Page 99 of King of Serpents

That was until a dry cough of amusement reminded them of where they were, and Alex grinned sheepishly over at a frail but smiling Zathexa as Jathella carefully lifted her from the water. Tears sprung to Alex’s eyes as she wrestled from her mate’s arms and hurried over to the female’s side.

“How did this happen?” she whispered frantically. “I only saw you a few days ago.”

“The poison is advancing,” Healer Zhia quietly informed her, her mouth setting into a grim line. “The queen has also been subjected to tremendous shock. I need to find a place where I can get her stabilized and perhaps meet with a local healer.”

A nestling who had bravely ventured closely to satisfy his curiosity suddenly shot up in the water excitedly. “My grandmother is a healer,” he shouted. “I will go get her! She will want to check on Luoa anyway now that he’s back.”

Without even waiting for an answer one way or the other, the nestling dove under the water and shot for the shore with a shocking speed that made Alex gape.

“They are quite fast,” Zathexa murmured with a soft laugh. “I do not even recall having that kind of energy, much less speed.”

“You will have more energy soon enough. Let’s get you out of the water,” Alex replied as she glanced toward Jathella.

The female nodded and with Buosoa’s help, the two of them carried the queen out of the water. By the time they arrived at the shore, an elderly healer was quickly gliding over the sand toward them, her face lined with concern.

“Come, set her over here,” the healer hissed, directing them toward a low bench that a pair of Uralial vacated to watch wide-eyed. Therxian did not even set Alex on her feet but carried her in his arms as they followed Jathella over to the bench. The female’s gaze turned to Healer Zhia, her fins rising curiously as her gaze raked over her. “I am Healer Noa. I assume that you are the healer attending to her. Explain this to me quickly.”

“Poisoning,” Zhia replied and proceeded to explain the case to the healer as she moved her hands over the queen’s body. “I am afraid the high queen won’t last long without imminent treatment.”

“The high queen!” The whisper rose from among the gathering crowd and rapidly spread, attracting more onlookers until they were joined by a silver male of some decorated office by looking at him. Luoa leaned heavily on him, and Alex recalled that Vi had pointed him out from a distance and described him as the chieftain of the wyrda.

He wore a heavy frown as he approached, his pale eyes studying her. Seemingly satisfied as to her identity, he lowered his head respectfully.

“My queen,” he greeted her solemnly. “Never before in our history has a member of the royal family sought the wyrda of the Uralial to take sanctuary with us and to know us. We welcome you and your company,” he added, his eyes sliding briefly over the rest of them.

Zathexa raised her gavo weakly in acknowledgement before letting it drop as her remaining strength slipped away. The chieftain looked inquiringly at the elderly healer.

“The poison that has infected her is familiar to me,” she replied.

“Can you cure her?” Therxian asked, his body shifting forward eagerly.

Her eyes turned to him before dropping back to the queen. “There is no cure that will work on any female this far gone. It has been too long. But,” she continued as she watched him drop back in shock, “not all hope is lost. I can stop the progression of the poison so that she may live the revolutions that remain in peace, but she will never regain her full strength. She will need rest and peace.”

“My days as queen are over,” Zathexa sighed, but there was no sorrow on her face, only a profound look of relief.

Alex set a hand on her mate’s arm, silently reassuring him as she looked up at his face. He looked more haggard too. It seemed that the events of the last couple of days had weighed heavily on everyone.

He lowered his eyes to his mother’s face, and the queen looked up, a tired smile on her face. He covered Alex’s hand with his own, drawing comfort from her presence as he obviously struggled with his grief. “I wanted to save you,” he rasped.

“Therxian, you have,” she whispered. “I was lost, dead inside, but merely existing while I held onto duty. You reminded me of what was important. You made me live again, despite my desire to fade away.” She laughed softly, her eyes closing. “And I am not dying yet. I will be here so that I can hold your nestlings. But from here on you must forgive me because I must relinquish all my burdens to you, my son. You will continue our line forward. It all rests on you.”

The chieftain ungulated forward, his eyes fastened steadily on Therxian. “Who are you?”

Zathexa turned her head to meet his curious gaze. “This is my son, Therxian. King of the Aglatha.”

The chieftain jolted in surprise, and all around him Uralial males and females bent forward, lowering themselves to the ground. Therxian straightened, his eyes went wide, and Alex smothered a smile. He had clearly not expected such a reception. She patted his arm affectionately as he slowly lowered her to the ground to move toward the nearest male and female. Reaching for them, he tugged them upward.

“This is not necessary,” he protested. And Alex understood. He had intended to save the Aglatha, not to become the actual king.

The chieftain, however, smiled, his fins lowering as he bowed. Therxian reached for him, but the male’s hand clasped her mate firmly around the forearm, and he met his eyes.

“It has passed as it was meant to,” he rumbled. “You may not want it, and it may be a heavier weight than you wish to bear, but the high queen in her wisdom has relinquished it to you, as she was also meant to do. It is all a part of Shangla’s loom.”

“I do not know how to be a king,” Therxian protested, but the chieftain laughed.

“No great leaders are born with the knowledge. You were not reared and groomed for it, but you will tread this path with humility and respect because of that, and will carve out a new future by understanding the errors of our most distant fathers and the mother-line.” The chieftain’s eyes swept the crowd, his voice raising for their benefit. “The ways of our ancient forefathers are gone, and the ways of the queens of the shinaras are fading away. This is a momentous occasion for us all. It is the first step that the children of Shangla must take as the old ways are replaced with a promise of an age of peace where male and female, Uralial and Seshanamitesh, are joined together as one. We, the Uralial, greet you, High King Therxian, king of the Aglatha Deeps.”

He gaped at the male and looked down at Alex beseechingly.