Page 36 of A Rose Among Snakes (Gardens of Ruin and Revival)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Mihrra

M y feet carried me down the path to the greenhouse. I didn’t even remember throwing the door open, but I stood in the humid room struggling for breath. My head was reeling, and I clutched at my chest, berating myself for being so stupid. I was just a naive girl and I had let myself be charmed by a snake.

Pacing back and forth in the dark building, I lost the fight with my tears and let them fall down my cheeks. I wiped my face as footsteps pounded closer, and wheeled around as the greenhouse door flew open. Panting, Velian stepped inside and scanned the space, stopping when his eyes met mine in the dim light. I took a step back, keeping the distance between us.

“Mihrra, it’s not what you think.”

“Oh, you mean that wasn’t Ziffem you were pouring into your hands?”

He wiped a hand down his face and walked toward me. I continued stepping back, but ran into a bush, feeling my skirt snag on the prickly branch. I tugged, trying to free my skirt in vain, but it was too tangled. Velian approached with his hands out, slow and cautious like I was a trapped animal .

“Don’t touch me,” I spat.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Let me help you if only to keep Burress’ heart from breaking. He’s worked very hard to keep that one alive.”

“I don’t care.” Venom coated every syllable.

Velian dropped his arms, shoulders sagging in defeat. But he was right; it wasn’t Burress I was mad at.

“Fine,” I said. Velian moved forward, nimble fingers working to remove my skirt from the branch. Once free, I started marching past him to leave, but he grabbed my arm.

I whipped around. “I said don’t touch me.”

“Mihrra, please,” he said, dropping my arm and stepping in my way. “Please just hear me out.”

“I can’t imagine there’s anything you could say that would make this better.”

“Please,” he repeated. There was an ache in his voice, his pain reflected in the downturned corners of his mouth and his pinched brows. Though my walls had been up for weeks, there was a loose brick that wiggled its way out, letting a bit of empathy slip through, making me nod my head and follow him to the small table he’d been seated at that first night.

Once settled in our seats, I said, “Go on.”

Velian took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “Yes, that was Ziffem. We get shipments in the harbor and normally sort through it all at a room in town, but there was an issue with this batch. Corman informed me the Ziffem looked diluted, so I went to inspect it, but brought it back here for closer examination.”

That meant Paolef, Corman, and Denzen were not bodyguards as I had thought. At least, not in the usual sense. “So, you smuggle Ziffem from the harbor? Then where does it go?”

He sighed and closed his eyes. “We take it all over the country.”

“You cannot be serious.” My blood pounded through my veins, hot and angry, and I shoved my chair back. His hand shot out to grab me, but I was faster, and I fled out the door.

Once again, my feet took over and led me down the path to the beach. I had to calm down to have this conversation and the ocean waves were exactly what I needed. Velian’s crunching footsteps trailed behind me, but I didn’t turn around. I stomped across the beach and stopped where the sand darkened from the water.

The moon was rising low over the ocean, yellow and full, casting an eerie light across the landscape. Velian stood beside me staring out at the waves. The sound soothed my raging thoughts, and I felt the shock ebbing away.

“Mihrra, I'm begging you to hear me out.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

He loosed a breath and launched into his story. “My grandfather, Velmar, had been smuggling it throughout the country for years, making a fortune from it. He wanted better access, and Port Deering was in such dire conditions that he swooped in like a hero and started cleaning up the town. No one knew what he was really doing, and they loved him for all the help he was providing. Our front has always been that we are a family of businessmen, and we make our money by investing in local businesses, but it’s a lie. Most of our money comes from Ziffem. ”

My stomach roiled, but I kept my mouth shut.

“My father took over the business after my grandfather died and struck a deal with the king. Leoro would stop taxing my father on all fronts and the king would get a cut of the Ziffem profits. So, the more his subjects buy, the more money he makes. He says it’s outlawed, but he’s the one pumping it into the towns and villages. We are the biggest suppliers and Leoro wants to keep it that way. So he continues pocketing money for himself.”

My jaw hung open, stunned by the truth. Velian spoke so quickly, the words falling out of his mouth like he had been bursting to tell someone. It was difficult for me to wrap my mind around the King’s involvement. He was beloved by so many, but he was poisoning them and profiting off their pain.

“So, when we were in Clavo,” my voice was barely above a whisper, “did you sell some to the stable boy? And the stop we made—you were making a delivery?”

Velian hung his head. “Yes.” He turned toward me, reaching a hand out, then as if thinking better of it, dropped it back to his side. “Because of the deal my father made, I had no choice but to continue the work. Leoro has threatened to kill me if I don’t, and I couldn’t do that to Kezara. She would have no one if I died, so I keep at it, even though I hate it." His hands curled into fists and a muscle feathered in his jaw. "I hate everything about it, and I hate myself for continuing the devastation to the people of Terrune.”

It was an impossible situation for him, and more bricks jumped loose from the wall I’d built around my heart, the foundation shaking. It was ready to topple over until I remembered Jehiam, and how it felt to drag his limp body across the ground.

Eyes welling with tears, I shoved those bricks back into place and gritted my teeth. “My brother almost died from Ziffem. You’re telling me that was your fault?”

Velian looked at me, a pained expression on his face. “I’m the one that brings it into Terrune, so in a roundabout way, yes, it’s my fault.” He held my stare, his flaring nostrils the only betrayal of the effort that took.

The tears slipped out, and I faced the ocean, unable to bear the weight of his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Mihrra. I’m so sorry for all of the hurt I’ve caused you.”

His words brought another question to mind, and I turned again to look him square in the face. “Velian, who is Goranos Novenna?”