Page 134 of Scars Beneath a Serpent’s Scales

“At fourteen, the Snake Charmer bought me.” A breath hissed through her teeth, stinging his own damn chest. “Clearly, tonight was not the first time I’d met him. I was in his employ for three years. At first it was nothing out of the ordinary. Rudimentary performances, leering and comments, but I could ignore all that. It didn’t change who I was.”

“One night, though…he was high out of his mind and wanted a truly unique experience. He wanted me to use his pets. The snakes. Wanted to see his namesake with his prized possession.”

Her fear churned through Roremar’s own blood, his hands shaking.

“They became props in an act, but the thing about live creatures? When you let them out of their cages, no one can control when they bite.”

The scars.

He’d let snakes bite her? Put her on a stage, as a scantily clad teenager—which was sick enough as it was—and watched her be tortured? Watched a fear take root within her as a form of entertainment? Fire raged in his veins, and if Emmeline hadn’t been in such clear distress, he’d already be hanging that pathetic excuse for a man from the Mezzanine balcony as he’d promised.

“Sometimes he put the snakes in my bedchamber at night so I would be more comfortable with them. I’d wake from nightmares about my sister and mother to their fangs. Training, he called it.” She nearly choked on that word.

“I did everything they commanded until I was seventeen. I was so angry over everything I’d lost at that point, I wanted to bite back. So I ran again.” Something hardened in her voice, and a bolt of pride shot through Roremar’s blood. “I was almost of age. I had never completed all my proper lessons, but my mother had taught me more than any tutor could even before her death. She’d had an exceptional upbringing, and my magic was much stronger than most. I wanted to finish the qualifying rituals. To complete the Fatorum Revelus, ascend as a full warrior, and earn the expanse of my Fate ties.”

Unable to resist anymore, Roremar got to his feet, pushing the door open a couple more inches so he could watch her.

Emmeline gathered herself, hugging her knees tighter. “I enrolled in a school far from home, all the way near the coast of Gallantia, and completed the rituals. Then, I began my hunt.”

For the man who killed her mother?

Again, as if she heard the question, she said, “I killed the man who broke into our home two years later, but he was easy. A hired drunk. No, he wasn’t who I sought.”

One fingertip traced a line in the water, and Roremar almost sank to his knees in relief at seeing her move. Like sharing the weight of each sentence she’d kept bottled up for so long thawed her further. Cemented something between them instead, something he couldn’t name but wanted to carry.

“The temple near our home was the one who took my sister when I was seven. My parents barely spoke of her after, but I never forgot. She was my best friend. Only friend I ever had. And one day, they just took her.

“As I watched my mother’s blood pool on the floor when I was eleven and became utterly alone, I vowed I wouldn’t rest until I found my sister and killed the men who did it. I’m still looking.”

That was it. So many missing pieces of Emmeline DeLeoste slid into place, this puzzle he’d been trying to construct taking shape.

The reason she hunted at night. She was trying to track down her sister by finding information about the temple claimings.

Most of those kids never saw their families again. He had always been so fucking grateful it was on the continent and the children on Lyra were safe. That being forgotten on these islands had left them peace in one way.

Except at some point, the rot had spread here. Those responsible hid out on the Constellation Isles, to be forgotten with the rest of them. They didn’t know Emmeline was on their tails.

It was why she became a ghost in the night. Why she donned those leathers and became his Huntress.

If they took her sister, their family probably all had powerful magic. Emmeline did, so it would make sense it was in the bloodline. It would have to be really strong to warrant them chasing her and her mother down, but all the explanations lined up.

Finally, she made sense.

And she’d lost so fucking much to be here now.

To face that past tonight. The dancing. The snakes.

She’d turned herself into a serpent among the criminals, sliding effortlessly through the night and sinking poisonous fangs into men who leeched power from Starsearcher children. She’d become their own monster.

But her scars ran as deep as his own. And he knew how hard that was to live with. She may have become that ghost in the night, haunting the doorsteps of the vile, but he couldn’t let her become a ghost for good.

Hesitantly, he crossed the bathing chamber, ensuring his footsteps were heard. He’d stay away if she asked, but fuck, he hoped she didn’t.

When Emmeline didn’t move, he crouched beside the bathing tub, forcing his hands to grip the rim rather than touch her.

“That’s why you want to go to Valyn, isn’t it?” Roremar asked softly.

Emmeline lifted her gaze. He somehow both crumbled and could breathe again when their eyes met.