Serpents of the Night (The Darvel Exploratory Systems #5)

Chapter 19

Slengral’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched the activity below him. Small clusters of females occasionally flew by, and among them more than one royal guard whom he knew was keeping watch on him, but it was the random males that drew his attention. Although three day-cycles had passed since he had been made aware of Vekatha’s efforts to trap him, he had not relaxed his vigil over his nest. Nor had the other males.

Three endless day-cycles in which his presence was expected every evening at his mother’s side, and he was forced to subject his mate and family to the tedious court affairs dealing with the matriarchs without support, aside from the elderly Shaleia who remained steadfast at their side. Not to mention the obvious displays of interest from the unmated hopefuls splashing their pheromones all over the place just in case they were fortunate enough to draw a recognizable response from him. It was only made worse by knowing that his mother could put an end to it whenever she desired after the first failed evening without repercussion from the matriarchs, and yet still she allowed it.

His jaw clenched in irritation, an irrational anger filling his gut, making him want to swoop down on those flying unsuspectingly below him and vent his frustration. The feeling of being suffocated was getting worse and still Vekatha was nowhere to be found. He suspected that she was intentionally drawing it out with continuous delays. It was the one way that she was certain to torment him—trapping him with the shinara.

“Have there been any other signs of disturbance from Vekatha?” he rumbled to the male stationed at his side.

Daskh fanned his wings as his gaze trailed over the buildings. “No. Nothing. I had no difficulty intercepting many of those who ventured close to our nest, but it turned up nothing aside from the fact that some males fly a little recklessly too close to the nesting zones. They are lucky a less tolerant male has not shredded them for it yet.” He expelled a sharp breath from between his teeth. “I do not understand what she is waiting for,” he grumbled. “You would think after her first failed attempt that she would have other plans in mind.”

Slengral quietly grunted in response. “She knows that it will not work. Vekatha is many things, but she is not stupid. She has likely heard of the numerous failed attempts of the females at court and by now realizes that any such efforts to delegitimize my mating will be wasted. She is playing a game with us—trying to manipulate me into action. It is just to keep us all on edge while revealing nothing of her activities or her true intentions.”

Daskh cast him a wary glance. “That is what worries me. It did seem as if she were trying to intentionally provoke us previously. Even if she thought that the pheromone trap would perhaps work, would she not have come herself to implement it so that she could enjoy the results? Instead, she kept herself hidden. Why? And the male, Mareesh, was a little too forthcoming about his orders. The only thing that seemed to truly catch him off guard was the fact that I seized the pheromone-soaked evidence. It was as if he had not expected that reaction.”

A hiss of disgust escaped from between Slengral’s clenched teeth. “She expected us to hunt for her now that we have the advantage of numbers. But why would she want to lure us from the nest? She made no observable move against us when we attended the Daliska Market. If she simply wished to cause some mischief for us where the shinara could witness it, she missed her opportunity.”

“And you have not allowed Lori out from the nest since, outside of attending the banquets at the queen matriarch’s demand,” Daskh pointed out drily. His gavo flicked unhappily. “Whatever her reasoning, we cannot keep Lori under guard within the nest forever. It is cruel and our female is becoming increasingly more restless.”

Slengral did not wish to agree with his nest brother, but the male had a point. As much as his instincts screamed for him to keep their mate hidden within their nest, he knew that Lori chafed against the restriction just as much as she had within his nest in the upper caverns. He should be giving her the opening to learn about the shinara so that she understood more of it. And yet...

“I feel watched,” he confided in a low voice. “And not just by my mother’s guards but by something that poses a danger to us. It is sizing us up and deciding the best way to tear the meat from our bones.”

Daskh’s frown deepened, his gavo rising warily. “Do you believe it is Vekatha seeking to harm us then? If so, why not attack when we were in the market?”

That was the question. There were no further traps to be found, nor had anyone attacked them directly when they had the chance to do so. So why did he feel so uneasy when he should be simply brushing Vekatha’s antics off as being no more important than that of a spoiled nestling? Even in the market he had felt eyes following them, but he had tried to brush it off, rationalizing that the entire shinara would be watching them when humans like Lori were unheard of in the depths of the Aglatha. But it did not fit when he knew of Vekatha or her previous behavior.

“Vekatha is cunning, but she is an opportunist,” he replied at last. “She will strike when her quarry is vulnerable rather than be one to organize a complicated hunt. Her attempt to flush us out into a trap via the male Mareesh is typical of what could be expected, but anything that requires more patience and strategizing does not fit.”

Daskh rumbled in agreement, but the sound was a distracted one as his gaze fixed on a point in the near distance. Slengral followed the line of the male’s gaze and grimaced when he saw a pair of broad wings break from the flying formation of the guard patrolling the shinara. It appeared that they were about to have company. He rolled back on the coils of his tail, his gavo rising in warning so that the bioluminescence of their gavos shimmered along the outer rocks, framing their nest in wildly flickering colors in silent warning to the guard to slow their approach.

