Page 18 of The Naga Princess’s Soldier Mate (Serpents of Serant #7)

Sazzie

I had a hard time with my emotions right then; there were a lot of them clamoring for attention, big ones like sadness for Khawla and for the younglings he was leaving behind. I knew that Reid had tried, that my idea was a crazy one to begin with, but it still hurt to see the male die. If not for him, it would have been me dying inside this gloomy Bitter Storm fight pit. It felt selfish to be relieved that I wasn’t dead, that I had another chance at a life with Reid. Those younglings needed their father more than Reid needed me.

There was no time to untangle the rest of my feelings; Khawla’s death was at the forefront, anyway. I could not stop glancing at his damaged body—at the destruction caused to his abdomen by Astrexa’s blow, or the injury to his eye. I did know that I did not want to leave him behind, even dead. That wasn’t right.

Reid had wrested Aser off the ground and was holding him tightly by the throat again. He was making demands that the Naga could not understand, and I forced myself to pay attention and translate. “We are leaving,” I said firmly, trying to mimic the commanding way Reid spoke. “Safe passage for us, and you can have your King back.” They were unsure—I could see that in the eyes of the nearest Naga, as if they were wondering if they even wanted their King back at this point.

Impulsively, I said the first thing that came to mind, speaking before Reid could come up with another threat for me to translate. “Let us go, and you will not bring down the wrath of Thunder Rock upon yourselves. They will not take lightly the death or imprisonment of their Queen! They will punish you for taking the life of their Master Scout. Your Clan is starving; you are dying out without females. You cannot afford another war. Let us go, all of us, now!”

Aser finally started to struggle in Reid’s grip, but it was clear he was no match for my mate’s strength. “Don’t listen to her. When we fall, the Revenants will conquer Thunder Rock. It will be exactly what they deserve!” His eyes glowed with a fanaticism I did not expect; I thought he was more conniving than this. “They are relic lovers, abominations, all of them! They deserve to die.” He seemed to desire vengeance and mutual destruction more than he desired to survive. That surprised me, because, so far, all he’d done had been to improve his position and ensure survival. He’d been willing to arrange a mating with Astrexa just to gain power over Thunder Rock not that long ago. Now, he was telling his Clan to condemn themselves to death so that Thunder Rock would fall to the Revenants.

It did not appear to please his Clanmales, and, finally, that jarred them into motion. Two slightly older males separated themselves from the crowd, followed by a Naga female with a chain wrapped around her neck. She had her head downcast, but a furious expression glittered in her eyes. “Safe passage for all of you,” the first of the two males agreed. He raised his hands to hush the crowd when it began to murmur uneasily. “We are not dying out; we will survive. Bitter Storm is strong! But this female is right: we do not need more death and war.”

Another male came from behind us, separating himself from the crowd and puffing up his chest. My stomach revolted when I saw him because he was the orange-speckled male who had been my guard so much of the time. That male had leered at me more than once, making me feel dirty, touched. I did not trust him. “Nobody gave you the right to speak for Bitter Storm, Thrasos. And we are not letting a Thunder Rock Queen walk! She is our leverage against the Clan! We will use her to force them to give us food; we will be strong again.”

“Oh, boy,” Reid muttered under his breath. “They’re splintering into factions right before our eyes. This isn’t good.” He was right. On the heels of the orange-speckled male, another spoke up, and then another. They all had different opinions on how to solve this situation, but they all seemed to agree that Aser was no longer important. They were going to start fighting each other, and we’d be caught in the middle.

“Now what?” I asked quietly, spinning in place slowly so I could keep an eye on all the different—by now loudly shouting—males. It seemed there were several who had enough clout to grab for power, and males were gathering behind each of their chosen leaders. Bitter Storm had drastically reduced in numbers since they had fought my Clan several months ago, but it was still a very impressive crowd.

