Page 90 of King of Serpents

“No one is going to save you, little human,” the male taunted as he slid closer.

“You’re right,” Alex whispered as she scrambled back further, her hand sliding across the stone and through the debris. It was just there. She was so close! “But here’s the thing about that. No one may be coming to save me—" her fingers crossed around her blowgun, and a feeling of relief swept through her, nearly making her heady as her fist tightened around it. She sneered at him as she quickly drew it to her side. She couldn’t use it properly, not with how close he was. But she had an idea that could work. “But that also means that no one is going to stop me.”

His gavo rose slightly with confusion, but in the next moment his features twisted venomously as he leaned forward and lifted his hand above his head, his claws poised to descend and rip into her. The stench of him wafted over her, and Alex held her breath as she pushed herself upward from the ground to meet him. Without hesitation, she brought her blowgun around with all her strength. It broke across his head, the reed snapping as it sent the needles scattering across the floor. The blow sent him to the ground, but he wasn’t going to be down long. Already he was writhing as he worked to push himself back up.

Her eyes following a pair of needles that had rolled a short distance away to her left, Alex pitched herself forward as the male dropped to the floor. His body writhed as he worked to push himself back up, but she was already scooping up the needles as she rolled up onto the balls of her feet. Pushing off as hard as she could, she spun and leaped for him, her body making contact with his chest, driving him back to the ground beneath her. Dropping her full weight back down onto his chest, she straddled him as she shifted one of the needles to her opposite hand and lifted both long, thick needles high above her head. His eyes blazed at her with hatred, but she didn’t have to look at them for long. Without preamble, she swung the long pair of needles in her hands down, jabbing them deep into his eyes.

He squealed like a pig and thrashed, but she leaned forward, putting her weight behind them as she sank them deeper and deeper into his eye sockets until they broke through the bone of his skull. Blood poured from the ruined mess, and his body gave one last violent spasm before it dropped to a prone state beneath her. His tail twitched once... twice... and then he was gone.

Alex didn’t move for a long moment. She sat on the dead Seshanamitesh as the tension and adrenaline slowly drained from her, leaving her weakened with relief. Head hanging, she focused on her breathing while trying to ignore the stench of blood soiling her flight suit and the cloth wound around her. Tears pricked her eyes. She didn’t regret killing him to save her own life, but she had never killed another person before. She had never expected to in her line of work.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, but the body was ice-cold by the time she slid off him and kicked his tail away and out of her path. She numbly walked away from it, at a loss as to what to do. She couldn’t exactly ride to the rescue. Even if she could cross the broken tunnel between the upper and lower palaces, what could one human do? Her heart clenched miserably, and she choked on her own tears as she stumbled out of the nest... and straight into a very large and vaguely familiar dark green torso with bold, white striping.

“Ah, little human, it seems I did not get here quite fast enough,” the male sighed. “Vi is going to murder me.”

She blinked up at the male, her chin wobbling as she tried to contain a defeated sob. “Ehsash?”

The male grimly inclined his head, and just behind him she saw a gaunt male watching anxiously. Ehsash glanced behind him before smiling wanly down at her. “Luoa has been keeping an eye on the palace for me ever since we realized that you were hiding here.” He sobered. “Vi sustained injuries during the crash that required my attention, but you appeared to be safe enough here with the male you mated caring for you. Or so we believed until Luoa came and found me. Thank Higthar that I was close by hunting.” He sighed, his eyes dropping to the dead Seshanamitesh. He hummed in appreciation. “You certainly did a fine job. I am quite surprised. But...where is your male?”

“Up in the palace,” she whispered in a strangled voice. “Therxian... “

His gavo rose in surprise. “Therxian? The eldest offspring of the high queen. That Therxian?” She nodded and was startled by his soft laugh. “I did not realize it was him.” He hummed in amusement. “Both surviving sons of Zathexa mated to humans... the council is certainly going to love that.”

“They don’t know about me... that I’m human, that is,” she whispered. “He didn’t realize either until just now. They sent him down to kill me.”

“Then it is best if we remove you,” he replied. “I will take you to Vi. I think she will be happy to not be the only human in the Uralial village,” he added cheerfully as he bent and scooped her up.

The Uralialian village? They had been right. There was a settlement of Uralial near the elder palace. But she couldn’t go there, not without her mate!

“I don’t think so.” Alex pushed on his arms and scowled when he blinked down at her in surprise. “I’m not going anywhere without my mate. I have to rescue him. If you try to stop me, I will stab you too.”

Ehsash peered at her for a moment and then grinned, his eyes brightening with amusement. “I did not realize that you were so fierce. I wouldn’t worry too much about Therxian. He is bound to you, so they won’t get what they want from him easily. That will buy him some time. And if he is anything like his brother, he will find his way to you. We just need to ensure your safety.”

“By going to the village,” she muttered.

“By going to the village,” Ehsash agreed, his smile broadening.

She fidgeted unhappily. “But if he escapes, what if he comes looking for me and can’t find me?”

“I will remain,” the thin Uralial whispered, drawing her attention back to him. His eyes drifted sadly over the nest. “I have never left. Not for long.” He refocused on her and lowered his head respectfully. “I will remain here and wait for the prince.”

Chapter 61

Alex stared down into the pool attached to the west wing apprehensively. Part of her was excited because it proved that she and Therxian had been on the right track, but the rest of her was very concerned that Ehsash was planning on taking her through there.

“There is a very small problem you may not have considered,” she muttered, drawing an amused glance from the male—though she certainly couldn’t understand why.

“What might that be?” he replied, his eyes following her as she eased back from the water’s edge.

“The part where you should know that humans can’t hold their breath for any length of time compared to Seshanamitesh.”

“Actually, I do know that, which is why I am always prepared,” Ehsash replied as he opened a small pouch strung around his neck and removed something that appeared like a mucus-y pearl. Worse, it felt exactly like that when he handed it to her.

Gross.

“What is that, and what exactly do you expect me to do with it?” she asked warily as she stared down at it.

“You swallow it, of course,” he replied. “It is a drihili seed. A small Uralial trick for exclusive air-breathers that Seshanamitesh do not know about. It will form a mucus membrane that will convert the air you expel into something breathable to draw back into your lungs. The amount that it converts will gradually reduce as it cycles, so it will not sustain you underwater long, but it will significantly increase the length of time you can go without air.”