Chapter 28
The Emerald Glades
“What the fuck!” I screamed all the while I hurried to scramble out of the king’s arms, but it only made him clutch tighter around my chest.
“Is that any way to thank the man who just saved your life?” His warm breath caressed the tip of my ear.
I growled, wiggling harder against him while making sure to emphasize pressing my ass against his groin. The king’s breath caught at the same moment his grip loosened, giving me the opening I needed.
Gods, men were so predictable.
Snaking my foot underneath his knee, I propelled us to flip to the left.
His surprised grunt rang through the forest as our positions reversed.
Now, I was facing the ground with his chest still pressing against my back, but I quickly ducked to the right, shrugging out from beneath him.
The moment I was no longer bent in front of the Serpent King, he fell forward.
Sadly, instead of breaking his nose for a third time, the imbecile had quick reflexes as he threw his hands in front of himself.
I sprang to my feet while smirking at the king down before me on all fours, feeling proud of myself for escaping such a compromising position. However, my joyful mood drifted away with the soft breeze when he glanced over his shoulder toward me—amusement brightly shimmering in his eyes.
Then, the fucker had the gall to tip his head back and laugh.
“What is so comical about getting your ass handed to you?” I glared down my nose at the menace.
He didn’t reply, instead his dark chuckle tapered off as his eyes dipped lower to rake over my body. My brows bunched while I followed his line of sight, and a squeak burst from my lips as I saw what made the bastard chuckle in sick delight.
My legs were completely bare, my skirts nowhere to be seen. A cool breeze licked up my skin, making it pebble.
I was standing in only my black, strapless corset, along with a matching pair of lacy undergarments, in front of the Serpent King of all people.
He didn’t even try to hide how he dragged his eyes up to mine, the hunger blazing within them making the green dissipate into a cloud of black.
Most people would be humiliated in such a situation, but this was one of those moments when being soulless paid off. I squared my shoulders, not daring to cover myself nor hide from his scorching gaze, which merely made him raise a brow, as if he was impressed.
“Take a good look, for you will never see me this naked again.” I grandly gestured to my curvy figure.
“We will see about that, my Queen.” The king slowly dragged his tongue over his bottom lip all the while his gaze roamed once again over every bare inch of my skin.
My stupid legs twitched, squeezing together from the way he was so intensely staring at me.
He looked like he wanted to devour me, especially when his gaze continuously roamed over the apex of my thighs and across my lacy undergarments.
He must have noted the way my body responded to his stare, for a cocky smile spread across that stupidly perfect face of his.
How could you be such a fool, Seera?
I rolled my eyes, trying to cover up my body’s traitorous response. To top off the act, I was about to call him a vile, disgusting pig, but a shout boomed through the forest and made me bite my tongue.
“Seera!” Landon rushed from behind a tree, heading straight for me.
The moment he saw my bare legs, a furious scowl etched across his features. He wasted no time snapping off his cloak while he ran.
Reena trailed behind, carefully moving down the small dirt hill that separated us. My lady-in-waiting gasped, quickly covering her mouth with a hand as she took in the view of her queen, standing half-naked before the Serpent King.
I lost sight of Reena when Landon stormed in front of me.
Swiftly, he dropped his velvet cloak around my shoulders, making sure to secure the clasp around my neck and pull it tightly around my figure.
After triple checking I was no longer exposed, he turned his fierce attention to my face, lightly brushing my tangled hair back to tuck it behind my ear.
The way he was doting on me should make me sick .
. . but, for the first time in many years, I felt self-conscious.
I ducked my head, my shoulders slightly caving in as I realized I must look like a royal mess.
When I appeared put together, I felt confident, like I could bring anyone to their knees. But when I looked like a wreck, it made me feel weak, vulnerable—like that pathetic, helpless, mortal girl I ran away from.
“Look at me,” Landon whispered.
My bodyguard hooked a finger underneath my chin, gently raising my gaze.
His eyes flickered over every inch of my disheveled face, his fingers softly brushing against my cheek.
Pain seized through me, tugging a sharp hiss to slip past my lips when he grazed over a few lingering cuts.
Yet, after another moment, the pain eased when my immortal healing finally kicked in, stitching closed the cuts peppering my skin.
“Did he hurt you?” Landon’s voice was as lethal as a blade when he glanced at the Serpent King.
As my bodyguard glared at the perpetual thorn in my side, the king smirked and let his gaze dip back to my legs. Landon's jaw tightened, and I knew he was about to start something he most definitely could not finish.
For Serpent’s Sake, why was I always playing mediator between these two fools?
“Oh, stop your fussing. I am fine, just a minor miscalculation when exiting the portal.”
“A minor miscalculation?” he challenged, glancing back at me and plucking a twig from my hair.
“Okay, perhaps I tumbled a bit across the dirt and into a tree.”
His brows arched toward the golden sky. “That still doesn’t explain why you were halfway naked when I found you.”
I groaned. “It’s possible a large tree branch was about to pierce me to death because my skirts were tangled around some roots.
” His eyes widened at my casual recounting, but I quickly sped through the rest of the incident.
“But it didn’t impale me because the Serpent King saved me.
