Chapter 19 #2
“Go Zathar, put me down, I’ll hide. Don’t worry about me.
” I didn’t put her down, but making sure to cover my tracks I rushed for the hiding spot I had in mind.
A tumble of rocks with a fallen tree partially covering the crevice behind it.
The tree was moss overgrown, having fallen years ago and the hiding spot no longer fit me, but it had been perfect as a young Naga when I played in these woods.
Vera would have no trouble tucking her slender body inside it.
She couldn’t see as well in the dark as I could but the pale white orb of the moon gave enough of a glow that she could make out the hiding spot.
“Yeah, that’ll do,” she whispered. When I slid her down my body, I savored every soft curve and dip against my scales.
Fervently praying that this wasn’t the last time I’d see her, there was always the chance that I’d managed to enrage my mother so thoroughly that she had me killed on sight.
I struggled to lift my hands from her hips, and she was hanging on to the strap of my sword sheath.
“One more kiss, Zathar,” she said and I obeyed, bending down to mate her mouth with my own, eager for her taste.
Flicking my long tongue along the inside of her mouth, I savored the rich taste of her, letting it imprint on my senses.
Then I curled it around her own and tugged on it as a final departure, knowing what it always did to her.
Sure enough, flicking my tongue in the air, I could taste her arousal.
I grinned as I forced myself to let her go and her eyes were limpid, filled with the desire we couldn’t act on.
I liked knowing I left her in that state, that she’d be ready and waiting for me when I returned.
There was nothing like an eager mate waiting for a male to motivate him to great speeds.
Though I backed up to help me find the self-control I needed to leave, I didn’t head for the village until I’d made sure Vera was properly hidden, our pack of supplies tucked into the crevice with her.
I even went so far as to adjust a few branches to provide maximum cover, and then I spent several minutes erasing our tracks toward this place.
I couldn’t be certain that a master tracker like Khawla would be fooled this way, but most hunters wouldn’t be able to spot her now.
As I rushed for the village, circling around to make it even harder to locate where I’d come from, I tried to reassure myself.
There was no need for scouts to be scouring the hillsides, they wouldn’t suspect that Vera was out there hiding.
She was safe, and she had her sling to scare off any predators, her scent was covered up with my own from being skin to scale all day too.
Nearing the most western gate into the village, almost directly opposite where Vera was hiding, I was happy to notice the guards manning the palisade.
Good, they weren’t complacent at least, that was going to help in the days to come.
They spotted me when I broke through the treeline but then I didn’t make any attempt to hide.
“Evening hunters,” I called out, “I’m not here to fight.
I need to speak to the Queen. I have important news.
” The two males were both mated and a good dozen years older than I was, we’d never run in the same circles.
I respected them both as skilled warriors and hunters, both with mates that were on the quieter side, not nearly as ambitious and war-like as a female like Astrexa or my mother.
“Stand down, Zathar. Drop your weapons,” one said cautiously and I did as he asked.
Leaving the one sword and knife I was carrying on the flattened earth in front of the gate.
It was a little overbearing, I didn’t plan on hurting any of my former Clansmen.
I’d only fought the hunters in the mountains when they threatened my mate.
“What news?” the other asked, his spear resting butt first on the ground while he leaned against it with his torso. The posture was very casual, indicating he didn’t consider me a threat, which was true. He wasn’t being insulting, he was letting me know he knew I was an ally, not an enemy.
“I’ll tell the Queen first, Imvru,” I said to him, my eyes following the other male as he darted inside to fetch help.
I braced myself for the appearance of one of my sisters, or even Astrexa as they escorted me inside.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they’d make a show of it with hunters holding me under spear point as they paraded me through town.
My mother was always ready for theatrics.
My prediction came true, a whole crowd of males showed up under the leadership of a handful of my surviving sisters.
I’d been speaking with Imvru about his growing handful of younglings but both of us fell silent at the sight.
“Hmm, you sure know how to create excitement, don’t you son? ” he remarked quietly.
I didn’t protest the spears, just greeted my sisters and then asked them to take me to the Queen as I had important news. I counted myself very lucky that Astrexa wasn’t among them, but I hoped she would be at the Pagoda. It made me uneasy not to know where she was.
“Of course, brother,” the youngest of my sisters said.
She was barely out of her last growth molting, nearly a dozen years younger than myself.
I didn’t think we’d spoken more than a handful of sentences to each other in our entire lives.
She had that vicious cast to her face that was so very similar to my mother’s, a snarl curling her lips, displaying her fangs.
On her body, nearly as many scars covered her as Astrexa wore with pride. It said enough.
“Lead the way Sazzie,” I said, gesturing to the center of town.
She gave me a haughty look and did exactly that, her tail moving with sharp, angry motions as she led the way.
The way our older sisters let her do that said everything about Sazzie’s place in their hierarchy.
I hadn’t paid enough attention to her when I was still in the Clan, or maybe she’d just risen fast since I’d been cast out for the first time several months ago.
The Pagoda was devoid of my mother or Astrexa and when Sazzie and my other sisters just curled up on their customary pillows I knew what was about to happen.
They were going to make me wait and twirl my fucking tail tip, making sure I knew my place.
I was no longer a Prince seeking an audience, I was an outcast, a nobody to the Clan and the Queen was not summoned for such a lowly Naga.
Furious, I said, “I don’t have time for this!
YOU don’t have time for this. I have dire news or I wouldn’t even be here.
Life or death!” But my words didn’t move them.
Sazzie actually threw back her head and yawned in an exaggerated manner.
For the first time in my life, I considered doing violence to one of my own kin, well, discounting my own mother.
Sazzie had gone from just a small, unnoticeable sibling, to the most annoying creature in all of Serant.
But no matter how much I ranted, how much I demanded or pleaded, they remained unmovable.
They were set on making me wait and each minute was one I could ill afford, leaving Vera exposed and at risk of being caught in the middle of a war we weren’t part of.
Damn it, I should not have come here, and I should not have let my mate convince me to take her with me.