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Never make a bargain. Never enter the woods…too late.
My eyes were locked on the spot where the tail created slight swirls around my feet, almost bewitching me in a trance-like state. Hypnotic. I shook my head. “I have no magic.”
“Liar,” it rattled, abrupt and deafeningly loud. “Liesss. You know if you use the magic that wasss given to you, it will only call the othersss like you. You mussst have been warned.”
“How do you know of this?” I asked.
“The forest whispersss. Your very exissstence interests usss. The queen who is bothhh human and not. Who was born as the Source erupted and hid for years in plain sssight in the kitchens of the black castle.”
I went stiff at the hissing sound of its words, but this time, not from fear. “What do you mean, I am human and not?”
My pulse quickened as it seemed to take too long to reply. Bael had said much the same thing—not human. Could that be true? I’d never known who my father was, and now, I’d never wished more that I’d pushed my mother harder for answers when she was alive.
The snake released a menacing hiss. “Do not think I will answer your questions simply because you ask them. I am not an oracle to be held at your disposal.”
“But do you know?” I tried, almost desperate. “If you know about me, then do you know more—”
It snapped its great jaws, so close to my face that I jumped back just in time to avoid losing my head. Terror shot through me again, and I clamped my mouth shut.
“You foolish, insolent child. You could be a sssymbol of hope for the revolution or a beloved pet living in luxury at the dark castle. But now it seems your fate is to be nothing more than an insubstantial morsel—quickly gulped down and discarded without thought.”
I tore my eyes away from the shimmering scales, forcing myself to meet its too-large eyes as, again, I pulled the heat from deep within my chest.
This time, there was no hesitation. No spark, no shaking in my fingers as the tiniest orange flame appeared in my palm.
“Extingguishhh that!” it hissed. “Ssstop!”
“If you intend to eat me anyway, why should it matter to me what happens or what is called? I will be dead.”
I held my breath, and this time, I was quite sure it was thinking. It was hard to tell when the creature had no nose, no humanoid mouth, yet its expression appeared contemplative. “True enough.”
I let my shoulders slump, uncaring if it could see my relief.
“A bargain, then,” I said quickly, not liking how fast the words sprung to my lips. My mother would be horrified. “I will not use the magic if you let me go.”
I could not have held that flame longer than another second, anyway. Unlike Bael, who I imagined must have years of practice with all sorts of magic, I was grateful to have simply made a single light. Now, I felt as if I could crawl into bed and sleep for eternity.
The snake waved its head back and forth, and it took me a moment to realize it was shaking, as if to say “no.” It opened its wide mouth again, hissing its reply. “But I am hungry, ssstarving. Ravenousss.”
I glanced back and thought of the other bodies in the water, not wanting to point out that it could have easily eaten any one of them. “Fine. I’ll…bring you other meat.”
I did not have to specify when or what meat I would bring it. It could be twenty years from now and a single rabbit. Even thinking that worried me…that was far too Fae-like. In fact, if not for the fact that I could still lie fluently, I might be on the verge of nervous collapse.
I did not want to be anything likethem. Did not want to think like them. It was no hardship to swear against powers I’d never wished for.
“Not jussst any meat,” the snake replied. “Royal blood?”
Shit.
I still had some time to decide what to do—maybe there was a way I could capture Prince Scion? It would surely be better for the country if he were fed to a snake. “Fine.”
“Ssswear it,” the snake demanded. “Ssswear on your name.”
I quickly surveyed the area, my body stiff. I hadn’t uttered my name for years, let alone twice in a matter of weeks. It felt so foreign that had I not spoken it aloud to Gwydion only recently, I might have had to consider for a moment to remember. Instead, my hands only balled into fists, and my stomach tightened as I anticipated regretting this decision.
“Elowyn,” I said bitterly. “I, Elowyn of Nightshade, swear to return to you with an offering of royal blood.”
Though it may not be for a century, I added in my head. If I couldn’t lure Scion here, I’d come myself when I was old enough to be on my deathbed.
