Chapter 16 Dinner With The Snake
Dinner With The Snake
Even after seventy-five years, the Serpent King’s formal dining hall took my breath away.
An oval pond was situated directly in the center of the large cavernous space, with a gold serpent fountain in the middle of the body of the water. The ambiance was warm and enchanting, providing a false calm which washed over the room where the king hosted his dinners.
As I neared the edge of the pond, I stared into the golden water. This pond always had a magnetic pull on me . . .
“Everyone, this is Seera.” The Serpent King waved toward me, and I felt so small as hundreds of eyes glared in my direction.
Their eyes trailed along my torn, dirty gown, a look of disgust quickly spreading across their beautiful faces.
A terrible, gut-wrenching feeling slammed into me as I realized I may have escaped one beautiful prison just to enter another.
I was snapped out of my trance by the clanging of metal trays dropping out of mid-air, clinking against the nearby table. Wrapped around the entire pond was a rosewood dining table, each seat offering a stunning view of the shimmering golden waters.
The configuration felt more appropriate for a meeting space than a dining hall.
Oh, what a great idea.
I would simply consider this a meeting rather than a private dinner with the male I most definitely was not just thinking about while being fucked by another man.
I refused to let my feelings from the past haunt me, especially when I had a new rebel movement on the rise, ready to tear me down at the first sign of weakness.
My position of power was more important than whatever I felt in the past for the Serpent King, so I’d treat this exactly like any other dinner to discuss business . . . maybe without the part where it ends with someone dead by my command, but the night was still young.
My stomach growled, distracting me, and I focused on the smell of the steaming food laid out before me.
When was the last time I had eaten? Surely, it couldn’t be the ashroot soup before my night under the stars with Landon?
After another loud groan, I sat down, digging into a steaming turkey leg, not even bothering to wait for my lovely host to arrive.
After all, he was the one late to the dinner he invited me to.
I had no patience to deal with a fork, so I used my teeth to shred directly into the meat.
It melted off the bone and straight down my throat.
I forgot how exquisite the food tasted in Morotis.
The human lands had nothing remotely as savory and delightful as whatever coated the meat I hungrily devoured.
After sucking every last bit off the bone, I reached for another and moaned again from the incredible flavor exploding in my mouth.
“My gods, where are your manners?” a deep voice rumbled, causing me to look up as I continued to chomp on a mouthful of meat.
The Serpent King loomed over me, his gold diamond buttons gleaming as I roamed my gaze over his forest green button-up. When I glanced at his face, I was pleased to see his brows furrowed and lips curled into a frown.
I didn’t break our eye contact as I lifted the turkey leg to my lips, ripping another piece of meat between my teeth. His brows shot up at my barbaric manners, but frankly, I couldn’t care less.
Wait, maybe my poor manners could work in my favor . . . if he viewed me as an unattractive, wild animal, maybe he would stop staking his claim over me around my bodyguard, and we could solely focus on the problem with my emotions.
The corners of my lips twitched around the turkey leg at the mere thought of my devious plan.
Suddenly, I looked forward to putting on a new type of show this evening.
I chomped vigorously, not even bothering closing my mouth between bites as I continued to stare directly at the Serpent King. His green eyes flicked to the chewed food left on full display, making him brace a hand against his stomach, as if it could stop him from gagging at my repulsive behavior.
After what felt like ages of gnawing on the turkey leg like an animal, I threw the bone back onto the silver platter. He tracked the movement, his mouth gaping in horror as the bone bounced off another steaming turkey leg, only to land at the king’s feet.
Slowly, his gaze rose to mine, right in time to see me swiping my greasy lips with the back of my hand. Nonchalantly, I reached for my bubbling champagne as the king lingered.
“Dear gods, what has come over you, woman?”
I opened my mouth to respond with something undoubtedly witty, but a burp flew out instead.
