Chapter 39
The First Dance
“Seera!” a cheery feminine voice shouted through the chattering market, pulling my attention from the king who was still wickedly smiling at me after licking his fingers clean. I turned, hoping he didn’t see the flush of pink staining my cheeks.
My lady-in-waiting was weaving through the thick crowd, all while waving her hands frantically in the air.
“There you are! Come along, you must see this.” She tugged on my hands, leading me haphazardly through the crowd.
However, not one person bumped into us—instead, it felt like the crowd parted around us. Pride swelled through my chest, making me lift my chin. These people recognized a queen when one graced them with her presence.
As I continued to examine the faces flashing past, I noticed they weren’t looking at me like I originally thought. Their eyes were trailing to something behind me, their heads slowly dipping. As Reena pulled me onward, I glanced over my shoulder to see what commanded the crowd’s attention.
The Serpent King trailed behind us, giving warm smiles and nods of acknowledgment to his people.
I puckered my lips as I realized their respect wasn’t being given to me, though my envy quickly dissipated as I took in the way they all looked at Alaric with warmth, regard, and . . . astonishment—like he was a walking god.
Thinking back on one of our previous conversations, it made sense.
He did say he technically could be a god one day.
My mind reeled, thinking of what the Serpent King meant by those words, but I had no time to ask him, as Reena abruptly halted in front of a wooden cart decorated with string lights twinkling in a rainbow of colors.
A bald man with a lanky, tall figure and kind brown eyes smiled at our group.
“Back for more?” he chuckled, his attention lingering on my lady-in-waiting.
She giggled, covering her mouth bashfully, making my eyebrows shoot skyward at her behavior.
Who was this man that made my lady-in-waiting act like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush?
“Your Majesty, this is Leighton. He makes the most marvelous cocktails! You must try one.” She giggled again, picking up a tiny pink paper umbrella to twirl between her fingers.
“Pleased to meet you, Serpent Queen.” Leighton extended his hand, and, after a moment, I accepted it.
“Likewise. Now, please enlighten me on which cocktail of yours I must try?”
Before the vendor could reply, a dominating, familiar voice cut through the air.
“We will have two Serpent Sunsets.” Alaric held up two fingers at the man as he leaned onto the cart. My gaze hungrily roamed over the way the muscles in his forearms tightened with the movement, causing that damn spark right between my thighs to flare to life once more.
“Right away, my king.” Leighton quickly jumped into action, tossing a variety of colorful ingredients into a metal shaker.
Something about Alaric ordering for me was incredibly arousing. And to top it off, he tossed me a wink that nearly made my knees buckle while he grabbed one of the small paper umbrellas.
I had to grip onto the wooden cart as the spark between my legs turned into a fucking blazing inferno.
When the king reached over, my breath caught when he gently placed a gold umbrella behind my ear.
“For my golden queen.” His fingers trailed down my ear and along the length of my hair, grazing the tops of my breasts in the process.
My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt my control waning.
So. Fucking. Dangerous.
Grasping for the last shred of my control, I blinked at him while I tried to remember the last thing Leighton said.
“He called you his king?” I arched a brow and watched as Alaric bit his lip.
He shrugged his shoulders, looking more like a nervous boy than a king.
“About that . . . I’m sort of the king of this realm as well.”
My jaw dropped with shock, but I quickly closed it as Alaric’s reminder of deadly flying bugs flickered into my mind.
“You are the king of not one but two realms? How is that possible when your mother is queen?” I gasped, horror slicing through my veins. “Oh gods, are you two like—?”
Alaric straightened to his full height, shaking his head in disgust.
“No, absolutely not. That isn’t how things work here, Seera.” A shiver raked through him. “My mother is the ruling god of this realm, and I succeeded the throne beside her when my father died on the Dark Day.” His lips thinned at the mention of his father.
A pang of guilt rattling through my bones at the fact I once again reminded him of a horrid memory.
“Oh, I—I’m sorry for assuming you and your mother were a thing—” I couldn’t even finish the rest of my sentence as I watched Alaric squirm, clearly disturbed and disgusted by my insinuation.
I pursed my lips, doing my best to hold back the laughter wanting to bubble out of me, but it was no use.
I exploded into a fit of giggles, gripping my stomach after a solid minute of my abdomen getting a good workout.