He yanked me rather aggressively, so much so that my skirts completely tore off my body. ”
“He what?” Landon’s jaw dropped, searching for the male in question.
Our gazes flicked to the king, who laid propped up on his elbows, one of his legs casually draped over the other. The fucking prick was twirling a flower between the pads of his fingertips, as if we were all having a lovely outing and he didn’t just save me from nearly dying.
Landon grasped my shoulders, pulling my attention back to him.
“I should have been the one to save you.” His lips pinched into a thin line, his brows furrowing.
I knew that expression—he was beating himself up for failing to protect me. “I would have been here sooner, but he cut me off when I tried to enter the portal after you.” He angrily huffed, his jaw tightening in sync with the way his hands gripped harder onto me.
Glancing above, I noted there wasn’t a cloud in sight, yet the fresh smell of rain pelted my senses.
My bodyguard reeked of sorrow—which was nothing new—but today it bothered me more than ever.
Something rattled in the void in my chest, and I had a startling urge to comfort Landon.
Hesitantly, I raised my hand and gripped his, brushing a finger against his rough skin.
The smell of his sorrow wafted away as his eyes locked onto where I held onto him.
“I am fine, Landon. With how many enemies I have, I’m sure there will be plenty of future opportunities for you to save me.” I tried to crack a teasing smile at him, but his frown only deepened.
“Your safety is not a joke to me, Seera.”
Another wave of sorrow wafted at me, along with something more—was that cherries?
I wasn’t familiar with that scent . . .
Clearing my throat of the strangely intoxicating smell, I gave one final attempt to clear Landon of his guilt.
“If it wasn’t for you and your cloak, I’d still be standing here in my undergarments.”
His eyes flicked down to my legs, his dark garment long enough to cover the entirety of my thighs.
If Landon’s pinched lips were any indication of his mood, I’d say I was miserably failing at comforting him.
Considering it was my first time ever trying to do so as the Serpent Queen, it wasn’t surprising I fucking sucked at it.
I stepped around him and approached the king, who now stood and was dusting off his deep green trousers.
My gaze lingered on the way his pants clung to his body in a sophisticated way—not too tight, yet not ill-fitting.
If I was forced to admit one nice quality about the Serpent King, it would be that he sure knew how to dress.
“Who was it that said it was rude to stare?” His cheerful voice broke me from my trance.
I looked up to find an amused smile painted across his face, all the while he brushed dirt from his black button-up.
Again, I was delighted in the way his shirt hung slightly off his massive frame.
He worked to re-roll one of the long sleeves midway up his forearm, and curiosity trickled through me as wisps of dark markings were revealed to me.
They licked up his arms, so his sleeves hid the rest of the ink, but that didn’t stop my eyes from roaming upward and over the bare skin peeking out, courtesy of the few diamond buttons he left undone along his pale chest. Small glimpses of black swirls could be spotted there as well, but not enough to see what the full design looked like.
“My eyes are up here, Seera,” the king cooed, pointing two fingers at me and raising them, indicating for me to raise my eyes to his.
My cheeks burned.“I—I must have hit my head harder than I thought.” I cleared my throat, doing my best to act confident in the lie I was woefully spinning.
The Serpent King tilted his head, his eyes lighting with delight. For Serpent’s Sake, I knew he didn’t believe a word I said, so I desperately needed to change the subject.
“Since your homelands nearly took my life, you can repay me by now escorting us to this vast library.” I gestured toward the path for him to lead the way.
He chuckled, swiping one last patch of dirt off his shoulder. “Such an impatient creature.”
With that, he turned on the heel of his black dress shoes and strutted down the pathway, softly whistling along with the birds cheerily chirping around us. I grumbled a few not-so-nice things about the king as I took off after him.
Two sets of footsteps trailed me, and I threw a quick glance over my shoulder. Reena was scurrying directly behind her queen, her grey eyes brimming with fear while they scanned the forest. For her sake, I hoped she couldn’t spot any snakes slithering nearby.
Trailing at the rear of our lineup was Landon—he, too, was assessing the forest with one hand rested atop the hilt of the sword slung across his hips.
“Watch your step,” the king called out from the front, bringing my attention back to his broad shoulders.
He barely turned his head to ensure we were following along as he shouted his next words.
“It is a crime to injure a snake in this realm, so do make sure to tread lightly so you don’t step on one of our precious serpents.
Unless,” he drawled while tossing a smirk at my bodyguard.
“You fancy spending some time in the Emerald Glades’ prison. ”
A whimper pierced my ears, and I knew it was Reena as she panicked upon hearing there were snakes in these lands. What did she expect? After all, we were in the faux Serpent Queen’s lands, so it only made sense such a creature resided here in some capacity.
As I remembered a god had the same title I killed to make my own, I clenched my jaw. While I stewed in my hate for said god, a plan began to spin in my head like a spiderweb.
I made a mental note to check the library for an answer I now desperately sought.
If there were a way to ensure the Serpent King’s magic was not directly linked to his mother’s, then perhaps I could take care of the title dilemma I faced . . .
My lips tugged up into a sinister smile at my new ploy.
I may have only agreed to killing one god on this mission, but I’d happily remove another if it meant I’d earn the sole title of the Serpent Queen.