Page 60 of King of Serpents

“I do not understand. How are you promised to the first noble family?”

The male trembled slightly, caught off-guard by the question. “It is a matter regarding the eldest daughter, Ga... Gareiia,” he replied, stumbling over his words. “She selected me, but when word arrived at the mother nest regarding the palace selection, the family matriarch decided to allow Gareiia to enter the selection. If she is chosen to be a queen mother, then I will be mated to her younger sister Wanduya when she comes of age.”

Therxian frowned. Wanduya? He did not realize that Gareiia had a younger sister. But then, he also had no direct interest in her other than trying to avoid her at all costs. The female was proud, over-indulged, and far too bold with what she assumed were rights and privileges. Even prior to being sent to his nest, she had not hesitated to inappropriately approach him more than once without invitation while his mother was holding court. It was only recently that her public pursuit of him had tapered off, as she had appeared to come into conflict with Ferinia. Since their last conflict, she had appeared to retreat according to palace gossip. He was not fooled, however. Her eyes were always fixed on him with far too much calculation. This was not a female who would concede anything. She would only seek another route to give herself a superior advantage. He truly had sympathy for any male tied to her for life.

But he did not recall a female by the name of Wanduya.

“I do not recall seeing her at the noble banquets.”

“She has only seen ten revolutions,” he quietly rasped, his eyes averting. “When she is twelve, she will be of age to ceremonially attend her first banquet.”

Setting the scroll back on the shelf with a bit more force than was probably necessary, Therxian turned to regard the male.

“And your age?” he demanded in a sharp hiss.

“Twenty-four,” Dehv replied stiffly. “I was put in the extended program for refinement.”

Bred from and for the noble families and possessing qualities desirable enough to be claimed as a mate by a ranking female, he clearly was bred in a way that diminished the assertiveness necessary to flee for his own good. And they wanted to pair him with a nestling. Therxian felt ill. If he was not mated to Gareiia for any reason at all, Dehv would be more a servant than a mate as the female grew into maturity with the male attending to her. By the time she was ready to mate, Dehv would be cast aside in all ways except functionally as a breeder.

Therxian was incensed. The haga should never have approved his removal without a guarantee of mating.

“You do understand that this decision is in direct violation of the laws put in place to protect males of the Aglatha Caverns, correct?”

Dehv’s mouth tightened briefly in misery before he hid his expression behind a perfectly blanked face. “It is not my place to complain. All I can do is make my mate happy, and I will naturally enjoy a content and happy life.”

Therxian snorted in contempt. “You are not responsible for her happiness. Nor will she make you happy. We are all ultimately responsible for only ourselves, which includes knowing when to safeguard your own heart and remove yourself from situations that would be harmful. In this scenario specifically, there is a reason why many restrictions were placed on the selection of male mates—to protect them from predatory practices in which males were passed down within a family, limiting his own ability to properly bond with a mate.” He narrowed his eyes at him. “Has she already copulated with you?”

A look of shame darkened the male’s eyes, and he flicked his gavo reluctantly. “She would not allow me to bind her, but she said that I was her property—for now.”

Therxian’s stomach soured, and he rolled back on his tail away from the male in disgust. It was not disgust toward the male, but with how greatly he was already being abused. His mind turned to the male Ferinia selected from the haga so many revolutions ago. Exactly how common was this practice in the noble families?

“To deny your mating is contemptible,” Therxian growled as he picked up another scroll and unrolled it. His eyes narrowed on it in satisfaction, and he quickly rolled it up again. The Uralialian Acts. Perfect. He added that to the small collection gathering on a table beside him, several of which were ancient and fraying, that recorded the early histories of the shinara. The history was necessary for understanding what had happened in the past but also for understanding the context of the legal codes outlined in the others. “The laws guarantee that any male selected as a mate by a female of the shinara must be permanently and securely mated within the first lunar cycle to guarantee his comfort and wellbeing due to proximity bonding.”

After meeting Alex, he now understood the full weight of the importance of that law. All that time exposed to her and bonding with her—being cast aside and not being able to mate would have been torture.

He gave Dehv a sharp look. “And there is to be no joining without the mating ceremony. Our laws protect our males from suffering.”

The male’s eyes widened with comprehension, and he immediately wilted. “I feel nothing but shame, my prince. Gareiia takes complete control and demands that I satisfy her whims on every matter, and yet, even after joining repeatedly with her, I pray to Shangla for the day I might escape her. I can only fulfill her demands now with the hope that I may be given a merciful way out... ultimately one that does not involve being bound to a nestling,” he added bitterly.

“And this is why you are here,” Therxian murmured. “Do you watch me at Gareiia’s behest, in the hope that she will not summon you into the nest?”

Dehv’s gavo fluttered guiltily and snapped again in response. “I have been following you throughout the palace,” he admitted. “And for some distance into the lower caverns before I was overcome by my fear of the deeper tunnels and was forced to turn back.”

“But you approached me now... why?”

“Gareiia demanded it,” he whispered. “I was to get close to you and encourage you to accompany me. She desires... a moment. She says that she was cheated out of having her chance to breed due to a small matter of circumstance. She fears that Ferinia will push forward and insist on claiming her place first.”

Therxian studied him grimly. This was not the plan for an arranged encounter in the corridors. This was more specifically a trap set and baited.

“This is what she desires—to trap me?” Therxian sighed as the male snapped his gavo again.

“Not just Gareiia. She was content to wait and watch to find the weakest point to take down her competition, but all the noble families are rallying against Queen Zathexa’s orders now. Now it is a matter of who will get to you first. Others have also been tracking you.”

“I see,” Therxian hissed thoughtfully as he bent and gathered the scrolls. It seemed that he would have to deal with the noble families very soon.

Dehv cocked his head. “Does this not concern you?”

“I am concerned,” Therxian countered. “Everything that the noble families have been engaging in for some time now has been very concerning. But having information equips me to fight effectively against them.