Page 71 of King of Serpents

“I wonder why this one was set aside away from the others? Yet another deciphering project for Therxian,” she murmured and carefully rolled it back up as she wandered away from the shelf to look around.

Like the queen’s nest, a pool dominated one chamber, but oddly the theme of carved-out streams was carried out through the nest, connecting numerous pools of different sizes in each chamber. Despite the chaos in the nest’s main chamber, the sleeping chamber appeared to be undisturbed beyond a few slashed pillows and blankets, and a badly dented sheet of metal lying on the floor that had once been a polished mirror. She circled the room silently before re-entering the main chamber and headed to the far end where a table was arranged like a desk in a corner that faced the balcony. Its surface was covered with various toppled bottles, scattered brushes, and broken containers, several of which stained the stone with their released contents. It appeared to be the substance the Seshanamitesh used for ink.

She absently skimmed her fingers over the desk’s smooth, stone surface, her eyes shifting to the carved-out shelves beside it that ran the length of the wall all the way to the balcony. Her hand left the desk and continued its path along the shelves as he slowly walked down their length toward the balcony. Unlike the other shelving units that were designed to be movable for better organization, this one was carved directly from the stone wall and filled with what appeared to be various types of herbs. Or the powdery and skeletal remains of plants that had once been stored in them.

“That’s different. There must be hundreds of jars here. I wonder what they were all for,” she murmured before at last abandoning them as she stepped outside.

She blinked at the view. Unlike the spectacular views of the shinara from the other wings, the west wing stared directly at the cavern wall. Water ran down it in several small waterfalls that emerged from the rock, but the balcony itself sat just above the edge of a pool that filled the entire space between the wing and the wall. From its center a spring spouted from a rise of rock, creating a kind of natural fountain. A thick ledge ran around it on all sides.

“Like a mermaid lagoon. All that’s missing are the mermaids. Or perhaps Uralial would be more accurate for this planet,” she observed aloud. Creeping closer to the edge of the balcony, she peered down into the water, noting its lazy swirl and the direction of its flow. “Strange. The water appears to be flowing toward the wall.”

She lifted her gaze and squinted at it. While there was a definite flow of water that passed through the palace, this appeared to be something entirely different. Was it possible that it was flowing into a different water source—or perhaps even the same one—behind the palace?

She considered the sounds that she heard from the queen’s nest. Like something was out there... moving around.

Alex licked her lips nervously, her gaze flicking over her surroundings. Was it possible that there were Uralials lurking somewhere nearby that had access to the palace from there? Was that the reason for the barricade? If so, she doubted that it would be the only entrance—-just perhaps the most direct one. Was there someone watching her from the hidden waterways of the palace? Buosoa had teased her about having a male courting her but she hadn’t thought much about it other than dismissing it as a shy, lonely Seshanamitesh who was trying to attract her attention and court her in the only way he knew how at the most obvious intersection between the shinara above and the elder shinara. And since there had been no more activity since Therxian claimed her, she had assumed that her visitor had abandoned the lower corridors.

But an Uralial male—likely hostile toward the Seshanamitesh—stalking her and watching her from hidden waterways and access points was a different story. Would an Uralial target her if he or she recognized that Alex was mated to the prince? Logically, it wasn’t fair to be suspicious of a species she had never interacted with, but suddenly she felt very exposed and vulnerable standing there.

“Yeah, I think I’ll just return to the queen’s nest now,” she mumbled as she slowly withdrew from the balcony edge.

She didn’t exactly run all the way back to the royal residential quarters, but she did double-time it all the way at a brisk clip, her fingers tightly clutching the scroll as she silently prayed that she hadn’t done something very foolish. More than that, she couldn’t wait to report what she discovered to her mate.

Chapter 50

“You lost your weapon?” Therxian echoed his mate’s reluctant admission in disbelief. He did not know why he was so surprised when she had already demonstrated her fearless willingness to explore the palace. However, he had assumed that she would not wander recklessly or put herself in a position of potential endangerment. He certainly had not expected to be greeted with this revelation. He had only just arrived, eager to reassure himself of his mate’s safety, and ease his anxiety. He had not been prepared to hear that she has lost her only means of protection. “How could you possibly lose your weapon?”

It defied any possible explanation.

Alex gave him a small, embarrassed smile. “I admit that I was probably not paying the closest attention when I started clearing away the fallen rock blocking the corridor to the palace’s west wing.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to clear away an obvious blockade.” He recognized that he was becoming increasingly agitated, but it did little to constrain his reaction.

“Well, yeah. It looked a bit suspicious, given the pristine condition of the rest of the palace. It seemed worth checking out.”

“A barrier could have been in place to keep something dangerous out of the palace,” he hissed. “You endangered yourself needlessly.”

“It could have,” she agreed. “But it seemed too convenient. And unlikely considering what we know. It seemed more like it was hiding a secret.”

“Perhaps so,” he reluctantly admitted. “And you did not consider that some secrets should remain buried?”

Alex gave him a surprised look. “Not a chance. It is where everything began and where everything returns to. A warped, purist struggle for power and killing off rivals and any threat to the desired order.”

“And it is the precursor to a bloody conflict that is still affecting the Uralial,” he reminded her testily. “What if there are Uralial still lurking around the elder palace... watching? If not for the fact that the meat gift left for you was clearly delivered by a winged male who would have direct access to that tunnel and who clearly lacks common sense by choosing to court a female with another male around her, I would have considered it a warning. But we cannot discount that they might be out there.”

“Yeah, I kind of considered that afterward,” she admitted with a wince. “You look angry.”

“I am not angry,” he immediately denied. “What you see is worry. I am worried. You should have waited for me to accompany you.” His gavo twitched anxiously and his mate peered up at him.

“I really didn’t consider it necessary. I was armed, and I’ve been alone in the palace since day one. It didn’t seem necessary to wait for you to accompany me. Am I to drag you around as I explore?” She paused and squinted up at him. “Are you sure you’re all right? You look like you’re about the have a stroke.”

“What is that?” he demanded, distracted by whatever she was accusing him of.

“It is where your heart stops functioning correctly,” she clarified. “It interrupts blood-flow to the brain.”

Therxian scoffed, but his gavo lifted in curiosity despite himself. “How can that happen. If one heart ceases working, there is a second one that will still operate. The situation will either be resolved, or one will live at half-strength.”

Alex’s lips twitched. “Not how it works with humans. We only come with one. And you just have that look.”