Chapter 11 A Taste Of Blood #2
My fingers inched toward the hilt of the dagger sheathed to my left hip, and I glanced at Ember who intensely watched her brother finish up with his first victim. Dante swiftly moved on, slithering toward the barely alive man who still had my dagger in his throat.
A vicious smile spread across my face as my black snake prepared to feast on the man’s insides before finishing him off for good.
I purred a command down the bond while glancing at Ember. Let’s show these men how it's done.
My snake’s black eyes raised to mine, her hiss the only response I needed to advance on the two remaining men. One of them had blazing red hair, his green eyes locked onto my approaching figure.
“I guess we found who will die next.” My voice was like ice, spearing right at the man full of hate.
His scowl deepened as he raised his battle axe and raced for us.
However, he was too short and weak to carry such a weapon, so it was easy to dodge his sloppy strike.
His balance quickly flew off center, and Ember took the opportunity to lunge from my arm.
She tightened her body around the man’s thick neck.
Before he could even attempt to raise his hand to swipe his axe at my snake, I tossed the dagger I was rolling between my hands, letting it slice straight through the air and toward the traitor.
A blood-curdling scream reverberated off the mountainside as the man dropped his axe to clutch his bloody wrist. I could tell my dagger sunk into the bone by the way he cried out.
And since I liked to have a bit of fun with my prey before finishing them off, I grabbed a dagger from my thigh holster, throwing it into the air as I did a grand spin.
After all, putting on a show was what the Serpent Queen did best.
The hilt was cool as I caught and whipped it straight at the man’s non-injuried wrist. For the second time, I hit my intended mark.
The glorious sounds of cracking bones fluttered toward me.
Then, the rebel with hair that reminded me of a warm fire groaned in agony before passing out from the combination of Ember strangling him and my twin daggers piercing into his wrists.
I rolled my shoulders back, an air of confidence gracing my stride as my eyes locked onto the final traitor standing before me. His brown eyes were brimming with hate.
I crept closer, like a hunter about to pounce on its pathetic prey. The rebel’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his dagger, making a sinister smile tug at the corners of my lips.
“That’s my favorite weapon, you know? It will be an honor to slice your throat with the same blade you clutch onto.”
As intended, my words baited him into a fit of rage. I greedily sucked down his anger, the emotion lighting a fire within me. The man charged, making it apparent once again that this group lacked technique.
If these buffoons were the rebel’s leaders, they didn’t stand a chance at defeating me.
He thrust his dagger at my heart, but I quickly blocked his attack with an open palm at the same time I sidestepped left.
Without hesitation, I slammed my other palm against his hand that still gripped the dagger, pushing the blade further away from me.
I didn’t hesitate as I completed the technique Landon taught me years ago—I kicked the side of his knee, pulling a beautiful agonized gasp from the man as I dug my spiked stiletto further into the soft spot right behind his leg, forcing him to bow beside me.
If my subjects wouldn't voluntarily bow at the feet of their Queen, I was more than happy to force them to do so.
The scream that tumbled from his traitorous lips was delicious, and I let the melody flow through me as I launched myself behind him, pinning his arm in the process.
He weakly tried to grip onto the dagger, but I yanked it from his hand.
Then, I wrapped my arm around his throat and pressed his very own weapon against the base of his throat.
“You can kill us all, but I promise you this—more will take our place. We will never bow to you, Serpent Queen.” A wave of heat speared through my chest as the man’s hate burned through me.
He tried to escape my punishing grip, but I simply reacted by pushing my dagger further into his skin while bending closer to his ear.
“I, too, hold true to my promises.” Then, without an ounce of remorse, I flicked my wrist and slit his throat.
Blood splattered against my cheeks, and the traitor gurgled as he choked on his own blood.
I kicked his back, making his body crash forward.
His head cracked against the stone, and I smiled while I licked his blood clean from my dagger.
The bitter taste trickled down my throat, renewing my energy to press onward and claim even more lives.
Yet when I spun around, I was greeted with battered bodies scattered all around the pathway.
I pouted while my bodyguard finished pulling his sword from the chest of a clearly dead man.
“For Serpent’s Sake, Landon. I only executed two of them.” I threw my hands up in exasperation, my gaze roaming over the bodies for any faint twitch or groan. Any sign I could carve them up for a little while longer, but all their eyes were wide open, mouths gaping in a perpetual scream.
