Serpent's Touch (Serpent's Touch 1)

“How is that horrible?” he scoffed. The human obviously didn’t get it. “My family and the people of Ellohi will view it as an honorable act on my part.” That had been the hope he nursed when faced with certain death from thirst and dehydration, that at least back home his people would think him a hero.

“Is that why you sacrificed yourself for him?” she asked. “To make your parents proud?”

She did get it, after all. She was way too sharp for her own good, he thought with some irritation. He kicked himself for letting his protective instincts and his love for his brother take over and land him in this crate. Yet if faced with the same situation again, he’d act the same.

“What would you do, Amira, had you been in my place? Would you let the bracks take your little brother? Or would you try to save him, even if it cost you your freedom?”

Silence stretched a little longer this time. He wondered if she was trying to imagine what having a brother would be like.

“No,” she finally said. “You did the right thing, the only thing to do in that situation. It’s just that… You’re trapped here, now.”

“And you don’t like that?” he asked quickly, too quickly, he feared.

“No,” she admitted.

“Then find a way to get me back home.” The words were on the tip of his tongue, begging to be said.But it was too soon. She was like a fish on his hook. If he yanked too hard, too soon, too carelessly, she’d run, leaving him to rot in this loathsome crate forever.

Amira was his one faint hope for freedom, and he had to tread carefully. He bit his tongue and kept silent.

“Tell me about your home.” Amira seemed insatiable in her desire for knowledge.

He didn’t mind feeding it. “My father’s palace is the greatest in Ellohi. It’s the most magnificent of all the High Lords’ in Lorsan—fit for a king.” It wasn’t empty boasting. The Court of Ellohi was one of the oldest and most affluent in the Kingdom.

“What does it look like?”

“Three great royal marsh trees comprise its core, with the waters of Layahi Bay flowing between their roots.”

“You live in a tree?”

He huffed a laugh. Did she think gorgonians were like cat monkeys? Building nests in the tree branches?

“I said I lived in a palace,” he replied indignantly. “It’s built inside and around the trees.”

“The trees are a part of the palace?” She sounded amazed and mesmerized.

“Yes. A hundred rooms are nestled between their branches. Stairs and bridges connect the sections. The grand hall is on the lower level, with the tree trunks forming its walls.”

“Do the trees have leaves?”

“Millions of them. Green and soft on one side, gold and glossy on the other. When the breeze blows, which it often does, the leaves turn and flip. It makes it look like the entire castle is showered with gold coins.”

“Wow… It sounds… Beautiful.”

“It is spectacular,” he agreed. “My room is one of the highest in the castle. As a child, I had a habit…” His lips twitched in a smile at the memories of his childhood. “Well, I tended to sneak out with my friends to ride rapids on my water board or to watch the blue serpents in the bay down the stream. My mother nearly collapsed with worry after finding my room empty one morning. So, my father ordered me moved as high as possible.”

“Did that stop you from escaping again?” There wasn’t much faith in her tone.

“No!” He laughed. “But I learned to return earlier, before the servants would come into my room to wake me in the morning.”

She kept silent for a minute, maybe going through the images he’d created in her mind. He enjoyed being plunged back into his past—the life he longed to return to one day.

“Do you have a lot of friends?” she asked.

“I do. So many, I lost count.”

“Must be nice,” she said wistfully.

He sensed loneliness in her. Loneliness so ancient and enduring, it made her sound much older than her twenty-somewhat years. The weight of it seemed to spread, seeping through the wood of the crate and pressing on his heart.

He rubbed his chest through his tunic. “When you’re the heir to a High Lord’s throne, making friends is easy. The challenge is figuring out which ones are genuine. Not all friends are real.”

“I guess…” she said hesitantly, then added, “Seventy-eight is not old for a fae, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” He stretched his shoulders. With water rejuvenating his body, he felt as young as ever. His muscles filled with strength, urging him to move. “I’ve heard fae and humans age the same at the beginning. Both grow and mature physically until their twenties or early thirties. After that, our aging slows down for centuries. We don’t start growing old until the very end of our lives.”

“So, in fae years…you’d be about my age, then? Right?”

That was a ridiculous notion. He’d lived three times as long as she had. He would be that much wiser and more mature, too, wouldn’t he?

Yet, there was something in her voice that stopped him from dismissing her question outright—hope, vulnerability, longing. It felt as if she searched for a connection between them. As if she really needed a friend.

He couldn’t be her friend, of course, but maybe he could pretend for a while?

“Right,” he conceded. “In fae years, I’m about your age.”

“Do you…have a girlfriend?”

He nearly choked on his next sip of water, spattering precious drops on his chin and chest. The question came unexpectedly.

She sounded innocent—curious, nothing more. Her life probably didn’t leave much room for a romantic relationship, though she was of age. Her interest shouldn’t be a surprise. It was his fault he’d been thinking of her more as a child than a woman.

He avoided answering her question directly. “In Lorsan, one doesn’t concern themselves with finding a mate until they’re about a hundred years of age or older. And if one is an heir to anything of significance, their marriage is a matter of state importance, unless a mating bond happens, of course.”

“A mating bond? What’s that?”

“It’s when one finds his other half. The legend says that gods rip a soul in half before giving each part a body and life. If two parts manage to find each other, theirs is the strongest, most powerful union of all.”

“And do they always find each other?” She sounded captivated.

“It doesn’t happen often for gorgonians. But if it does, it’s truly remarkable. My parents are a bonded couple. Their strengths and weaknesses complement each other, making them stronger. Their love is unconditional, and their loyalty is unshakable. Their rule over our land is absolute. Nothing and no one can stand in their way.”

“Wow. That’s… It’s nice to know there’s someone for you out there. Someone to complete you, so you’d never be alone.”

For him, a mating bond meant added power—useful for a ruler but not necessary to assume a throne. He’d hardly ever contemplated it as anything else before. Surrounded by courtiers and servants eager to fulfill his every wish and competing for his attention, he had never really been alone until Ghata locked him in this crate.

For Amira, the bond meant something far more personal, it seemed.