On instinct, I nearly raised my hand to cover my mouth, but I forced myself to act casual as I took a small sip of my champagne and glanced up, batting my lashes at the insufferable man still hovering beside me.
His jaw was practically on the floor, his eyes carefully observing me as if I was a wild beast that was also about to consume him for dinner.
He wished.
“Are you going to stand for the entirety of our dinner, or would you like to take a seat?” I grandly waved toward the chair across the pond—the one furthest from me.
The king gave me a look that warred between disbelief and wonder that I dismissed him in his own lands.
His scoff filled the silence, and I went back to ravenously eating another turkey leg.
Finally, he took my lack of regard for his presence and sauntered over to his seat.
Yet, I swore I heard him mutter something under his breath while he walked away.
Something along the lines of “beastly woman.”
I smiled around the piece of meat while watching him take the seat I gestured to. Now, there was a whole body of dazzling golden water separating us.
Hopefully, it would be enough of a divide to keep my anger in check.
That notion was quickly thwarted when the Serpent King fiddled with his deep green cloth napkin.
He fanned it out with an air of drama before placing it neatly on his lap.
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at his pompous show—he clearly had manners, unlike the beastly woman he was dining with tonight.
Since I still required a favor from the menace by the end of the evening, I opted to control the strong urge to scoff at the king, who was now straightening the gold cutlery placed before him.
I broke the silence, glancing around the space. “This room hasn’t changed, I see.”
The sconces lining the stone walls, provided a warm, yet dim glow. The main source of light in the dining hall came from shimmering gold magic stewing in the pond beneath the table.
The king took a small sip of his champagne, wiping the corner of his lips with his napkin before delicately setting it atop his lap once more. This time, it was impossible to stop myself from rolling my eyes at his over-the-top manners, but he mercifully missed the gesture looking about the room.
“Were you ever even in this room?” His brows pinched in thought.
I pursed my lips as anger swirled inside me like a flurry, along with another emotion—one that I most definitely should not have access to feel.
It almost felt like . . . hurt.
No, I refused to ever allow him to hurt me again.
I swallowed the foreign emotion trying to bubble up to the surface from his lack of regard for our time spent together.
“We had multiple dinners here,” was the only response I could force out as I focused on my rage, instead of the other lingering and more vulnerable feelings.
The Serpent King’s glass hovered before his lips, his eyes squinting while he gazed into the pond.
“Doesn’t ring a bell.” He shook his head, taking another dainty sip of liquor.
An ounce of my anger released as I dug my nails into the wooden armrests.
“Of course it doesn’t. Why would the Serpent King remember the insignificant presence of a mere mortal?” I spat the last word in disgust, pulling a smile from him.
“I’m so glad you understand.” He raised his glass at me, as if I had said the most beautiful toast, then downed the remainder of the fizzing bubbles.
Red flooded my vision, and as my hands curled into fists, I stabbed my sharp nails into the flesh of my palms in hopes to relieve more of my ever-growing fury.
Warmth swiftly licked my fingertips, the familiar feeling of sticky residue pooling beneath my nails.
It calmed me for a mere moment, and I closed my eyes while pretending my blood was actually the imbecile’s sitting across from me.
When I first became queen, I struggled to manage my anger, like a ticking bomb ready to explode from one wrong look. Over the years, I learned how to negate the fury gnawing at my bones with three simple options.
Option one: Go on a killing spree.
Option two: Fuck my bodyguard until red no longer flooded my vision.
Or, option three: Distract myself by breathing through my rage.
Considering options one and two were not feasible at the moment, I focused on my breathing.
Inhale, exhale.
The Serpent King dragged his knife across his turkey leg, cutting it into bite-sized pieces, which only sparked another wave of anger to wash over me.
Inhale, exhale.
I nearly had my anger in check, even though the king was still eating like a royal priss, but then his previous comment rang through my head . . .
Doesn’t ring a bell.
It was rather comical how he staked a claim on me in front of Landon, yet now he acted as if our past together was truly forgettable.
