Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lila
F ucking Tirrian on his mounds of treasure was like something out of an Arabian Nights fantasy, but the whole time, my dragon rumbled her delight and had her eyes on any number of his gorgeous trinkets. It was almost distracting, but he really does have a way of keeping my attention completely on him, especially when he kept covering me with jewels so he could admire his treasures while getting his dick wet. If I didn’t have my own dragon soul, I may have been offended, but instead, I admired them right along with him and plotted how I could stick them in my prison pocket to smuggle them out of his vault.
In the end, smuggling wasn’t needed, and he readily gave them to me and showed me how to activate my own vault, locking them safely away. My small pile of jewels looks pitiful on the floor of my vault, and my dragon has started plotting how we can get more. I’m not sure anywhere is safe until I have a significant amount of treasure to call my own. Luckily for me, I have ready access to a jewel cave. I will need to return to Rilu so I can bring some of the gems back with me.
We have to go to the basilisks’ compound first. I wonder if they will have any other treasures apart from the warehouse of petrified people. They are the main priority. I am going to reanimate them, and Xavier is going to teleport them to the dragon compound. From there, Link and Tysar are going to facilitate returning them to wherever they belong.
Tirrian, Saxon, Brannock, Silac, Xavier, and Maxsim will be on the away team with me as well as Tirrian’s brothers, Thorn and Titus, and his sister, Tallon. Once done, Xavier will create an illusion to make it look like the statues are all still there.
We teleport to the warehouse. Everyone is on high alert, and all are wearing special combat armor the dragons supplied. It’s made of dragon scales and is virtually bullet and magic proof, and it will shift with a person if they need to, so that means even I’m wearing it. I haven’t changed forms yet, because I’m going to be in it for a while with that many people to unfreeze, and I don’t want to run out of juice. Beings that primal are also a little hard to control without losing some of myself.
“Holy shit.” My voice echoes in the warehouse despite the vast amount of stone statues. “That video did not do the amount justice. I’m not sure if I can get them all done in one go.”
The warehouse is way bigger than I anticipated, and the amount of people must be in the thousands, not the hundreds. It’s going to take way more time to change them all back.
“Start with my father and Xavier’s parents.” Silac points at the familiar statues, and I feel a pang of sadness at seeing the two vibrant, full of life warlocks trapped like that.
“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Brannock asks before I get a chance to change forms.
Silac glares at him, but Xavier looks thoughtful as he scratches his chin. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“No, Brannock is right. What if they come to get them as leverage to make sure you go through with the ceremony? I certainly would,” Maxsim agrees, and what he says makes sense.
“Kind of like Han Solo trapped in carbonite and on display for Jabba,” I remark, and everyone looks at me with bewilderment. “Never mind.” I wave a hand, putting Star Wars on the family movie night list.
Xavier continues. “Maybe if she unfreezes them, we can ask them what they know before repetrifying them. It’s going to seem too suspicious if they disappear, then the Bravalanas will be on high alert.”
“But then I’ll have to go through with the marriage to Kinga to stop them from killing them.” Silac looks at me hopelessly, and we can all hear the desperation in his voice.
“What about an illusion of them as well?” Maxsim suggests.
Xavier shakes his head. “They won’t be able to pick up an illusion and move them. If they were already in place, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“What about a spell that temporarily freezes them with the illusion of them being stone attached to their bodies? Then, when shit starts to go down, they will unfreeze and join the fight,” Saxon suggests.
“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. Both of those things are simple spells, so easily doable,” Xavier agrees.
“Let’s do that then. Can you please turn my father back?” Silac pleads with me. Tirrian’s brothers and sister have been keeping an eye on the perimeter to make sure we aren’t interrupted. They shifted as soon as we arrived and are doing aerial surveillance, and they will let us know if anyone gets close, but I would like to get started.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to reanimate everyone tonight. I’m definitely going to need blood and sex,” I tell them, not meeting any of their eyes.
“Hey, don’t you dare act like that. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Saxon puts his finger under my chin and lifts it so I’m looking him in the eye. “That’s why you have all of us. Trust me when I say it is no hardship to power our wife up.” He grins, and the rest of the guys chuckle except for Silac and Brannock. Silac just looks uncomfortable, and Brannock looks hopeful. Ah, yes, I guess now will be as good a time as any to knock one or two mutual orgasms out of the park.
“As long as you’re willing.”
“I’d rather wait,” Silac says, and the others glare at him, and my stomach sinks.
“Of course,” I agree, even though we are less than twenty-four hours away from him being rid of his fiancée problem. What does a girl have to do to get some snake action? I’m beginning to think that he’s not all that interested but still needs our help to untangle himself. Maybe he lost interest when he saw me change into the basilisk. They are pretty fucking ugly compared to the nagas, who are straight up gorgeous for a slithery, fanged creature.
