Chapter 25 A Warm Embrace
A Warm Embrace
“Fret not, for no one will know you are even gone, Serpent Queen.” Evander winked at me, already wearing my face as if it were his own. It was unnerving how his voice contained the hint of sweet malice I had perfected over the years.
“Don’t forget you must make a show out of at least two executions per week, or my people will grow suspicious.
I’ve maintained this schedule since the day I became queen, and you will have to answer to me should you break my seventy-five year streak.
” I quirked a brow in challenge, but Evander simply cast a coy smile at me.
This had to work.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will be as ruthless as the queen currently gracing me with her presence. Don’t worry your pretty little nose.” He tapped said pretty nose, and it took everything in me not to snap my teeth at his finger.
Why was it that men could not wrap their small minds around the fact it was rude to touch a woman without her consent?
Evander was lucky I had a soft spot for him, since I’ve executed men for less.
I narrowed my eyes at him before turning to my lady-in-waiting. “Is everything packed and ready to go?”
Reena didn’t hear my question, because she was too busy gawking at the shapeshifter who wore my beautiful face surprisingly well. I sighed, readying myself to snap her back to attention, but a troubling thought stopped me in my tracks.
“Wait, this plan won’t work if my people notice Reena and Landon are missing for too long.”
The Serpent King’s exasperated sigh made my shoulders tense, causing me to turn and glare at the menace, who was examining his nails as if I didn’t just present a major flaw in his plan.
“I already thought of that and took care of it.”
My eyes burned into him, the ball of my burgundy heel tapping with impatience. The king’s gaze flicked to my shoe, then dragged up to my face, annoyance spreading across his symmetrical features.
“While Evander is my most talented shapeshifter, he does have a sister who possesses the same ability. She will stand in for Reena.”
My brows bunched while I scoured my memories from my time spent in Morotis.
I couldn’t put a face to the woman he mentioned, but I had a vague recollection of Evander speaking highly of a female relative he was very protective over.
I glanced at my body-double, who was looking down at his—I mean, my—breasts in awe.
He ran his hands over his chest, his mouth gaping at the sheer size of my chest.
“Gods, help us,” I muttered.
Evander’s gaze rose to meet mine, and color danced across his cheeks as he realized I caught him groping himself—well, technically me.
“I—I actually have no good reason to explain what I was just doing, beyond these are fucking incredible.” He turned side-to-side while glancing at his chest once more, earning a very displeased glare from the Serpent King.
“Evander, knock it the fuck off.” The king pinched the bridge of his nose. “The queen asked you a question.” His jaw worked as he continued to glare at the shapeshifter.
Evander cleared his throat, shaking his head as if he finally was remembering to act like the Serpent King’s second-in-command and not some schoolboy excited to have his own pair of breasts.
“Uhm—my gracious Queen, could you please repeat the question?” He batted my dark lashes at me.
I pinned him with an annoyed look before having to do one of the things I hated: repeating myself.
“Where is your sister?”
“Ah, yes—my sister.” He snapped his fingers. “She is on her way and will be here by the time your servants are set to return. She is tied up at the moment while trying to convince the other piece of our plan to get in line.”
I stared, silently demanding him to elaborate.
“My father will stand in as Landon’s body-double, but he is taking a bit more convincing than anticipated. He isn’t super keen on the fact he would technically be serving mwah.” He placed a hand against his chest, and my lips curved down when he snuck in a subtle squeeze of my breasts.
For Serpent’s Sake.
“And if he doesn’t show?” I challenged.
“He will.” The Serpent King answered for Evander, and I turned to find him watching me with that intense stare of his.
“Evander’s father is respected throughout my realm, hence why we gave him this false sense he had a choice in the matter.
When in reality, he answers to me. Come first light tomorrow morning, if he isn’t in this castle wearing your bodyguard’s face, I will personally drag him here myself. You have my word.”
The king’s eyes simmered with something I recognized plenty of times while looking in the mirror. He was delighted at the prospect of dragging someone here by brutal force, and I was starting to realize I may be more like the menace standing before me than I cared to admit.
I nodded, for I had no choice but to place my trust in the king at this moment.
The thought of leaving my throne to anyone else made me want to rage—to spill blood—but the reminder of what would happen if I didn’t go on this mission, if we didn’t kill the Ice Goddess, was what forced me to leave my queendom behind.
I glanced one last time around my castle, memorizing all its magnificent details. The dark marble below my heels shined, looking like a river of crimson blood. My lips tugged into a small smile, because it appeared Reena got my servants to polish every surface of my palace, just like I demanded.
However, I had a nagging feeling I was forgetting something. My gaze roamed around the room, and, when I saw a head of full, luscious brown curls, I knew what I was missing.
Landon.
He was so silent for the entirety of the night I kept forgetting he was even present.
My bodyguard’s posture was rigid—he was likely less than pleased at the idea of some immortal acting as himself while he was gone.