A mere blip of time in his endless, immortal life.
Soft hissing broke me from my bottomless pit of anger, and I easily recognized the calm cadence. Closing my eyes, I let Ember’s hissing ease my heightened emotions. Slowly, my hatred for the menace sitting across from me dissolved, and I sent two words down our mental bond.
Thank you.
Ember’s scarlet head snapped toward me, her black eyes temporarily flashing with awe.
My head lurched back at those two simple, yet horrifying words I’d just uttered to my snake.
I never once said thank you in all my decades ruling as the Serpent Queen, the positive emotion of gratitude completely foreign to me.
It was another feeling that was erased in my bargain with the Serpent King .
. . I stared at the blood staining my hands.
Then slowly, I lifted my gaze, only to see piercing green eyes already locked onto me.
The king’s nostrils flared, his nose pinching with disgust. “Why do you smell like chocolate and oranges? Such an uncommon scent, I haven’t smelt it since .
. .” he trailed off, his gaze dropping to the golden pond.
He stared at the trickling water falling straight from the stone serpent’s stretched mouth.
For once in my life, I opted to stay silent, allowing him to work through whatever was troubling him. My champagne flute sizzled as fresh liquor poured into the glass, and my gasp tore the Serpent King’s gaze from the waters and back to me.
“Did you do that?” I gave a pointed look to my once-empty glass that was now brimming with champagne.
“The magic that just filled your glass is essentially an extension of me, so I suppose I did.” His lips tightened, almost like he was upset he revealed that tidbit of information to me, but he swiftly changed the subject.
“I see what you mean about your emotions faltering.” He tapped a pale finger against his annoyingly full lips as he assessed me with narrowed eyes.
“Do you have any idea why emotions I shouldn’t have access to are returning?” My question hung in the air while the king drummed his fingers against the wooden table.
I swiped my champagne flute into my greedy grasp, tipping it against my lips and swallowing my growing impatience along with the bubbling liquid.
“I have an inkling of what is happening to you.” The serpentine smile he cast at me made my skin crawl.
“Are you going to share said inkling with me, or are you going to proceed to smile at me like a scoundrel for the rest of the evening?” I tossed my own sickly sweet smile back, trying to act calm instead of like the raging bitch I was about to turn into if he continued to play games with me.
The Serpent King’s smile widened as he inhaled, revealing his elongated canines. They gleamed against the golden water, making him look every bit like the snake he was.
“Such an angry serpent.” His eyes danced with amusement, the legs of his chair making a horrible screech against the stone floors as he pushed it back to stand.
I, too, shoved to my feet, my chair making a matching screech.
It seemed even our chairs were bickering with each other.
“Are you seriously not going to share what is happening to me?” I snarled, slamming my hands on the table.
The king’s delighted smile nearly had me launching myself across the water to smack it off his perfect face. He made a show of rubbing his jaw as he contemplated my request again, but ultimately shook his head.
A growl worked up my throat.
“What’s in it for me?” He picked at his nails.
“What’s in it for you?” I parroted back through gritted teeth.
He casually strolled around the table with his hands tucked in his pockets. “You want information from me, but what do I get in return?”
As he prowled closer, I envisioned commanding my snakes to wrap around his thick neck, if only to squeeze that smug smile straight off his lips.
Inhale, exhale.
First, gather information.
Then, we can kill him.
I rolled my shoulders back, letting the anger sweep off my back with the movement.
“What do you want?” I asked.
A delighted hum curled around me as the king stopped right in front of me, close enough that his cologne suffocated my lungs. The familiar scent of smoky amber threatened to pull me straight back into the memories of our past—the memories I worked so hard to lock away.
I swallowed my discomfort, not giving him a chance to detect any of my bothersome emotions.
The king leaned closer, bringing his face level with mine.
“Isn’t it obvious what I want?” His eyes gleamed with hunger.
Upon my silence, he said three words that nearly brought me to my knees.
“I want you.”