never had that right growing up. How could I lose something I never owned?

Dad raised his voice so the whole room could hear. "Starting today, you will move to the servant quarters! For the sake of our past bond, you can work here until you find your real parents. Fifty Glimmer Coins a month, no food provided. You will repay every drop of essence we wasted on you!"

The surrounding high-born elves whispered and pointed.

Like a pathetic clown, I endured their mocking stares. I bent down and picked up my satchel.

Suddenly, Lumina rushed over with unnatural speed and yanked my bag hard.

The broken clasp, held together only by a twisted thorn, snapped open. My things spilled all over the marble floor.

Lumina screamed. "Aha! I knew it! You stole from our family!"

Lying there among my old spellbooks was a single, pink-wrapped pad.

Mom looked a bit uncomfortable. "Lumina, let it go. It's just a pad."

Lumina wasn't having it. "Mom, I am the only daughter of House Silverthorn now! What is she? She leached off our family's magic for years, and now she's stealing! If I say she doesn't deserve it, she doesn't!"

Seeing her anger, Mom immediately softened and coaxed her. "Okay, okay. Don't be mad, my sweet girl. You're right. You are my only precious treasure now. You can do whatever you want."

Looking satisfied, Lumina stomped her boot right onto the pad, grinding her heel into it.

"There," Lumina laughed. "I don't want it anymore. You can have it."

I stared at the ruined pad, bearing a dirty boot print. My throat felt like it was stuffed with wet moss—heavy, tight, and suffocating...