Alaric glared at me, but I did catch his lips twitching upward a few times as he watched me laugh.
“What are you two talking about over here?” Reena came between us, draping her arms over both of our shoulders rather awkwardly, considering we were both taller than her.
“Two Serpent Sunsets, for the Serpent King and Serpent Queen!” Leighton exclaimed, and I sighed in relief that I didn’t have to rehash what we were laughing about to my lady-in-waiting.
She released us from her clumsy embrace, squealing while she shoved between us to lean over the bar cart.
“Oh, isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, Seera?!” She picked up my drink, spinning it to show it off.
The beverage was in a decadent crystal clear goblet, allowing the colorful cocktail to shine through. Three layers gently intertwined together: the top layer a deep pink, the middle a burning orange, and the bottom layer a warm yellow—all swirling together to mimic a glorious sunset.
I let out a breathy gasp full of wonder as I was greeted by a miniature orange serpent slithering along the side of my drink, which moved toward the rim of the glass to plop a pink umbrella into my beverage.
“Reena, you aren’t scared of the snake?” I grabbed the cocktail, worried she would drop the stunning glass upon seeing the reptile.
She surprised me by smiling down at the little creature.
“At first, I was nervous when I saw the miniature snakes assisting Leighton, but I’ve grown fond of them in the last hour.
They’re soooo cute,” she slurred, completely amazing me when she gently stroked her pinky along the top of the snake’s head.
I chuckled in disbelief as I watched the serpent happily accept her affection, then slither down her arm to return to the cart.
“Reena, how many drinks have you had?” I brought the glass to my lips, staring at her from behind the rim.
Notes of strawberry and orange zest tickled my nose, making my mouth water from the delicious smelling concoction.
“Not that many . . . only like four.” She casually raised four fingers, but a hiccup escaped her not even a moment later.
I laughed around the rim, finally taking a small sip. An explosion of flavors danced along my tongue—hints of strawberry, orange, and pineapple swirling together to offer the most refreshing beverage I’d ever tasted.
“Is it up to your standards, my Queen?” Alaric asked, bringing my gaze to rise to his.
Although Reena still lingered between us, I caught a hint of softness lingering in the Serpent King’s eyes as he stared down at me.
I swallowed one more sip, bobbing my head in approval.
“It’s quite delicious. Thank you, Leighton.” I threw the man a small, shy smile, feeling self-conscious at showing any hint of gratitude to others.
I pondered if I did it correctly, but, judging by the way he beamed back at me, I suppose I wasn’t half bad at showing kindness to others . . .
“My pleasure, Your Majesty,” he said, while a small pink serpent dragged a tiny washcloth along the wagon, cleaning up any spills from all the cocktail mixing.
“And who is this hard-working lady?” I gawked at the mini snake as she batted her surprisingly long eyelashes at me.
“This is Valentina.” Leighton softly chuckled, picking up the snake and giving her a gentle stroke of affection.
Twin hisses stirred through the mellow night market, both being too deep and powerful to belong to little Valentina.
I glanced at my arms as warmth spread across them.
Ember and Dante coiled around me, their eyes trained on the bar cart.
Yet, my attention remained on my snakes, and an impressed gasp tore from me, causing them to finally tear their curious gazes from the small serpents and back to their queen.
Per usual, Dante turned his head in an air of annoyance, with a glittering red bow tie snugly around his thick neck.
Ember looked at me with a warmer gaze, her black shimmering bow tie adorned with a gorgeous gold trim around its edges.
I stroked her neck as she brought her face closer to mine, swiveling her head side to side as if to show off her newest accessory.
“You look stunning, my dear,” I cooed while softly embracing the back of her head.
Ember hissed her thanks, even going as far to lick my cheek to show her gratitude for earning such high praise from her queen. I giggled as her tongue kissed my skin, tickling me in the process.
An irritated rattling ruined our lovely moment, making me glance sideways to see Dante examining us. His midnight black body was nearly green with how envious he looked over me cooing at his sister.
“You also look dashing, Dante. I like your bow tie.” I offered a finger toward him, not daring to touch him without his consent.
Much to my surprise, he jutted his chin toward my offer, the motion dripping with his signature attitude. He rolled his eyes to the side as I brushed his chin, all the while pretending not to enjoy my affection, but I noticed the way his tail stopped rattling the moment I gave him my attention.