Page 147 of The Divine Lies We Weave

The Viperess reached for the nearest fruit. Plucking it from the tree, she twirled it between her fingers, as if assessing it from every angle. “This, Leela. This is what I have wanted to taste all my life.”

And this is what will be your downfall.

The Viperess ignored Leela and bit into the fruit.

An overwhelming sweetness filled her tongue, an uncomfortable warmth coating her mouth. Sweetness clashed with sourness. Heat clashed with cold. It bubbled and burned. Twisted and writhed.

She swallowed. “I wish for the elixir of immortality, to ascend into the Awakening to live forever in peace.”

I wish I was strong enough to bring you down.

Leela snarked but held her breath, waiting for what happened next. She glanced around her head, the glass wavering. She reached forward and gasped as her hand went through. Freedom. She could control herself once again.

Leela stepped forward but stumbled back into her mind as the Viperess howled. A hiss echoed in her mind, and Leela covered her ears, dropping to the ground as it pierced her from every angle.

“Wh—why?” The Viperess snapped. “Why isn’t it working? Why⁠—”

“Did you really believe you could leave without me?”

The Viperess snapped around, causing Leela whiplash.

A man dressed in glimmering gold stepped into the blistering sun. He looked like a burning star as he swayed over, his hands clasped behind his back. Wisps of white mixed with stems of flattened black hair. Dark brown eyes held hers without wavering. He wore the finest silk with golden embroidered swirls on the shoulders. Men flanked his sides, dressed in dark blue weaponry uniforms and godsblades raised.

Leela frowned. Who is this?

No… It can’t be.

Every muscle tightened. The Viperess faltered, spinning to run in the other direction. Leela barely had time to grasp what was happening before the soldiers shot forward, grabbed her arms, and lowered her to her knees.

The man knelt before them, a smirk riding his lips. A dark twinkle nestled in his eyes, and Leela pulled back.

“My queen,” the man said. “What a lovely surprise to see you.”

“What are you doing here…? How?” she asked, voice trembling.

Leela’s body quaked. Sweat slid down her back. She had never felt the Viperess shake as violently as she did now. Whoever this man was, he scared the shit out of the Viperess, and no one had managed to do that since Leela had first known her.

The man tilted his head with a curt smile. “I believe I never got the chance to introduce myself, Miss Leela. Especially seeing as you escaped before I got the chance to marry you.” The man stood. “My name is Arjun, Lord of Jhuna Rin, and I have come to collect my future wife.”

Ice ran down Leela’s spine, merging with the flashing heat of the Viperess’s. But his name wasn’t the thing that caused Leela to stare. A shadow curled against the yellow sand in all its glory. A tongue flickered. Tail swaying with a gentle grace.

Leela felt the blood rush from her face, and the Viperess hissed a long breath.

Viper.

Leela’s gut sank. What do we do? What’s he doing here? How did he find us?

Patience. Do not let him smell our fear, or he will attack. We will see what he wants first.

“Now…” Arjun said. He plucked a piece of fruit from the branch hanging over his head and twirled it, the light glinting and blinding Leela. “I have a proposition for both of you. I know why you can’t harness the elixir, and it might have something to do with the man you left for dead.”

Leela felt the Viperess’s repulsion. Every muscle grew ridged, and if they could, Leela was sure she’d be running in the opposite direction by now.

The Viperess hissed. “We want nothing from you. I have harnessed Leela, and she is not here.”

The man grunted. “I am aware, dear Viperess. You took someone from me, and I want her back. Actually, you took multiple things from me, and I wish for them all back.”

“They did not belong to you!”