Serpent's Touch (Serpent's Touch 1)

“Is that why you don’t have a girlfriend?” she asked. “Are you waiting for your other half?”

He didn’t say he hadn’t had women in his life. He’d had many. Flirting was fun. And there were plenty of females at his father’s court who enjoyed his attentions and gladly allowed him to go way past flirting, too.

But he realized Amira was talking about someone more serious than the fun conquests he’d had.

“I don’t have what you’d call a ‘girlfriend,’” he replied. “But my parents do have someone in mind for me to marry. Lady Eiphed, the daughter of another Lorsan High Lord.”

“Do you love her?”

Love? Did she have any idea what she was talking about?

“I met her once, about six years ago.” Ever since, he’d been working hard to postpone the marriage to Lady Eiphed for as long as possible. “She’s nice. I’ve nothing against her.”

“But something isn’t right, is it? You don’t sound happy. You’re not in love.” It appeared, he wasn’t the only one who could read emotions in a voice.

“No. I’m not opposed to the idea…” He wasn’t waiting for his true mate—though finding one would be nice—but he was waiting for something. Something great, exciting, different had to happen in his life before he settled down into his father’s throne with a wife, a family of his own, and all the boring responsibilities of a High Lord. “It’s just too soon for me.”

Of course, the only “special” thing that had happened so far was his abduction and imprisonment by Ghata. He sighed. Even marriage didn’t seem as restrictive in comparison.

A sudden noise snapped him out of his gloomy thoughts. It came from outside. A battery of tiny thuds pummeled the roof of the vehicle they transported him in.

The stuffy air inside the crate quickly saturated with moisture. He sensed it first with his senties, then with the whole expanse of his skin.

“What is it?” he asked. “It sounds like rain.”

“It is rain,” Amira confirmed. “It starts suddenly like that sometimes. Good thing the truck is fully covered.”

He wished it wasn’t. Then he could’ve possibly caught a few drops through the barred opening in the top of the crate.

“Tell me, Amira, what does rain look like in this world?”

“Rain? The same as everywhere, I think. A bunch of water falling from the sky.”

Water.

He shoved back his hood, fanning out his senties around his head. Lifting his face up to the barred opening in the crate, he closed his eyes. Listening.

He felt the vibration of each droplet acutely, imagining it hitting his skin. He pretended he was there, outside, in the rain. Water would be running down his face and along his senties. It’d soak his clothes, pool in his boots, make his skin supple and soft again, allowing it to breathe.

Never before had he wished to be free of this crate so much.

“What is rain like in Ellohi?” Amira’s soft voice broke through the pattering of the droplets.

The rain back home was a true blessing.

“In Ellohi, a rainy day is a cause for celebration.” He kept his eyes closed, allowing his mind to transport him back to the Wetlands of Lorsan. “The creeks and rivers swell. New ones form. The fountains in the palace run higher. The many waterfalls we have streaming between the rooms down the branches of the giant trees grow wider. The air impregnates with moisture, nourishing every cell of one’s body. Joy reigns over the Kingdom, mightier than the King himself.”

“Tell me more,” she begged. “Please, tell me about the fountains and the waterfalls.”

Wonder floated in her voice. Amira was obviously hungry for something different from what life had dealt her so far. She was soaking up his every word.

She wanted more?

He would give her more. He would tell her about Lorsan until his mouth went dry again, if only that would keep bringing her to his crate again and again. He needed time to gain her trust and pull her to his side.

Then maybe one day, the tales about his home world and Amira’s voracious appetite for them would lead him to freedom.