Chapter 2
Naomi
My hip ached and phantom pains were tingling up from my knees through my thighs.
I had a very limited ability to move my hips since the accident, with no feeling at all from the knee down, and only intermittent sensation on my thighs.
With braces and walking canes, I could hobble around the house on good days, but usually, I just used my wheelchair. I had none of that here to help me.
The bastards had even tied my ankles together and I was worried about the rough rope on my skin.
I couldn’t tell if it was too tight or not, I already had no sensation in my toes, and I couldn’t wiggle them to help circulation.
I definitely knew they’d tied my wrists too tightly, my fingers were all pins and needles and my skin was abraded.
The creepy asshole that had carried me here had dumped me onto the dirt floor in this dank, dark cave without ceremony.
They hadn’t bothered to tie me up any further, just locked a heavy wooden door on their way out and that was it.
Nothing was said, I was just dumped and abandoned.
I was pretty sure that meant they were saving me up for something really bad.
Visions of being tossed into an active volcano as a virgin sacrifice marched across my brain.
My mind had a sick sense of humor some days; this wasn’t helping.
These creepy snake people weren’t sacrificing me, I was clearly the dirt beneath their feet.
They wouldn’t want to toss me to their Volcano God.
My stomach rumbled, telling me it was empty and my bladder told me I really needed to go.
I doubted a pee break or dinner were in the cards for me.
They hadn’t even left me with any kind of light.
When they’d brought me in here, I’d had just enough time to see that it was just a small dark room carved out of the rock, empty except for some broken crates and barrels.
Rolling to my belly, I dug my elbows into the dirt and pulled myself toward what I hoped were the remains of those wooden crates.
If I was lucky, there might be nails or something there, something sharp I could use to cut the ropes.
They had tied my hands at the front and I used my elbows and fingers as much as I could to pull myself along.
Reaching out to run my hands through the dirt with each pull to search for anything useful.
I hissed with excitement when I touched the first piece of wood, it felt solid and big.
Maybe I could use that as a weapon once I got myself out of these ties.
Beyond the door I knew lay a giant cavern, lit with hundreds of fires and torches.
Huts and dwellings were built around a central hub, squeezed together so tightly that everything was a maze of tiny paths and giant fire hazards.
When Vera had woken me from that stasis pod, accompanied by three blue Naga I had been a tad worried.
They were big and scaly and muscular. Each of those males looked like they could crush even fierce Kalani in their coils like it was nothing.
But there were only three of them and they had seemed nice enough, trying to get us out of that sinking space wreck and hurrying us to safety.
Earlier, my captors had paraded me through that central hub before they tossed me in here.
I’d come face to face with so much hatred and anger that it still frightened me to hear the noises of their many voices beyond that door.
I’d been spat on, my hair had been yanked, and people had reached out and pinched my flesh.
I had bruises on my arms to show for it, and I worried about how bruised my legs might be since I couldn’t feel that.
Without light, I couldn’t properly inspect my injuries, if I was bleeding, that was bad.
When my fingers touched something cold, a surge of elation soared through me.
Yes, that was it! Wriggling with my extended fingers I managed to get a good grip on the sharp piece only to discover that it was a bent piece of metal, not exactly a nail but it could still work.
In the dark, I couldn’t tell what it had once been and now that I thought about it, these Naga seemed a little too barbaric to have mastered metalworking.
I was desperately sawing at the rope around my wrist, not even bothering to pull my body into a more comfortable upright position.
That was how he found me when the door suddenly swung open and light spilled into the dark cave.
Sprawled on the ground, the metal between my palms. I couldn’t have been caught more red-handed than this.
The light that spilled through the open panel briefly blinded me.
Forcing me to squint while my heart raced, my body jerked backward from the surprise, causing me to roll to my side.
I saw only a big outline of a pair of shoulders and a head at first, huge and shadowed; clearly a male.
