37. Leela #2
The man knelt once more. He held the fruit closer to the Viperess, illuminating the dangerous spark in his eyes and the quirk of his lips. “You didn’t even hear the best part, my Viperess.”
The Viperess tensed.
“I ordered a wife. And I shall get a wife. I don’t tend to like it when my women run away.”
“I am not your woman.”
“Nor are you the Scorpion’s. I hear a little lover’s quarrel is the reason for all this mess.”
The Viperess hissed. “Need I remind you, you threw me into the Netherworld.”
“A formality I thought would have suppressed you, yet it made your rise into this glorious being. Mark me curious to what else you can do.”
“You asshole!”
Arjun merely crossed his arms behind him. “Marry me, and I will help you find your lover. He also has something of mine I wish to collect.”
Leela frowned.
“The Scorpion is dead. I killed him,” the Viperess said.
The Viper arched a brow. “Are you so sure?”
What’s he talking about? Leela’s chest wrenched. Hope. Could it be…? No. She had watched the Viperess kill Rajesh where he stood. Watched the blood spill out of him and the life get sucked out of his eyes as he took his final gasping breath.
Impossible. He is lying. He’s a liar, remember?
Leela did. But she couldn’t help but want the words to be true. Flames, she wanted those words to be true.
“Don’t believe me?” he arched a brow.
“No.”
Arjun grinned. “Well, maybe I will just have to show you. Your little Scorpion very much lives, I saw him with my own eyes.”
Leela’s heart thudded. Ask him for details!
Do not fall for this.
“That is impossible.”
“Is it…?” He extended a hand. “I will search the ends of this earth for him, and I will retrieve your elixir of immortality. On one condition.”
The Viperess fought against the soldiers, but the blade dug deeper into her spine. “No. I will never make a deal with you.”
“Are you sure?” Arjun gazed at the Viperess, but it was like he was peering through her and spoke directly to Leela. “Would you not give it a chance to get the man you loved back, Leela?”
Yes. A thousand times, yes. She wanted to scream.
“Then follow me. Fight a little longer, and you have my word. I will find the Scorpion and Rajesh. All you have to do is marry me.”
He made it sound like such a simple request. Marriage. But it was a big thing. It was the reason Leela decided to escape from the palace in the first place. How was she meant to believe that he was alive? Most of all, how did he know? Arjun sounded adamant, or was he just a convincing liar?
Don’t fall for it, Leela.
What if he’s alive?
He can’t be. It’s impossible.
Leela bit her lip. Was it? She thought Rajesh had been dead for six years. Yet, he had been alive.
Leela glimpsed it in the depths of his eyes. There was something else Arjun was hiding.
Emotions swirled within her, bursting from the seams. Anger. Hope. Worry. Fear. Excitement. They clashed together, creating an uncontrollable monster.
She stepped forward against the glass and watched as it wavered under her wrist. Without a second thought, she pushed herself through, slamming back into her body. The Viperess hissed, screaming as she was flung back into Leela’s mind.
Nooooo!
Leela fell forward, palms to the ground. She hunched over, breath frantic.
When she looked up, Arjun was standing over her, eyes vacant, but that smirk still rode the corner of his lips.
“How do I know what you’re telling me is the truth?” Leela asked. She didn’t know how long she had before the Viperess came back
Arjun’s lips twitched. “Because I am meant to be your husband. Because I am the Prince of Vipers. The ruler of Jhuna Rin. The King Black Viper of the Awakening. The salvation you have waited for.” He stepped closer. “Because I know what the Viperess truly wants, and I know how to get it for her.”
“What do you want in return?” Leela met his gaze.
The Viperess thrashed in the depths of her mind. Leela. Do not be hasty. Do not fall for his tricks!
What if he’s telling the truth?
Don’t. I beg.
“What is she saying?”
“She refuses to go with you,” Leela said.
Arjun gave a soft chuckle and turned to the skies for a breath. When he locked eyes with Leela again, he leaned in closer.
“Tell her I know about the elixir, and I can help her get it. That and so much more. She wants power, right? To reach the Awakening and leave others here for slaughter.” Arjun chuckled. “I can get that and so much more.”
Leela waited for the Viperess to say something, but her spine was cold.
What is he talking about?
I have no idea.
Damn it. Leela was over making deals with the divine, but she was also over losing the ones she loved. By some miracle, Rajesh might still be alive. She had the chance to save him. Was a marriage so bad if it meant this man could get what she wanted? What the Viperess wanted?
You do not know him like I do, Leela. He will lure you in with hopes and dreams and bite back in anger.
That might be a risk I’m willing to take.
Leela tilted her chin, chest burning with anticipation.
The prince held his hand out as an invitation. “Do you wish to become my wife? From the Awakening to the Netherworld?”
She took a deep breath and stared into his eyes, aware this might be the worst decision she’d made. Despite it all, hope swam in her veins, and she was ready to finally win something. She clasped his hand. “From the Awakening to the Netherworld.”