To his relief, the female veered in a wide circle as she neared, rapidly reducing her speed as she slowly drew up to the mouth of his cavern. Daskh slid back deeper within it, his gavo twitching and rattling as he hissed unhappily despite Slengral’s large body crowding close against his to completely block off all access to their nest and their mate. Even though he easily recognized the female as she neared, the instinctive response roared through him as his eyes followed the guard’s approach, her wings beating wildly as she drew up to the entrance before Jathella landed with a broad snap of her large blue wings. Her amber eyes pinned him gravely for a moment before dropping her head in a respectful dip.

“Jathella.” Her name fell from his mouth with a sound that verged on a threat—a sound that amused her as her the corners of her mouth curled in response. “I was not expecting any summons from my mother. Your timing is bad. Whatever the queen matriarch wants, it will have to wait. Daskh and I were contemplating some amusement for our mate. She is not accustomed to dwelling at such depths nor spending so much time within the nest.”

“Then Queen Zathexa’s timing is excellent,” the guard countered with a quiet chuckle. “The blooming is nigh, and the matriarchs insist on forgoing all of the recent seriousness and the demands of duties for some of our customary celebrations.”

“Celebrations?” he murmured uncertainly.

He scowled at the female as he quickly searched his memory for any reference of any such thing occurring within the shinara. All of his recent experiences with festivities were solely within the human colony, and he felt woefully incapable of comparing them to any memories from his youth before being expelled from the maternal nest.

Jathella’s smile widened, and she inclined her head again, her gavo snapping in agreement. “The blooming,” she reiterated. “It is the time of the dishana blooms that fill the mid caverns, brought on by the greater rains in the heart of the wet season. The first blooms are always celebrated before the harvest begins.”

The harvest. That he remembered. He remembered working his fingers raw along with the other males housed within the haga as they scoured the lower caverns. They labored for long hours, plucking the large blooms and separating the red stamens from which they derived a rich spice as well as medicinal properties from the heavily perfumed flowers that were prized in numerous scented pouches and in oils. It seemed while the haga was put to work that those of the shinara enjoyed the season with the pleasures of festivities.

His eyes narrowed on Jathella. “The queen matriarch commands it?”

She blinked at him in surprise. “Even if she did not—who would not wish to come? And it would be an opportunity for your mate to enjoy the company of more than just the royal court.”

Slengral wavered. He wanted to rebel against the command. He wanted to spit in the face of the revelry that was ignorant of the pain that the males of the haga went through as their scales were often sliced through or lifted away and broken off completely by the twisted thorns that covered the dishana plants.

But then there was his ashlava. Would it please Lori? He glanced covertly at Daskh, his gavo twitching in a silent inquiry. Unfortunately, his nest brother appeared just as uncertain as he felt. With no other recourse, he turned toward Jathella and inclined his head.

“I have no answer for you to take back to my mother, but assure her that we will consider it. We will discuss this with our mate and will attend only if she wishes to. My mother already demands much of us,” he pointed out.

Jathella’s wings twitched uncomfortably. “Do not hold it too strongly against the queen matriarch. There are many responsibilities that she has to bear and the pressure that is put on her is far greater than most others within the shinara. She is only trying to do what is right.”

“What would be right would be to seek out my brother, who is presumably still unmated if rumors are true,” Slengral pointed out.

The female paled. “What you speak of is suicide. Your brother abandoned the Aglatha long ago to retreat into the Vehal. This is not a place any female of the shinara would willingly venture into. Not only are the males of monstrous size but the females are enslaved beneath their yoke. Any one of us who might go for him risks being captured. Not even the hashara would likely be spared. This is the only way.”

Slengral’s jaw clenched. He understood the fears she spoke of, but it did not change his view of his own situation. He was selected for the convenience of the shinara, and it was for their sake that his family was being manipulated and his mate scrutinized.

“And now you see why I shall not answer for my mate,” he growled. “Not only does it disrespect the laws of the shinara, but I refuse to allow any further demands to be put on Lori. Enough is asked of her, and she has been tolerant. I am not inclined to be so.”

“Nor am I,” Daskh hissed from behind him. “We will present the request to our mate. But it is Lori’s decision.”

Slengral smirked as the guard gaped at them. “And you have your answer. We will present your request to our mate and nothing more. You may take some comfort out of the fact that she will likely agree to stave off her own boredom, but if that is the case then we shall follow her pleasure only. We will not be there to entertain the queen matriarch or the noble matriarchs.”

Daskh hissed quietly in agreement, but the sound seemed to bring the guard back to herself as Jathella jerked back with wild snaps of her wings.

“Of course,” she replied rapidly. “I will inform Queen Zathexa straight away. Many thanks.”

Slengral inclined his head, but his eyes followed the female as she whirled away with a rolling flick of her tail and dropped from the nest. Her wings fanned wide carrying her from the nest and out over the shinara. Daskh drew up to his side as he silently watched her.

It was time for his mother, the matriarchs, and the presence watching within the shinara to know that he would not be manipulated and yanked about any longer. While he could not dismiss the needs of the shinara altogether, all would know where his priorities were rightly placed and cease toying with him immediately. Only Lori was his ashlava, and it was only to her that his will bowed, and by her alone, his heart was conquered.

If his mate wanted flowers, he would give her flowers and the most beautiful blooms of the festival. But if she did not then they could all fall into the black abyss for all he cared.