Then he raised a hand, a lantern dangling from his clawed fingers and it illuminated him.
A Naga like the others; red scales gleaming along his long, sinuous body. He was towering on the base of his thick tail and gold shimmered along the edges of the scales on his shoulders and belly while the deep red slowly turned darker along his tail toward the tip.
He wore a leather belt and a weapon harness that crisscrossed his chest; a huge sword strapped with it to his back.
That alone already said he was different from the ones that had hauled me in here, they had only carried spears and bows.
The savage expression on his face clued me in on the major jerk vibes that clung to this guy.
So this is who they saved me for, their major asshole of a boss.
Instantly, my mind filled with all kinds of images of being interrogated by this guy.
My eyes were already scanning those belts on his hips to see if he was carrying pliers of some kind.
The fact that I couldn’t spot them wasn’t a relief; I was sure he’d find inventive ways to make me babble all kinds of things.
Which wouldn’t help because we didn’t speak the same language.
When he slithered further into the small cave room, he didn’t make a single noise.
That explained why I hadn’t heard anything until the door suddenly swung open.
This guy was exactly what he looked like, a deadly predator, a stalker.
I shoved myself off the floor with my elbows and tightened my abs so I could get into a sitting position.
If I had to face the bad boss, I was going to do it sitting at least. Maybe he hadn’t seen that piece of metal yet, so I kept my fingers tucked together and hoped that he wouldn’t notice.
The door shut behind him and no one else followed him in.
I wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse.
If he was going to torture me, I suppose I was happy nobody was there to witness it.
It was bad enough that his face was actually kind of appealing if I ignored the deep frown; with sharp cheekbones, a luscious dark red mouth, bright intelligent eyes, and long tresses of red hair pulled back into a high ponytail.
I saw strips of leather, beads, and even feathers decorating the strands.
It was just my luck to discover my interrogator, and probably my executioner, was kinda sexy.
Which just went to show that I had been cooped up in the house far too much before this happened.
I couldn’t possibly find this monster appealing, but for some reason I was kinda digging his savage appearance.
It made absolutely zero sense. Although, hadn’t I read somewhere that your fear wires in the brain could get crossed with arousal?
Maybe I’d managed to find yet another way to be screwed up.
He slithered up to me until he rose high above me on his tail only inches from where my feet were sprawled.
His expression was like a thundercloud as he scrutinized me.
I felt that dark red glare as it glided over my skin, running over my body as he inspected every inch.
I tightened my fists and hoped he wouldn’t notice the piece of metal.
Red eyes should be really freaky, but his were like the color of dark red wine. A deep ruby that felt sharp and intelligent but not demonic. I was really kidding myself to imagine a hint of softness in those orbs too. There was just no way this monstrous Naga had any softness to him at all.
When he swooped down toward me on his tail, a little girly squeak escaped my throat.
Hovering over my body, his abs and tail holding him nearly perpendicular along my legs.
Heat pumped off him against my thighs and belly, his face suddenly far too close to mine for comfort.
My heart was racing again, my breathing growing shallow as I froze in place.
What do you know? I could be scared after all, because I was definitely terrified right now.
He hadn’t made a noise yet so when he suddenly hissed, my skin pebbled with goosebumps.
I flinched back a little and nearly toppled over onto the sand-covered floor.
“Look, I don’t know what you want from me.
I’m just a girl, I don’t mean any harm. I can’t even do much harm.
Have you seen me?” the words tumbled from my mouth rapidly.
An embarrassing output of nervous prattling.
Right then I desperately wished I could be more like Kalani.
Brief as we’d know each other, I already knew that she’d be standing up to this jerk like she’d done with that blue one.
His hand shot out so fast I had no time to react.
His fingers curled around my bound wrists and that feeling incited a panic in my mind that just took over.
I fought, screeching in fear and anger as I tried to jerk my hands from his grip.
It was all over when he found that piece of metal and the bits of frayed rope I was hiding.