Tavrik smirked, his eyes igniting with the challenge.
I leaned back, shooting Theo a wide-eyed‘are you hearing this’look.He mirrored my expression perfectly, his shoulders shaking with the effort to hold back his laughter.
I plucked one of the pastries from my plate.The flaky exterior crumbled between my fingers, giving way to a creamy spiced centre, so much like the pastries from home.The sweetness turned to ash on my tongue as the thought of my mother hit me like a physical blow to the chest.
I dropped the half-eaten pastry back on my plate and pushed it away.I propped my elbow on the table, chin resting in my palm.
Something warm curled around my calf.I jerked upright, knee banging against the underside of the table.Azmik was slithering up my leg with sinuous grace, its scales glowing with flames.
Comfort washed over me, as if the serpent had absorbed some of the pain in my chest, replacing it with a warmth that spread through my limbs.
Theo’s sharp scream shattered the moment.He clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes bulging.Drawing every head at the table toward me.
“Calm down, Theo,” I chuckled, lost in Azmik’s hypnotic movements as the serpent ascended my torso, finally resting its fiery head against my chest with a gentle, vibrating hiss.
Complete silence fell over the table.Slackened jaws and wide eyes stared at me.Jasila’s body had gone rigid once more, her eyes darting between Azmik, me, and across the room to—I assumed—Dalkhan.
I dismissed their reactions with a shrug.Azmik had lifted its head to nuzzle against my cheek, its scales warm and surprisingly soft.I cupped my palm beneath its small head, bringing it before my face.Its slits expanded and retracted, reflecting the firelight like mirrors as I placed a kiss atop its flaming head.
Theo retched.“I can’t—” He gagged again, pressing his fist against his lips.I seriously considered tossing the snake at him just to see if he would faint again.The thought alone made me smile.
The atmosphere shifted, everyone dropping their heads into a bow.
Damn it.
Dalkhan stood directly behind me, sucking all the joy from the air.He lingered for a heartbeat before taking a seat beside me like it was his rightful place.
My breath stalled in my lungs, caught somewhere between inhale and exhale.Azmik adding to the pressure in my chest with its weight.Though its master sat beside me, the snake’s attention remained on me, burrowing its head in my hair.
Dalkhan was watching me.I caught glimpses from the corner of my eye—him looking between me and Azmik, his jaw clenching.He was probably about to make some cutting remark before tearing his pet away.
“It’s not my fault your snake likes me,” I said, deliberately keeping my eyes fixed on the table.
Everyone around us had gone back to their conversations, voices slightly too loud to be natural.No doubt Dalkhan had glared at them, a silent order to continue as if he wasn’t there.
“Azmik,” Dalkhan called, but it only burrowed further into my hair, its body coiling around my neck like a living necklace.The snake’s disobedience made something flutter in my chest—a small victory, but one I savoured, nonetheless.
“Azmik,” he repeated through gritted teeth.My own body wanted to respond to the command in his voice.
Azmik finally raised its head, glowing eyes meeting Dalkhan’s before turning back to me, nudging me once more before dissolving into the air, leaving nothing but lingering warmth against my skin.The loss saddened me.My hand rose to my neck where it had been.
“You like him,” Dalkhan said.
Him.So Azmik was a he.Good to know.
“Why wouldn’t I?”I still didn’t dare look at him.
“Everyone is terrified of him and rightfully so, but you—” He left the sentence hanging as he lifted his cup and drank.
I didn’t need him to complete the thought; I needed him toleave me alone.
“Tell me, mortal—”
I cut him off, finally turning to face him.
“It’s Elira.”Our eyes locked, and for a suspended second, the rest of the room faded away.
A flash of amusement crossed his face.His head quirked, studying me like something fragile—like something he intended tobreak.