I brush off the hurt and let my mimic powers wash over me. I need to work out how many statues I can change before I need to power up, and I need to be able to change back before I do. I don’t think any of my guys would appreciate needing to fuck me in basilisk form—except for maybe Xavier, since he’s such a kinky fuck. Silac also probably wouldn’t mind if he was on the ride a Lila train, but he’s not, so he’s out.
I slither up to the first statue, prick a finger with one of my fangs, and smear a bit of blood on Cronus’s forehead. I feel the power spark that goes with it, and his body shimmers. He gasps for air before roaring loudly. Holy fuck, he could rival Maxsim with that noise. I step back quickly as his power throbs against my body.
“Where the fuck is he? I’ll kill him,” he shouts and locks eyes with me before lunging with his hands out to grab my neck.
“No, Dad, that’s Lila!” Xavier shouts, and Cronus halts inches from snapping my neck. He cocks his head and looks at me. I hold perfectly still, not wanting to set the furious warlock off, but I do give him a little smile.
“Hi, Dad,” I say to him, and his whole body relaxes as his hands drop from my neck. He wraps his arms around my body as he hugs me.
“My dear girl, thank you. It was horrifying being trapped and unable to get out. I couldn’t even get my magic to work. Quick, do Xylene, will you?” He steps back and gestures to his wife. The puncture wound on my finger has sealed, so I repeat the process with my fang and drop it on Xavier’s mom’s forehead. She reacts in much the same way as her husband but is quicker with her magic, and it’s only Xavier’s quick thinking of putting a shield between me and her that stops her from obliterating me.
“Love, that’s Lila. Stop.” Cronus jumps at his wife and wraps her in his arms, holding her tight. They cling to one another, and we give them a moment to recover without our attention on them. Xavier joins their huddle, and I hear him telling them what happened before they turn to face us.
“Lila, thank you.” Xylene grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. I don’t blame her for not hugging me, I’m a fucking mess. Basilisk half form is not attractive at all.
“Okay, Silac’s father next. Do you want to get close so you can stop him from killing me?” I raise an eyebrow at the naga, and he moves into position. He’s changed forms, and I guess he’s going to need it since his dad is in half form. My mimic powers throb, and I grit my teeth and clamp down to hold the form I’m in. Holy crap, it wants me to mimic Silac desperately. I won’t do that. He’s been very insistent on waiting, and if it comes down to it, I don’t need a naga form. He might only be interested because it’s his only chance. I don’t want to be wanted because it will get his father off his back. I have enough mates who want me for me, not because I can change into the same race as them. Hell, Caspian, Xavier, Saxon, and Link all wanted me when they thought I was a boring old no powered Skarrian.
I feel his tail slide against mine, and it gives me goosebumps. It’s an incredibly erotic feeling, and I almost groan out loud. I don’t think he did it on purpose, but I move anyway. I don’t need any more temptation, and the primal basilisk part of me wants to fuck and bite and wrap him up in our tail so he can’t get away.
Xavier quickly steps between me and Silac with a pained look on his face. Both Cronus and Xylene look uncomfortable, and this time I do groan out loud in embarrassment.
“Can you all feel that?” I hiss at my warlock mate, who gives me a subtle head nod.
“Fuck my life,” I mutter, and Cronus chuckles before Xylene smacks his arm and hisses at him to shut up. I really like my warlock in-laws.
I go through the process again and slither back so Silac’s father doesn’t catch sight of me straight away. It takes him a little longer to recover than the two warlocks, but soon, he and Silac are embracing, and he’s apologizing profusely for getting him into this mess.
“It’s okay, Dad, we have a plan. King Tysar and my friends, as well as the king and queen of warlocks, are going to make sure the Bravalanas can’t cause any more trouble permanently.”
Silac’s dad pulls back and frowns at him. “But what about your marriage to Kinga? We can’t derail that.”
“Dad, you know neither of us want that marriage,” Silac argues, and his dad gets a stubborn look on his face.
“No, son, you have to go through with the marriage. It’s our only chance at continuing the naga line, you know this. Without it, there will be no more chances of nagas,” he blusters and waves his arms around, his hood flaring up and down with his emotions.
“Actually, that’s not true, is it?” Tirrian steps into the conversation, and I brace for Tirrian to tell him about me, but what comes out of Tirrian’s mouth kind of floors me, and I feel my mouth drop open. “A shifter can bite a non-shifter mate, changing them into a shifter. Silac or any of your children don’t need to mate within the same species to be able to continue the naga line. Even if they do mate a shifter, there is a fifty-fifty chance their children will be nagas as well.”
Oh snap. How did any of us forget about this? I have my dragon from Tirrian’s bite, not because I mimicked his form, and it’s the same with my kraken. I was a kraken before I knew I was a mimic.
