Chapter 2 A Cool Assessment #2
Over the next hour, more show up to approach the glass and, as it becomes more apparent what I’m doing, the males outside seem to be willing to allow it…
to a point, still keeping their distance from one another and snapping at those that get too close.
And as more arrive, it seems to me either word has gotten out or there’s far more nagas watching me from the forest than I, or anyone, realized.
A brief brawl breaks out between two males that are similar in appearance to the gray and green third male, but otherwise there seems to be an understanding growing between them that I’m going to choose one.
Whether I do or not, I’m not going to let them fight it out and decide for me, that’s for sure.
I’ve had too many choices taken from me that with this, I refuse to have it out of my hands.
The idea of letting Zaku or anyone else choose a naga for me makes me nauseous.
I’d rather rely on my gut intuition, it’s rarely failed me in life.
I may not want to lose my… freedom… but I’m still going to choose one if I’m forced. Me, not them.
I’m feeling a little forced.
I’m feeling a little desperate.
If I choose, I can hedge my bets better by escaping later with my life. I’m wanting a naga who might not actually want me back, or isn’t smart, or seems distracted. I’m searching for the easiest target to leave when I inevitably escape them and figure out a way back home.
Thankfully, the Boa doesn’t appear and as the remaining sunlight fades and the fireflies emerge, some of the stiffness in my shoulders melts. The nagas in front of me may be large and intimidating but none of them compared to the Boa.
Part of me hopes he’ll show anyway and the other nagas will outright end him for me… if not for me, then on behalf of Daisy.
From silver-blue to brown, gray, and black, a speckled red and black naga catches my attention, flexing his muscles and pressing his palms to the glass as he shows off his toned body. “Julia,” he hums my name.
Another form emerges from the growing darkness.
The others notice him when I do, and my breath stifles in my lungs.
Expecting the Boa, my mouth parts when Krellix’s confused gaze sweeps over the gathering. His attention lands on me, then goes back to the males, the confusion partially clearing from his expression. His lips twist into a scowl as he slips closer, nostrils flaring.
For a split-second, I think he’s coming to stand before me but it dies when his focus remains on the males. He glances at me and stops in the middle of the yard. Bones scatter away when he coils his tail under him.
“Leave. Now,” his voice is loud, sharp, and filled with warning. “Zaku would have your spines if he finds you out here and I will join him in retrieving them. I will do so anyway if you do not leave now!”
When none of the males move, some responding with threatening hisses of their own, I step forward to the glass. “Do as he says. I want no bloodshed tonight. I saw what I needed.”
The first silvery blue naga hesitates, but the one with the short black hair shifts his annoyed gaze from him to me. “Who have you chossssen, female?” he asks, coiling his sleek tail under him. “We are waiting. We will leave once we have your answer.”
My lips part as my throat tightens, not certain how to respond.
“Leave!” Krellix roars, slamming his tail on the ground.
Amongst them all, my gaze tugs towards him like he’s a beacon of light amidst the dark. Handsome beyond words, his golden-brown hair and deeply toned body has my cheeks heating.
Several naga scatter though most remain, unbothered by his warning. Growing more worried that a fight is going to break out if I don’t do something, I shout, “Tomorrow, I will make my choice!”
The air stills at my words as over a dozen pairs of eyes land on me. Krellix’s included.
“Go!” I shout, throwing out my arm and pointing to the woods because I’m not going to take back my words. When several continue to hesitate, I wave them off emphatically. “Tomorrow. If you fight, I will not make a choice. Go!”
If something happens to Krellix, I’ll never forgive myself. Daisy and Zaku might not forgive me. Krellix might be as large and scary as the next naga but there’s no way he can take a dozen of them at once.
“Tomorrow then,” the silver-blue naga with white hair says, eyeing me from head to toe once more. Grabbing his brother’s arm, the two of them turn and disappear within the line of trees across the yard. Their looming shadows vanish with them.
Slowly, the rest of the males follow. When they’re all gone and it’s just Krellix and me, I begin to realize that the noise I’m hearing isn’t another ship flying overhead but my heart thrumming rapidly.
Feeling like I’ve just done something stupid by trying to investigate the males, I meet Krellix’s furious gaze.
My cheeks heat further as my annoyance returns. I’m being smart, learning about my options. I won’t let Krellix make me feel like an idiot.
The scowl remains on Krellix’s face as he slips towards the house’s entryway. Moving onto the shallow and crumbling frontway landing, he heads straight for the door. Meeting him on the other side, the anger in his expression is met with a frustrated one of my own.
“Let me in,” he demands.
“I can’t without Zaku’s permission,” I say, holding his eyes. Eyes that are drowning in disdain.
He’s upset.
He’s been upset with me since he found me with a sprained ankle alone at the bottom of the mountain. I don’t know why but after he found me, helped bind my foot, and carried me back to Zaku’s, his unhappy feelings towards me only grew.
Letting Krellix’s disdain slide off of me, I’m about to tell him he will have to wait until morning when he growls and turns his attention to the door’s outside panel. Lifting his hand, he starts tapping the buttons on it with his fingers.
I barely have time to realize what he’s doing when the bolts keeping the door locked slide into the walls.
The next thing I know, I’m stumbling backward. Krellix bursts in, wraps his hand around my throat, and pushes me up against the inside wall.