Page 82 of King of Serpents

“Hithana, hunting is not without its risks,” he rumbled as he stroked her arm languidly with the fingertips of one hand. “But it is the most challenging hunt that is the sweetest. I have no doubt as to my path and destiny. Not anymore. And if that complicates things—then I will not grieve for the loss of simplicity. There is nothing I value more than this.”

“Me too,” she whispered. She expelled her breath in a soft laugh. “Okay, that didn’t sound nearly as impressively elegant as everything you just said. But me fucking too, Therxian. I love you, too.”

Holding her against his hearts, Therxian smiled. He had to return soon, but for now he would sleep within his mate’s embrace and allow himself to forget the demands of the rest of his world for just a short while.

Chapter 55

Alex sat cross-legged at the edge of the pool, watching the flat surface, her own reflection staring back at her. Her reflection furrowed its brow as her impatience and anxiety gradually grew. Drumming her fingers on her thigh, she frowned at the flat water. Surely it couldn’t be taking Therxian that long? What if he encountered a problem? If he did, how would she even know? She certainly wouldn’t be in any position to help.

If only she had her TRS. She could have utilized its aquatic environmental feature and gone with him instead of waiting on the surface and watching for even the tiniest ripple that could be a sign of her mate surfacing.

She sighed to herself. Cursing herself about her TRS was becoming a regular refrain. Perhaps when everything was done, she should at least consider returning to the colony to retrieve one. She was warm enough and comfortable in saghuin cloth, and it was unlikely that she would wear the TRS as daily wear within the shinara, but the other benefits would be nice to have on-hand should she ever need it.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Any time now. The waiting is killing me. You know I hate sitting idle and just waiting.”

Nothing. Ridiculously, her heart fell. She half expected her mate to rise from the water with some kind of witty remark about how that much was obvious.

“I am definitely going to get that fucking TRS, Therxian. I don’t care if you complain all the way back to the colony. I am going to get it because I’ll be damned if I am ever in this position again.”

And maybe that wasn’t entirely fair. He never blamed her for her human limitations or how woefully unprepared she was. He also never once even mentioned the fact that she didn’t even have the basic things with her that humans required for survival on most other planets. Nor had he ever suggested that he would not go to Raza or any other colony with her if she needed it. Of course, he hadn’t suggested returning for anything she needed either, but she was fair enough to recognize that he probably didn’t even know what she needed or how multi-functional a TRS was.

Sighing heavily, she rocked back and allowed her gaze to drift over the cavern walls. The wide lip of the pool suggested that it was likely designed as another spot within the palace for residents to gather. Perhaps it was even more exclusively used by the Uralial than the lower pool within the palace. She could just imagine a semi-aquatic species darting through the water to more open depths beyond the cavern wall.

“Just how much water is back there, anyway?” she mumbled.

Water splashed to her left, startling her as her mate broke through, water droplets running over his scales. An arc of water sprayed as he expanded and snapped his gavo and peered at her tiredly. “Much more than you would think,” he grumbled and hoisted himself out of the water.

Alex grimaced sympathetically. “That much?”

He snapped his gavo again, but it was barely a flicker of movement this time as if it was weighed down significantly with his exhaustion. “This entrance opens into a great expanse of water with numerous tunnels going in multiple directions. I picked one tunnel and followed it for a fair distance, only turning back upon seeing no overt signs that it was being used for regular passage by the Uralial. And then picked another. What is worse is that each tunnel has many branches from their start. And I only explored a small fraction of the main tunnels.” He sighed heavily. “It is just going to take time, hithana. I will need to make my mother aware of this. We may have to consider other options.”

Alex bit her lip. “What other options do we have?”

He flicked his ears wearily. “Outside of fighting our way to the surface? Not many. It could take considerable time to find our way to the Uralial. More time than we have.”

She rubbed her eyes with one hand. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“We may have to search for an alternate route from the elder shinara that leads to the main cave system and return to your colony where we can directly enlist the hunters instead. Perhaps someone knows how to find the Uralial.”

“Ehsash would,” she mumbled. As much as she appreciated that he was willing to approach the colony directly, it didn’t sound like it was going to be particularly helpful. Not when their only lead to the Uralial wasn’t there. “Unfortunately, he is somewhere out there with Vi.” She bit her lip. “If we could find them, perhaps he knows how to find them. His mother dwells at times in the colony. It is possible that if we find a way out to Raza, she can help us if we are fortunate in our timing. But that is a shot in the dark.”

“It seems there are no solutions before us with good odds of success,” Therxian rumbled. He stared absently down into the pool as his tail dragged tiredly in the water, the luminescence of his gavo shimmering beneath the surface. “For the first time, I do not know what path we should take.”

Alex slid closer to his side and rested her cheek comfortingly against his shoulder. She didn’t say anything. No words would magically solve their problems. All she could do was silently reassure him that she was there.

Therxian’s arm shifted beneath her cheek and came around her, drawing her against his torso, his damp wing folding around her. The water droplets slightly chilled her, but the heat radiating from him quickly chased it away. Angling her head down, she watched the dance of light from the gavo on his tail trailing beneath the water as he held her. They would get through it together. She just hoped that the cost was not too high. She was really worried about all the unknowns facing them.

Chapter 56

“So, this is how the path forward lies,” Zathexa observed with quiet dignity. She was taking it better than Therxian thought she would. There was not a trace of anger or sorrow, nor defeat. Just acceptance and determination in every proud line of her face.

“Unfortunately, these appear to be the options that we are currently left with,” Therxian reported grimly. “But, as of yet, we still have time.”

He cast a questioning look for affirmation as Healer Zhia and the female inclined her head with a gentle snap of her gavo.

“The high queen’s health remains stable at this time with the new treatment, so long as we avoid stressors that could inflame the symptoms and cause the poison to rapidly attack her body once more.”

His mother waved a hand dismissively at the healer, demonstrating a hint of impatience at her own weakness. “It matters little. If we must, we will fly directly through the glatha cavern and seek refuge among the humans.” She sighed heavily. “There will be no Uralialian cure for me, we must accept that, but I will hold on so that I can humble myself before the hunters to assure the future of the shinara.”