Silac narrows his eyes and takes a step back from his father. “You told me that it doesn’t work like that for nagas.”
Silac’s father glares at Tirrian. “It doesn’t,” he insists vehemently.
Tirrian shakes his head. “He lies.”
Silac moves back slightly from his father, his face wary now.
“Caspian tried to tell me the same thing, but I argued with him. How could you lie to all of us like that?” Silac looks at his dad with devastation. “Why would you make your children think they didn’t have any chance at finding a compatible mate? You insisted nagas weren’t capable of changing their mates.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Silac. The dragon doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If you bite your potential mate, there’s a chance our venom could kill them. It doesn’t work the same way for venomous shifters.” His dad is insistent.
Tirrian scoffs. “There’s an antivenom for naga venom. You just dose the partner up before you bite. He’d have to do the same thing for his fiancée since she’s a basilisk. What are you hiding? Come on, Suzuth, tell us the real reason you tried to marry your son into that family.”
Tirrian’s right, it is all becoming very suspicious. Suzuth squirms with our attention on him, but he keeps his mouth closed. I guess Cronus gets tired of waiting and goes digging in his mind, because soon enough, he’s scoffing.
“Kinga comes with a huge dowry. It seems like maybe your father has a bit of a gambling problem, and the shipping business isn’t doing so well.”
Silac gapes at his father. “How can it not be doing well? It’s one of the biggest shipping companies in the galaxy. Its net worth is astronomical.”
“Apparently your father has made a few bad investments and has been shipping products for certain families for nothing. You’ve been in bed with the Bravalanas for a long time, and it finally caught up to you, didn’t it?” Cronus has nothing but disdain for the naga father.
“You sold me? How could you do that to our family? Does Mother know?” Silac asks, and I hurt for him despite our own rocky relationship.
“You won’t tell her a thing. Once your marriage to Kinga is finalized and the basilisks have been dealt with, it should be no problem to regain our former glory,” Suzuth hisses at his son.
Silac shakes his head. “No. I will not be marrying Kinga, and you will be stepping down as the head of Snakebite Logistics.”
“And what then? Do you really think you are capable of running it? You ran off to the circus instead of taking up your responsibilities. You will do no better than I did,” the naga sneers aggressively at his son, who just looks hurt but shakes his head.
“No, Dad, I will not be running the company. My life path is different. Siskar, however, has the brains and know how, and with Simu and Slorun to back him, hopefully they can recover our family company. I think it would be a very good idea if you took an early retirement.”
His father splutters and hisses aggressively, and I have the feeling he doesn’t like that idea at all.
“If you don’t, I will tell Mother all about your gambling habit.”
“He likes whores too,” Xylene says dryly, and my eyes widen. Holy fuck, they are not holding back.
“You cheated on Mom?” Silac’s hood flares, and he rises up above his father, who cowers in the face of his son’s aggression.
“They meant nothing to me. I had to portray a certain position to get the basilisks on board. None of them are faithful to their partners.”
Silac shakes his head. “And to think I was impatient to get back and save you. I should have Lila turn you into stone again.”
I push my way through and glare at the man who recovers his fight and sneers at me. “And who is this basilisk bitch that you’re throwing everything away for? What’s the difference between this one and the one I arranged for you? I’m sure you had fun sticking your cocks into her to get her to cooperate.”
“Oh shit.” Xavier snickers. “Please, Silac, let Lila show your father what she can do. Please. I promise when it’s your turn to have babies, I’ll look after them once a week so you can have one-on-one time with Lila.”
I glare at my husband before turning my attention to Silac. I can see all his hurt and anger, not to mention feel it viscerally with my warlock powers, which must be reacting to the other three warlocks who are here.
He sighs. “Go ahead, Lila. Show my father exactly what I have thrown away my chance with Kinga for… what I am so very happy to throw it away for if you will ever forgive me for being such an ass and pushing you away until this had been dealt with. I was trying to be honorable, but now I know how ridiculous that was, considering my father wouldn’t know honor if it bit him on the nose.”
I’ve never changed from one form to a new form before, but I don’t even have to think about it. I loosen the reins on my mimic powers, and I feel the power rush over me. My tail changes slightly, growing thicker and longer, and the horned ridge on my head shrinks and I feel a hood form. Something happens in my pelvis region, but I don’t get a chance to check before the mist fades. I look down to make sure my breasts aren’t exposed to Silac’s dad in this form, but sure enough, like the basilisk, I have scales covering my chesticles. I’m the color of all my other creatures, the same as the dragon eye stone.
“You’re gorgeous,” Silac whispers reverently while his dad stares at me in horror. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Lila, whom I’m hoping will do me the honor of being my mate if I haven’t fucked everything up too badly. Even if I couldn’t bite her to change her, she can mimic my form, and we can continue the naga line without any question.”