After asking countless questions I missed at dinner, Landon kept to himself, not muttering another word—a trait I hated about him.
He could be so damn stubborn when his ego was bruised.
“Now, can we get on with this mission, or do you have another round of questions, Your Majesty?” The Serpent King’s voice was sharp, earning him one of my infamous eye rolls.
The king mistook my silence for complacency, while in reality, I was breathing through my anger and the desperate need to sic my snakes on him.
His hands began to spin before him, producing sparks of golden particles which began to swirl into a growing cyclone.
After another minute, he dropped his hands, discretely masking the deep breath he released.
I, however, noticed it, along with the small beads of sweat gathering along his hairline.
If conjuring a portal exerted the king this much, then we were running short on time.
It seemed Isolde was working tirelessly to weaken him, in turn weakening our bargain.
Fury spread through my veins at the cruel goddess who thought she could toy with our lives for fun. Another reminder that life was utterly unfair, because I somehow got dragged into an ancient feud between the Ice Goddess and the Serpent King.
Hadn’t I suffered enough?
A warm touch brushed against my tightly curled fist, which was shaking from my burst of anger.
Landon must have drifted to my side, for he was close enough that his hand grazed mine in an attempt to break me from the spell of fury preparing to consume me whole.
I glanced at him, a deep wrinkle between his brows as he looked at me.
Even though Landon was clearly angry with me from our fight, he still attempted to comfort me.
This was not the first time he’d saved me from spiraling.
I’d gone on benders throughout the decades—the worst one consisting of two straight months of me carving up traitors in my dungeons just as an outlet for my unrelenting anger.
The only thing that broke me from that episode was my bodyguard.
So, yes, Landon knew me better than most and had learned the early signs of when my fury was threatening to break free.
Ever so slightly, I brushed my hand against his. Landon’s eyes widened from returning his gesture in public, as this was the first time I’d ever dared show an ounce of affection outside the bedroom.
A foreign emotion rattled through my chest, almost like I was experiencing what I could only assume was . . . regret.
Well, that was new.
Another wave of the emotion coursed through me, making me feel like a fucking monster for the other night, and for all the nights that made Landon now act surprised at the smallest gesture of affection from me.
A sharp stab of pain continued to spear into my chest, causing me to brace a hand against my heart. I hissed through the uncomfortable feelings as they pelted the void in me like an unrelenting hail storm.
My feelings for my bodyguard were growing far more complicated than I ever intended.
Maybe if I was still a mortal girl, I could entertain the thought of being loved by someone as pure as Landon.
But that girl died the day I made my bargain with the Serpent King, the same day I relinquished my soul and locked away my heart for good.
Monsters don’t deserve to be loved.
Someone loudly cleared their throat, pulling me from my dark thoughts. My attention snapped to mesmerizing green eyes, which were currently burning a hole between the small sliver of space between my bodyguard and I.
How long had he been watching us?
Based on the intensity of his stare, I’d say it was safe to assume he saw our whole little moment.
As his eyes lifted to mine, a storm raged within them. I scoffed loudly, utterly sick and tired of the Serpent King acting possessive over me.
I was never his to begin with. He made that crystal clear the moment our bargain was sealed with a world-shattering kiss.
A kiss that still haunted my dreams.
“After you, my Queen.” The king offered me a mocking bow while gesturing to the shimmering portal swirling before us.
I moved toward the wall of iridescent gold light but paused in front of Evander. “Take care of my queendom.”
He placed his hand over his heart—no longer groping his new body. “I meant it when I said I’d guard your throne with my life.”
There was no joking grin dancing along his lips. Instead, his hazel eyes shone with sincerity.
His reaction appeased me enough to sharply nod before continuing toward the portal.
“Seera?” Landon’s voice made me halt.
I glanced over my shoulder and met my bodyguard’s worried eyes.
“Would you like me to go first? To ensure it is safe.” He looked at the portal, concern tugging on his brows.
Even after I was terrible to him yesterday, after I crushed his hopes of us ever being more than what we were, he still worried about me. Emotion knotted in my throat, preventing me from speaking for a long moment.
Once I felt like my voice wouldn’t crack and betray my true feelings, I shook my head.
“I will go first, but thank you, Landon.”
His pupils widened at the same moment I flinched, realizing my mistake.
I never once said thank you to Landon, and now I did so for the first time in a public setting. I wanted to crawl out of my skin—I didn’t recognize myself anymore.
This was all Isolde’s fault, and I was so ready to end her for trying to turn me into a soft and thankful queen.
I wasn’t that girl anymore. I worked too hard to make something new of myself—someone who didn’t cower, who didn’t hide, who withstood misery, wearing it like a badge of honor.
I stepped into the portal, ready to rid myself of my soul once and for all.
The Serpent King’s magic wrapped around me, and as I was transported through time and space, a handful of golden shimmers softly caressed my cheek, as if to offer me a warm embrace.