“Hold this for a second,” Reid said, and he slung Aser around. I caught the former King and grappled him tightly around the neck, pressing Reid’s knife against his scales to keep him from fighting. My scales shivered with unease along my spine; I did not like holding this male, nor did I like the way many of them were now glaring at him and at me. The crowd was growing more and more riled, and they were beginning to shout accusations at Aser—things like mate-killer, female-hater, destroyer of Clans, liar, and promise-breaker.

Loudest was the guard with the orange speckles, and he spoke fervently of holding me hostage, keeping me captive, and using us against Thunder Rock. Most of the others just wanted to get rid of us, but his faction was quickly gaining more backing. Reid moved so fast I hardly saw him move—a blur of gleaming muscle, intricate ink markings, and sheer determination. He kicked the broken spear tip he’d pulled from Khawla off the ground and launched it through the air. It struck the speckled male in the center of his chest, and silence instantly reigned.

Darting away from me, he reached the male as he began to lurch forward, a sharp metal spike in his hand that he planted beneath the male’s chin, driving it up through his jaw. “This is what I’ll do to all those who oppose our freedom. And I can keep going forever,” Reid said as he pulled back his hand, allowing the male to crash to the ground. My mate held up his wrist, which had been pierced by the speckled male’s chin horn during that final strike. As I translated his words for everyone, the wound began to knit together, healing before our eyes. It drove home his point: I can do this forever. I heal—can you keep up?

Then I added, “Once we are safe, you can have this worm to punish as you see fit. He’s the one you want, not us. He’s the one who led you to this!” I gestured with a hand, then lurched forward to keep a firm hold on my hostage. Aser was stronger than he looked, and whatever escape plan he’d had in mind, he now saw it dwindling before his eyes. Beneath his breath, he began to offer me riches and treasures, troves of golden jewelry, as a reward for his safety.

I wanted to laugh, even as I was tempted just a little by the promise of shiny baubles. If this is what he’d offered Astrexa, it was no surprise she’d readily agreed to be his ally. It was a universal truth that we all loved gold, and those with status had the most of it. But I was not Astrexa or Evarah; I did not want those shiny things more than I wanted to do the right thing, and to be with Reid. So I bared my fangs at him and hissed, “Never.”

Reid’s demonstration was getting us the desired results anyway. The newly arisen faction leaders were now huddling together for a quick conference. It did not seem like their decision was a hard one; within moments, males raced off, only to return with a wooden cart. They were rude and careless as they tossed both Astrexa’s and Khawla’s bodies onto it, but a path was cleared for us at the same time. Suddenly, we were moving. Reid dragged Aser by the arm, his other arm around my shoulders protectively as we began to head toward an exit. I could not wait to leave this pit, this darkness, behind.

“Almost there,” Reid whispered against my hair. “We’re going to make it, my love.” My heart leaped hopefully in my chest at the sound of those words, and I dared to believe it. Yes, we were going to make it. We were going to be fine. Reid had kept me safe, protected me, and taken care of me. But I had done the same for him, and I felt so proud of that.

We left the pits behind us, but not the hostile crowd that surrounded us. Aser was as much a burden as a hostage now; they wanted him, but only to kill him. And I understood their anger because nothing he’d done for the Clan had improved their fortune. I realized now that Aser had thought to escape with us, but my denial of his bribes had dashed that hope. He was fighting Reid every minute of our approach to the exit.

The cave entrance was visible in the distance, an arch of light and hope. We were close to reaching it: a stretch of flat granite was visible beyond it, and beyond that, clear skies and forests, the beautiful purple and violet hues of Serant’s lush world. We were guided to it through a path of Bitter Storm members that lined the sides, some hissing angrily as we passed, and some just staring. It was beginning to look like we’d make it without another fight.

Then we exited the cave and stood on the terrace outside, fresh, cool air blowing past my scales. I could see so far from here, including the lower mountain arm where Artek, the Shaman, kept his home and the tall peak of Ahoshaga, where Haven was located. From here, we could travel to Reid’s home in less than a week if we moved fast.

Of course, nothing ever went exactly according to plan. When a desperate Aser lunged, I didn’t expect him—I wasn’t ready.