Page 78 of Black Mamba

“I spoke to him yesterday while you were inside the tent. He is here with his bride for suppliessss.”

“Maybe I can ask them if they know Jenna?”

“Come, let us get this search behind us. I already wish to be inside you. I have not been inside of you enough.” Lukys grasps my hand and drags me out of the forest.

As we near the large naga, I see a young woman with long, black hair standing next to him. She looks at Lukys and me as we pause outside their circle. The soldiers they’re speaking with scrutinize us, and the woman and the naga share a surprised look before glancing back our way.

For a moment, the four of us study each other. The woman is dressed in heavy makeup and wearing necklaces. Her lips are a bright, vivid red. Finding her beautiful and remarkably put-together for the circumstances, I shift on my feet, embarrassed of my bedraggled state, feeling Lukys’s cum on my skin under my pants.

I clench, still aching from this morning.

“Lukyssss,” Darolus responds first, breaking the silence.

“Darolussss.” Lukys hisses.

The nagas regard each other and the soldiers behind them shuffle on their feet. “Look,” one of them says, “we need more intel, information about the land, if you can give us that, you can get through the barricade.” Darolus and the woman turn to the soldier speaking.

“That’s bullshit,” the woman says. “He’s been bringing you fresh kills—daily—for a week! He hasn’t started an argument and hasn’t hurt a fly! I’m also vouching for him, isn’t that enough? Haven’t we proven ourselves?”

“Not for Commander Lunteer. Though no lover of Volp, he’s under the orders of The Sovereign now, and our mission still stands. We need information. The nagas have it.” The soldier, a young man no older than me, peers past Darolus to Lukys. “If you can tell us something, anything viable in helping our research here, that will go a long way with currying favor with upper command. Can we help you? Didn’t I see you two last night?”

As the soldier and his fellows step away from Darolus, the woman curses under her breath.

I take a half-step forward, still holding Lukys’s hand. He squeezes mine and slips his tailtip around my feet. “Yeah, you did. I’m the one searching for my sister.”

The soldier waves his hand. “You need to go to the registrar for questions like that⁠—”

“Her name is Jenna Viller.”

There’s a momentary pause before the woman turns to me. “Jenna Viller. The Jenna Viller? The neo jazz vocalist?”

“Yeah.” I perk up.

The soldier sighs. “If she’s here, I haven’t seen or heard her. Sorry. Sorry, you lost her. It’s hard to be empathic when things have gone to hell. We’ve all lost someone.”

I look at the woman who’s still regarding me.

“Sorry. Nope,” she says. “She’s got a damn good voice, though.”

My shoulders deflate as the soldiers depart, leaving Lukys and I alone with Darolus and the woman.

She crosses her arms and it’s then I see the daggers at her sides. One of them gleams. “So, are you two together?” I stiffen and Lukys’s hand twitches in mine. Her gaze drops to them and she smiles. “I’m glad I’m not the only one. It starts to feel lonely when everyone stares at you like you’re a freak.”

“You are no freak,” Darolus scolds her.

“Hah!” the woman chuckles. “You have no idea.”

“We are together,” Lukys interrupts them, eyeing Darolus, his gaze sharply assessing the other naga now that the soldiers are gone. Darolus winds his long, thick tail in a half-circle behind the woman.

I squeeze Lukys’s hand, my heart thrumming in my ears. We’re together?

We’re together.

“Why do you want to get through the barricade?” Lukys asks, still staring at Darolus.

The woman faces him. “Information.”

“Information?” I frown, waving my hand. “Like the registry?”