2

I ignored Reynard.

Behind him, Silas slowly opened his eyes. A pair of serpent’s pupils fixed on me, cold-blooded and indifferent.

I looked back at him and said, very sure of myself, “Come with me. I’ll make you well.”

Silas’s pale lips pressed into a thin line. He propped himself up on his arms, his eyes set, and dragged himself toward me.

He crawled all the way to my feet and lifted his head to look at me, steady and unblinking.

I crouched down and patted his head. “I’m taking you with me.”

Reynard rushed over and grabbed my hand. “Pick me! You’re supposed to pick me! He’s practically dead—what do you want with him?”

Now I was sure.

Reynard had been reborn too.

Before I could say anything, Silas frowned. His blood-flecked tail whipped around Reynard and flung him hard.

Reynard slammed into the wall.

Silas’s eyes were vicious. “Come near her again and I’ll kill you.”

Seeing Reynard clutching his chest, I was in a wonderful mood. I ruffled Silas’s hair.

“Good job.”

Silas’s lashes fluttered, and he quickly dropped his eyes.

Once Father had paid, he told us each to bring our beastkin home.

Reynard, left behind in the cage, kept shouting my name, refusing to give up. I looked at the bodyguard beside me with a show of annoyance.

“He’s so irritating.”

The bodyguard understood at once. “Got it.”

I smiled to myself.

At the black market, any beastkin that wasn’t sold had to fight in the pit. It was hell on earth.

I was looking forward to it.

My good mood lasted all the way home.

Since our beastkin were going to be our partners, Father never held back when it came to raising them. Handbooks and medicines poured into my room in a steady stream.

Silas’s wounds weren’t serious, but he had a congenital defect, so he healed a little slowly.

That made me even more curious how he’d survived the fighting pit in my last life.

I must have been staring too openly, because Silas looked away, uncomfortable.

“M-Master… is there something you need?”

At that word, I raised an eyebrow.

In my last life, I’d spoiled Reynard so badly he’d always called me by my name.

Being called Master had a certain ring to it.

I tossed him the medicine. “Do it yourself.”

Silas caught it and nodded obediently.

After a few days of rest, Silas had his human form back, and he’d shot up a bit too.

Beastkin really did grow fast.

That day, Father came to tell me that a beastkin healer with remarkable skill had recently come to the city. She was one of the merfolk.

Her name was Marina Moore. She could treat both beastkin and humans.

The merfolk are born with extraordinary healing power. Wounds of the body or the mind—once they’ve been through a merfolk’s hands, they heal as if they’d never been.

Father wanted me to take Silas to see her.

He was about to leave when I hurried to ask what I’d been wondering.

“Father, beastkin aren’t equal to us. Why does the family insist that we make them our partners?”

Father sighed. “Ivy, remember this. No one’s loyalty can compare to a beastkin’s.

“Whether you can win his loyalty is entirely up to you.”

He waved a hand and said nothing more.

Of course I knew how precious a beastkin’s loyalty was.

But the way things were now, how could loyalty possibly be that easy?

Wasn’t this just gambling with our lives?

After Father left, I went back to my room, got Silas, and took him to find Marina.

It was the first time Silas had ever been out, and everything fascinated him.

“Master, what’s that?”

“Ice cream.”

I bought him one.

“Master, what’s that?”

“An amusement park.”

“Master…”

I was getting annoyed. “When we get home, I’ll teach you to read. Then you’ll know.”

“Okay.”

Silas’s eyes curved into a smile, and he followed close at my heels.

I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He ate the ice cream absently—he clearly didn’t like it—but his eyes were rapidly taking in everything around us.

For the first time, his careful act had slipped.

He didn’t trust me or depend on me the way he pretended to. He was wary of me.

And beyond that, he meant to use me.

Should I say it was exactly what I’d expect from him?

Soon we reached the place Father had told me about.

I’d expected a tower, gleaming and grand—after all, even humans were wary of a beastkin with real power.

But in front of us was the most ordinary little courtyard imaginable. If it hadn’t been packed with people, I’d never have believed it was the place.

When we went in, I was shocked to see Reynard.

He was slumped against a girl, so weak he could barely breathe.

As if he could sense me, he opened his eyes and saw me right away.

That one look was full of hurt.

He pushed himself upright out of the girl’s arms, the corners of his eyes red, and gazed at me pitifully.

The next second, a hand covered my eyes, cutting off the look between us.

Silas’s voice was cold, with an edge of anger. “Don’t look at him. He’s a fox. He’s using his tricks.”

I laughed and pulled his hand down.

“Go get in line.”

Of course I knew Reynard was using his charm magic.

But this time, it wouldn’t work on me.

For one thing, I felt nothing for him but hatred and caution. For another, his magic was still weak.

Silas gave me two more uneasy looks before he went to stand in line.

I went to rest in the shade and took out my phone to ask the bodyguard what had happened with Reynard.

The bodyguard replied quickly. On Reynard’s very first day in the pit, he’d charmed a girl into falling for him. Her father did business with mine. Her name was Daisy Tanner.

When the black market saw how badly Daisy wanted to buy Reynard, they jacked up the price. Daisy didn’t have enough, so she went home to raise the money, which took a few days.

During those days, the bodyguard made sure that nearly every opponent Reynard faced was a savage one.

Just when he was on the brink of death, Daisy rushed back and bought him.

I understood now. Reynard must have been so badly hurt that Daisy had brought him here for treatment.

I took a good look at Daisy. Rosy cheeks, sweet and innocent, without a scheming bone in her body.

No wonder Reynard had her wrapped around his finger.

He really never learned!