Chapter 13 His Mark
His Mark
What do we have here?
The Serpent Queen has returned.
My jaw hurt from how tightly I clenched it, doing everything in my power to ignore the taunting voices.
These caves were like a living thing, a small glimpse of the power that lay beneath the Serpent King’s pasty skin. Try as I might, I failed to keep the voices at bay as flashes of the past pelted my mind.
His cruel smile.
The electric shock of coldness that speared through me as his arm snaked around my back, tugging me snugly against him.
His lips enveloping mine to seal the bargain.
The ground quaking beneath our feet.
Landon’s groans drew me from my trance, and I reached for my bodyguard. He was so warm, so unlike the king. I wrapped my hand around his bicep, trying to anchor him back to the caves and not the darkness flooding his mind.
Yet, my touch wasn’t having the effect I intended. Instead of him coming back to me, another agonized moan tumbled from his lips while he clutched his head with his hands.
A moment later, my bodyguard dropped to his knees. A strange feeling raced through me, something akin to shock as I watched him seize up in pain.
Usually, I loved the view of him on his knees before me, but not like this. Not with his brows pinched together in agony, as sweat beaded along his hairline, causing his curls to stick to his forehead. At this moment, I was grateful I could feel rage, for I burned full of it like a wild inferno.
The void in my chest sparked to life like a wildfire of vengeance, and my sights trailed further down the dark cave—all the way to where I knew a jet-black stone door stood.
I was going to kill him for hurting Landon like this.
But first, I had to do something for him.
Turning back to Landon, I noted his eyes were still tightly closed.
“Landon, the voices are not real.” I towered over him, giving his shoulders a rough shake.
He merely groaned louder, his body quivering beneath my grip.
“Landon, snap out of it!” I dug my nails into his biceps, drawing a bit of blood in the process, but it didn’t work.
He didn’t come back to me.
Rather, his eyes rolled toward the ceiling.
I was no stranger to anger, having experienced it nearly every day of my godforsaken life, but the energy coursing through my veins right now was unlike anything I’d experienced.
Imaging the Serpent King’s face in front of me, I backhanded my bodyguard so hard that he went crashing into the ground. His head smacked hard against a rather sharp bit of stone, and he remained face down for far too long, making my fury dissipate into panic.
Fuck, what have I done?
I moved quickly, my heels slapping against the stone as I knelt down, checking him for consciousness.
I carefully rolled him onto his back. Although his eyes were closed, he was no longer quaking.
That had to be a good sign, right?
However, that was the same moment I noticed his chest not rising and falling in its normal rhythm.
Oh gods, did I . . . but how?
My chest constricted as the darkness pressed in around me.
This couldn’t be happening.
I refused to lose Landon all because of my selfish need to see the Serpent King.
This was all my fault.
My cheeks grew hot and wet, and all I could do was watch my tears fall onto Landon’s lifeless face.
When did I move so close to him? Better yet, when did I start straddling my bodyguard?
Landon was the one good thing in my life, the one bright spot in the all-consuming darkness that was the Serpent Queen’s reign.
I couldn’t lose him.
I vowed not to lose him.
Softly, I gripped his face, cradling his cheeks between my hands.
“Please, come back to me,” I whispered, sealing my lips to his.
I was greeted with stiffness, so I tried to deepen the kiss as best as I could with such an inactive participant.
I put as many good intentions behind my actions—well, as many as a person without a soul could. I nearly gave up, but then, ever so slowly, Landon kissed me back.
His lips seemed uncertain at first, confused.
Then, it was like the flip of a switch.
Landon’s hands were in my hair, pulling me against him and devouring me like I was the air he needed to survive. He leaned forward, finally sitting upright, but never letting his lips slip from mine.
I’m not sure why I didn’t break the kiss, since he was clearly conscious.
All I knew in that moment was it felt good to be kissed like this.
The kiss softened, signaling its impending end. A pang of something like sadness strained through my chest as he finally pulled away. Yet, he didn’t unlace his fingers from my hair. Instead, he trailed them down the base of my head, curling a finger around the edge of one of my black locks.
“Seera,” he whispered, and I could feel the heat from his breath dance against my lips.
Relief pounded through me at the sound of his voice. There were a slew of thoughts I wanted to share with him as I felt the weight of our kiss lingering upon my lips.
I wanted to tell him I was here for him.
That I was so scared I lost him.
That I was going to kill the Serpent King for having his voices torture him.
I didn’t say any of that though. Instead, I said, “Can you walk?”
Fucking idiot, Seera.
He pulled back, every inch of space quickly feeling like a roaring crevice dividing between us.
“What? You—I—that kiss . . .” Landon sucked in a deep breath, his shoulders dropping a few inches. “Yes, I can walk.”
I nodded, bracing my feet against the ground to stand. Instantly, I missed my bodyguard’s warmth against me as I stepped back, allowing him a moment to gather his bearings before continuing on.
My gaze roamed over the walls around us, along the faint flicker of light emitting from the handful of torches lining the obsidian stone. Flashes of ancient symbols were etched into the caves’ walls, and I felt a pull toward them.
Landon’s footsteps trailed close behind as I approached the markings.
I dragged a blood-red nail along the symbols as they wove together the more we traversed down the pathway.
My fingers danced along the rattling tail while my eyes soared to the ceiling to the snake’s massive body curving all throughout the tunnel.
The exact mark that marred these tunnels was imprinted onto my very own skin: the Serpent King’s mark.
A pit formed in my stomach the closer we got to the serpent’s head, signaling we were nearly there.
I considered turning around to flee in the opposite direction when I glimpsed the onyx door.
Right above it was the head of the snake, its mouth stretched open, fangs bared and pointing at the entrance.
Welcome home, my Queen.
The voice slithered into my mind, pulling a sharp inhale from me at the deep timbre the cave imitated.
A voice I once craved but grew to despise.
I shoved my panic deep down as we approached the door. My bodyguard’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, again, and I let out a sigh. Landon’s eyes shot to mine, confusion tugging his brows down.
“Do not make that motion around the Serpent King.” I pointed my chin at his hand that now tightly gripped the base of his weapon. “Unless I command you to be on guard, stand down. We are here for answers, not a fight.”
“This man is dangerous.” Landon’s eyes flashed with fury, and I took a step closer.
“So am I.”
A deep, sensual chuckle wrapped around me, causing my head to whip toward the familiar sound. The onyx door was cracked open—an invitation to enter.
Even though I swore never to come back here, I pushed the door wide open and entered the Serpent King’s lair.