Page 96 of King of Serpents

Vi at the gently lapping water in front of them and smirked. “Are you just going to sit here until he pops out of the water like Daddy Triton?”

Alex’s lips curled with amusement at the old pop-cultural reference and shook her head. “No, but when he shows up, I want to be here. I just... miss him.” She sighed heavily and shook her head in grim amusement. “I never thought I would be the emotionally dependent sort, but we haven’t been separated for so long since meeting. Even when he had to return to the shinara, the few hours that passed felt like an eternity. And now... it’s all I can do to convince myself that he isn’t dead.”

She could feel the other woman’s eyes on her, studying her. Suddenly, Vi sighed, startling her. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a crapshoot, isn’t it? You are accustomed to looking out for only yourself, and now suddenly you can’t hardly breathe without them.”

Alex’s lips twitched. “You and Ehsash, huh?”

Vi shrugged and took a sip from her bottle. “Yes and no. Things are weird between us. Complicated would be a better word, I guess. But when have they not been? Ever since I rejected him back in the colony when he was coming on hot and heavy like a teenager with a bad case of puppy love, there has been this push and pull between us that can’t seem to resolve itself.”

“Have you fucked?” Alex asked bluntly, and Vi choked, water spraying from her lips as she began coughing violently.

“What?” she gasped amid her hacking.

Alex grinned and slowly turned toward her. “You heard me. The claiming part, I think, is what is really intense. So, did you do it?”

“We may have fooled around a bit,” Vi muttered as she raised her bottle quickly to her lips once more. “No claiming of any kind was involved though.”

“Ah,” Alex murmured. “Your choice or his?”

“I couldn’t rightly tell you,” Vi admitted. She shook her head, the corner of her mouth inching upward. “How did this get flipped to talking about me? You are the one sitting here looking all lost and love-lorn.”

Alex shrugged, her gaze drifting back to the water. “I was just curious. Ehsash was very... nervous carrying me. I kind of think that if you had shown up, he would have dumped me on my ass in a heartbeat just to make sure you see it. Very awkward married man vibes.” A smile crept once more to her mouth. “Given that there were some rumors going around Raza, I figured that it didn’t hurt to ask.”

Vi grimaced. “If he is feeling like a married man...er, mated alien... he certainly hasn’t shared that with me. Sometimes I think he would be happy to dump me on someone else so that I could be their problem instead of his. He has inferred that he feels obligated to take care of me since the crash. Not exactly some great romance here.”

“Maybe you need to do exactly that then and see how he really feels,” Alex pointed out. “I mean, you aren’t mated, and if he is saying all that, then make him put his money where his mouth is. Hell, you might find something better.”

Vi’s gaze swung to her in surprise, but it quickly gave way to a thoughtful expression as she considered Alex’s words. “You know, I am going to do that. There is an Uralial male who has been eyeing me. Why the fuck not go for it?” she said as she rose to her feet.

“Go on then,” Alex laughed, waving her off. “No reason to torture yourself about a maybe that isn’t going anywhere?”

“What about you? Are you going to just sit here and wallow in your own brand of torture?” Vi paused to ask, a look of guilt descending on her face. “I really shouldn’t just abandon you to sit here by yourself.”

“Yeah.” Alex smiled at the water wistfully, her gaze occasionally shifting to the playing nestlings. Unconsciously, her hand skimmed over her belly, wondering what it would be like if she and Therxian had their own. It was possible after all. Lori had proved that much to both species. “I kind of signed up for this brand of torture. You go ahead and have fun.”

“All right,” Vi replied with a reluctant sigh. “But when I am finished flirting, we are going to go grab some lunch. I can’t cook worth shit, but my neighbor is a culinary gift from the gods. Even better, she loves feeding people.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alex agreed. “A girl’s gotta eat.”

Not that she particularly felt like eating. She didn’t feel like doing much of anything except waiting for her mate. She wondered what he was doing at that very moment.

Chapter 65

Therxian’s eyes swept over the destruction of the elder queen’s nest silently. He was trying to come to terms with what he was seeing and was failing. Everything that his mate had once lovingly cherished—many furnishings which he had relocated from the other empty wings to please her, had been smashed into something unrecognizable.

And then there was Dehv lying amidst the worst of it, two very recognizable needles protruding from his eye sockets. Already the fleshy bits in that area were rapidly deteriorating. Jathella looked down as she joined him and exchanged a look with Buosoa.

“Not bad,” she commented, to which the other female hummed in agreement.

His mother leaned heavily on Jathella as she peered down, and her mouth curved with a rare smile of satisfaction. “Imagine, a female as small as her taking on an adult Seshanamitesh—even a smaller male—in close confines. To come in so close and target such a small area of vulnerability demonstrates resourcefulness and cunning.” Her eyes lifted, and she glanced around casually. “I would not be surprised if half the damage we see here was not strategically defensive on her part. What do you think Buosoa? Outside of Therxian, you have spent the most time with her.”

The guard snapped her gavo. “I believe you are right. Alex’s strength is in her ability to analyze a situation and act quickly. She said she operated the flying machines so I would imagine that this fostered her natural capabilities. Everything around her would have been seen as a potential weapon,” Buosoa agreed.

“She certainly held her own surviving on the surface for a long period before I found her,” Kitanara interjected. Her gaze trailed to Therxian.“Your mate is capable of surviving this. I have no doubt that she is still alive somewhere.”

He inclined his head, appreciating their confidence in his mate. They were right in their conclusions, but it did not make him any less worried, though he recognized that part of it was separation anxiety. “Dehv did not kill her, but where is she?” Therxian rumbled. His tongues flicked outward as he drew a deep breath, tasting the air. “There are scents here that I do not recognize. Did someone else arrive to finish the job?”

Buosoa looked over at him, her gavo lifting incredulously. “I think you give Alex far too little credit. There is no sign of her blood being shed. I think if someone were sent that she would be found lying here with this male.”