Landon glanced over his shoulder at me with an incredulous expression. “I’m your bodyguard, Seera. It is precisely my job to defend and protect you. Are you truly mad at me for fulfilling my duties?”
I rolled my eyes, dismissing him with a wave of my hand. Ember and Dante slithered up my legs, greeting their queen with satisfied hisses after a victorious battle. I blew a loose strand of dark hair from my face as I mentally spoke to my snakes.
You couldn’t leave one slightly alive for me to have fun with?
If a snake could roll their eyes, I knew Dante would do so at this moment, but Ember let out a soft hiss as if to apologize.
I softly trailed a finger along the top of her head while offering a sharp nod to Dante for a job well done.
He rattled his tail, a slight acknowledgment of my praise, but he was clearly perturbed and expected more gratitude next time he strangled enemies on my behalf.
Movement caught our attention, making our eyes lock onto my bodyguard who advanced our way.
He raked his gaze over my body. “Are you hurt, my Queen?”
Landon reached for the crimson splattered against my ribs, but I waved him off.
“The blood is not mine—it most likely belongs to that one.” I pointed the dagger still lingering in my hand at the rebel I claimed it from, the pathetic man lying face down in a puddle of his own blood.
Glancing at the dagger, I sheathed it into my thigh holster.
It was a fun hobby of mine, collecting treasures from each of my victims to commemorate their successful executions.
My lips curved into a delighted smile as I replayed the memory of slitting his throat and licking the blade clean—at least I had one bloody death under my belt from today’s mission.
Landon nodded to himself as he sheathed his sword into the holster slung around his hips. “Well, that’s a relief.”
I admired his broad back as he turned to begin the descent toward Ashivire.
“Now, let’s get out of these horrible lands and go home.”
“I will not be joining you,” I said, picking at my nails.
My bodyguard stilled mid-step, slowly turning to face me once again. His brows were pinched with confusion, so I tipped my head to the sky, nodding at the peak of the mountain to make it clear why I wouldn’t be returning with him.
Landon followed my gaze to the swirling black clouds thundering above.
His jaw went slack with horror as his eyes slowly crept back to mine. “Absolutely not.”
“I have to go see him,” I shot back.
“Over my dead body.” His jaw ticked while he took a powerful step in my direction.
“We can arrange that if you’d like.” I arched a brow, practically hearing his teeth grind from over here.
His hand flexed at his side, almost like it was taking all of his self control not to yank me over his shoulder and carry me all the way back to my queendom.
“Seera, please. We stopped a rebel group, can’t that be enough? Let’s go home.” Landon’s eyes softened as he crept closer, close enough I could see his concern shining brightly within his eyes.
I took a step back, watching as concern rapidly faded to hurt.
“No, it’s not enough, Landon. I won’t be able to rest until I know what is going on with my emotions. Aren’t you the one who said you needed to know how to better protect me?”
His lips tightened into a thin line, but I saw his resolve start to crumble.
“If you honestly care about keeping me safe, then you must understand why I have to continue to Morotis. The Serpent King is the only one who might have the answers I seek.” A sudden crack of thunder split the tension stirring between us.
I only revealed what my bodyguard needed to know, while still keeping a piece of my plan a secret.
Not only did I want to see the Serpent King to speak about my newfound emotions, but he might be able to aid me in crushing this ever-growing rebellion.
This group wasn’t the first to try to usurp me, and they wouldn’t be the last. As much as the thought made my jaw clench with anger, I might be able to entice him into another bargain in order to gain more power.
Dominance was always the answer to crushing an enemy rallying against you.
Besides, I would no sooner see the land of the wicked before I let my queendom fall into a man’s hands, let alone anyone else’s.
A question still nagged at me, though. What more could I offer him?
He already owned the best part of me: my soul.
Landon’s voice pulled me from my scheming thoughts. “Then I’m coming with you.”
I merely raised my brows at him.
Another crack of thunder boomed through the air, the air noticeably chillier here, and dropping a few degrees each hour as the day slipped away from us. Pitch-black darkness would descend upon the mountain in mere hours.
If we were going to finish our ascent to Morotis, we needed to leave right now—which left me no time to debate the man glaring at me.
So, I smiled and said, “I’d expect nothing less from my ever loyal bodyguard.”