Page 13

At the top, the jungle sprawls beyond—twisted trees and tangled vines bathed in moonlight.

My heart leaps. Freedom beckons. The night air feels sharper here, laced with the aroma of damp earth and distant flowers.

Carefully, I swing one leg over the top of the wall and peer down the other side.

A drop of ten feet or so leads to a slope of thick vegetation.

If I land poorly, I could break an ankle, but if I stay here, I’ll be discovered soon enough.

Steeling myself, I let go, dropping into the dense undergrowth.

The impact jolts through my bones. I stumble, pain lancing up my ankle, but it doesn’t feel broken.

Panting, I scramble to my feet. The sudden hush of the jungle surrounds me, pressing in from all sides.

My eyes adjust to the gloom, revealing massive ferns and twisted trunks.

Some branches glow faintly with bioluminescent fungi, others bristle with wicked thorns.

The jungle here is known to be treacherous, filled with creatures that can kill a person in one swipe.

Yet this unknown wilderness seems preferable to the manor’s looming threat. If I keep walking, maybe I’ll find a human settlement or a traveling caravan. Or maybe I’ll just vanish among the trees. Either outcome feels more merciful than living in constant fear of what Vahziryn might do next.

I limp onward, brushing aside vines and inhaling the damp air.

The night sings with unseen insects and creatures stirring among the foliage.

My heart thrashes in my chest, equal parts terror and exhilaration.

I’m free, I tell myself. I’m free of that place.

All I must do is stay hidden from his guards. Soon I’ll be too far for them to track.

My confidence wavers as the minutes pass and the jungle grows denser.

The underbrush tangles around my ankles, and strange clicking noises echo from somewhere behind me.

A sliver of moonlight breaks through the canopy, illuminating the broad leaves overhead.

My previous escape attempts in the past never took me through a place like this, where every step might bring me face-to-face with a predator.

I fight the impulse to turn around. Why would I go back?

Danger is behind me too, but at least here the threats are not personal, not directed at me for being a servant.

A rustle nearby makes me freeze. I listen, skin crawling.

Another rustle, closer. My gaze darts around, scanning the shadows.

The darkness conceals everything. Perhaps it’s only a small animal.

..or something far more lethal. The possibility that the jungle’s predators are about to leap from the bushes sets my nerves ablaze.

I force my legs to move faster, pushing through ferns that rise to my waist. My steps become unsteady, my ankle throbbing from the earlier jump.

If I can just find a game trail or a break in the brush, I might gain better footing.

Instead, I stumble into a patch of vines that snag my shawl and tug me backward.

Panic surges, and I thrash, yanking the fabric free.

The snapping vine releases me, but I tumble forward onto my hands and knees, scraping them raw.

Biting back a gasp, I force myself upright again. My entire body trembles with adrenaline, and my mind screams that I might have traded one danger for another, equally terrifying. A swirl of guilt churns in my gut. Why didn’t I plan this more carefully?

Then I hear it: the distinct snap of undergrowth behind me, too deliberate to be an animal. My heart constricts. Someone must be tracking me. The panic grips me so fiercely that I spin to run—only to slam into something solid.

I look up and find Vahziryn towering over me.

His presence in the moonlit jungle is nothing short of startling.

The black scales on his forearms and tail shimmer with a faint emerald sheen, the same mesmerizing pattern that haunted my memory.

His hair, loose and unbound, falls to his waist, glinting almost blue under the moonlight.

The planes of his face remain rigid, jaw tight, eyes reflecting gold as they latch onto me.

My chest heaves, the shock so profound I can’t speak. It feels as though the entire jungle stills, waiting for his next move. I glimpse the curve of his claws, the lethal elegance of his serpentine body, and a wave of dizzying fear sweeps over me. My attempt to flee has failed utterly.

He doesn’t raise his voice. Instead, he speaks quietly, each word carrying a dangerous weight. “Did you think you could wander out here at night and not attract something more vicious than me?”

My pulse thrashes. “I— I had to leave. I can’t stay where people die for looking at someone wrong. Where the entire household cowers.” My words tumble out in a stammer, but I can’t stop them.

His eyes narrow, the pupils slitted. “No one died,” he counters, voice dry. “That fool Rahlazen still breathes.”

I swallow, remembering all too well the sight of his fangs sinking into the noble’s neck. “He might as well be a corpse if you wanted it. You’re...you’re capable of anything.”

A flicker of emotion crosses his face. I can’t tell if it’s fury or frustration. His tail stirs behind him, coiling in the undergrowth as though anchoring him to the spot. “And you believe running into the jungle at night is safer?” he demands.

The question stings, but I refuse to lower my gaze. “You attacked a noble,” I snap, somehow finding a shred of anger beneath my fear. “I don’t know what you plan to do next, or who else you’ll?—”

He exhales sharply, stepping closer. The proximity forces me to tilt my head back. Moonlight sketches his features in stark relief: the strong line of his nose, the austere beauty of his scaled cheeks, the tension brimming beneath his calm. “I am not going to harm you,” he says, voice low.

I shake my head, overwhelmed. “I can’t be sure of that.”

A dark current courses through his gaze. “Then let me make it clear.” With startling speed, he grasps my wrist, not painfully, but firmly enough to halt any retreat. “You are part of my household, and I will not watch you wander blindly into a place that will devour you alive.”

My spine shivers. The jungle’s stillness wraps around us, each insect chirp suddenly amplified. “Why does it matter to you?” I whisper, feeling the raw edge of tears threaten to break free. “If I die out here, that’s one less burden for you.”

He snorts, a sound laced with bitterness. “A lesser mind might think that way, but I—” He catches himself, as if he’s on the verge of revealing something. Then he tightens his grip on my wrist, drawing me closer. “I have no intention of letting you die, or vanish.”

The statement unsettles me more than I can express.

My breath comes in rapid bursts, and I notice his eyes dip to my parted lips, then rise to meet mine again, then back to my eyes, as though trying to gauge my reaction.

If I didn’t know better, I might think there’s concern in that unreadable expression.

But I do know better—he’s a naga lord with the power to end lives in a heartbeat.

Compassion might simply be another method of control.

He shifts, sliding around me in a careful circle. I turn, heartbeat galloping, as I realize he’s using his coiled tail to block any attempt to flee again. The scaly length glints under the moon’s glow, thick and strong enough to crush tree limbs. A tremor travels down my spine.

“Enough running,” he says. “I’ll escort you back.”

My mouth opens, a protest forming, but he moves faster than I can speak.

He steps behind me and wraps his tail around my waist, not squeezing but holding me in place.

The sensation is disorienting. My feet remain on the ground, yet I feel the corded power of his coils pressing gently against my sides.

It’s not painful, but it’s inescapable. My hands fly up, and I instinctively try to pry the scaled flesh away, though it’s useless.

“Stay still,” he murmurs, voice dangerously calm. “I have no desire to hurt you, but if you flail, you’ll only bruise yourself.”

I freeze, hating how my pulse quickens at the intimate contact. I’m painfully aware of his warmth, the movement of his breathing. The scales that brushed my arms feel both alien and strangely comforting, a contradiction that leaves me more confused than before.

A small voice in my mind warns me to remain alert—he could squeeze the life out of me in seconds. Another part of me wants to collapse into the strange safety of that hold. I breathe, trying to quiet the surge of contradictory emotions. My skin tingles everywhere he touches.

He begins guiding me through the thick foliage, the tail around my waist ensuring I can’t stray.

Each step dislodges branches and leaves that cling to our legs.

The sound of shifting vegetation rings in my ears.

Under other circumstances, the close proximity might feel bizarrely intimate, but my nerves are too raw to dwell on that for long.

We travel deeper into the jungle for several paces, circumventing dense patches of brambles.

I’m almost disoriented, expecting to be heading back to the manor, but he seems to be forging a new path.

Eventually, he halts beside a massive tree with knotted roots that arch above the forest floor.

The moonlight filters down in a pale beam, illuminating the trunk with ghostly clarity.

He loosens his tail enough for me to breathe more easily, but he doesn’t release me entirely.

His eyes flick to my face. “Your ankle is hurt.” The remark startles me, and I follow his gaze to see that I’m limping slightly, wincing whenever my weight shifts.

I bite my lip. “I jumped off the wall. It’s...I can still walk.”