by Alice Wilde
I almost want to laugh as the shifter continues to talk to himself about his own schemes. I might have if Roan’s situation wasn’t so dangerous, and I wasn’t afraid of giving myself up.
“Roan, hang in there as long as you can,” I say through the link.
“Hurry,” Roan says before breaking the link between our minds.
The shifter seems to realize he’s crushing his prey to death, and I let out a soft sigh as he shifts his snake body enough to keep Roan pinned down but allow him to breathe.
“Oops, how rude of me,” he hisses. “I wouldn’t want to kill you by accident, now would I? What’s the fun in that? It’s so much nicer when you get to control how things turn out. And normal people are so easily manipulated. I’m surprised Luo managed to convince another shifter to do his dirty work. He must have something you desperately want for you to agree to all of this.”
The serpent looks down at Roan curiously for a long moment, his eyes narrow. His tongue flicks out.
“My, you have a strong smell. I suppose you thought covering yourself in the scent of my prey would help, but unfortunately for you, I only eat upstairs. Much too laborious to drag them all the way down here, and I don’t like sleeping where I eat.”
I hold my breath at his remark.
“Too bad you can’t speak in your leopard form,” he says. “I suppose not all shifters are made equally, are they?”
At this, the snake shifter turns and looks directly at me. This is not going at all as planned.
“There’s no use trying to escape. Why don’t you come out so we can have a little chat?”
I hesitate for a second but know full well what he says is true. Slowly stepping out from behind the wall, I take a few steps forward so I’m just barely inside the cavern.
“I’m assuming this is your companion?” the shifter asks.
“Yes.”
The monstrous serpent almost seems to smile at this. “I’ve always found it funny that mortal shifters are so much less powerful than their corrupted counterparts. In fact, I’ve rarely met one who wasn’t owned or in some way subordinate to another being. Are you this one’s keeper?”
I glance over at Roan’s snow leopard before making a split-second decision.
“I am.”
The snake laughs at this, a strange, almost airless kind of sound. “You see?” he says, looking down at Roan. “Humans. Always thinking they can manipulate and control us. Wouldn’t you rather be your own master? I can do that for you. I could set you free. Together, we could live an eternity, taking what we want and wreaking havoc on mankind.”
He turns back to look at me, his eyes gleaming. “All I have to do is get rid of you!”
The serpent suddenly strikes out at me, his mouth and fangs hurtling toward me at an astounding speed. I barely manage to leap out of the way and land, crouching near one of the pools of lava.
“Fast, aren’t you?”
“And a good thing, too,” I retort. Perhaps if I can distract him enough, it will allow Roan the opportunity to escape and hopefully join me in taking this monster down. Not exactly how I had hoped this would all go down, but at least it’s a plan…for now.
That line of thought is quickly thrown out. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the snake’s tail winding its way around Roan, as if to make sure he can’t get away while he’s focused on me.
The snake strikes at me again, but I manage to roll out of the way at the last second. The serpent lets out a strange, garbled sound and I look to see he overshot his attack. A small space just behind his head is sizzling and raw from briefly slipping off the side of the stone and into the lava.
“You’ll pay for that,” he hisses, lunging at me with even more ferocity.
In his rage, he misses me entirely, or at least I think he does. My stomach drops as a deafening scream rises and then fades just as quickly, and I turn to find he wasn’t aiming for me at all…
“Roan!”
“Now, now,” the serpent says, tossing Roan’s limp body against the wall at the back of the cavern. He continues winding menacingly around me so that I have to turn to keep his face in front of my own until my back is facing Roan.
“You must make a choice. You can turn your back to me in an effort to save your precious shifter by sucking the venom out before it sets in, ultimately dying in his stead, or you can continue to fight me and allow the poison to kill him. Either way, only one of you has any chance of making it out of here alive.”
I stare at him in horror as I try to make sense of the situation.
“Come now, you don’t have much time. What will it be?” the snake asks with obvious relish. “Will you give up your own life to save his, or will you continue to fight me in an effort to save your own neck?”
Before the words have finished leaving the creature’s mouth, I’ve spun on my heel and sprinted to Roan’s body. He’s bleeding from his lower abdomen, but not as heavily as I would have imagined, and it appears as though he’s only been punctured by one fang. I drop to my knees beside him, running my hands across his body in an effort to feel how much damage has already been done.
“Fool,” the serpent hisses with glee.
I sit back on my heels and focus. At the last second, I spin around and anchor myself firmly against the floor and Roan’s body. The serpent’s mouth is opened wide, and I barely manage to jam my foot into his lower jaw while holding the top one open with my opposite hand.
He’s obviously surprised by my reaction, and I use it to my advantage. Grabbing onto one of his outstretched fangs, I tear it out. Swinging my arm with as much force as I can manage, I bury the fang deep into the open wound at the side of his head.
The red snake lurches away from me, screeching in pain, his eyes crazed and furious.
“Imbecile!” he screeches. “You’ve only sealed your own fate. I can’t be killed by a mere mortal.”
“I think you’ll find that you haven’t been,” I say before briefly shifting into my leopard form.
The serpent lets out a horrified shriek and then drops to the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head. I quickly shift back and turn to Roan, running my hands back over him to return his heartbeat. I grit my teeth and then lower my head to the wound to suck out the venom before it can reach his heart.
I spit and a thick purple liquid splashes onto the floor. It’s unlike any venom I’ve ever encountered and almost has a pleasant taste to it, possibly to trick an ordinary person who tries to suck it out into swallowing it instead. Running my hands across Roan’s body, I check to see if there are any remnants of the poison and find there’s still a trace amount left.
Roan’s body twitches, and before I can move, he’s shifted back into his human form.
“What in the hell are you doing,” Roan snaps, looking down at me anxiously.
The shock of his sudden shift wears off, and I realize that not only am I pinning his naked body down with my face positioned in quite the worst place possible, I am not wearing anything either.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I say as I push away from him as quickly as possible. “I was only trying to get rid of the poison in your body.”
“That’s certainly not what it looked like,” Roan says, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I’d…I…Never in a thousand years—” I start to say.
Then I realize Roan is grinning. “I know it’s hard to resist, but, all the same, I’d prefer your face to remain a reasonable distance from my dick for the foreseeable future.”
I roll my eyes. Of course he’d be able to joke in a situation like this, but it’s nice to see he’s starting to act like himself again.
“There’s still some poison in your bloodstream,” I say.
“No way, no how,” Roan says dismissively.
My jaw tightens as I try to think of how best to proceed. Not that I want to suck it out. But I’d much less rather let him die.
“Can I touch you?”
“Depends on what you mean b
y touch,” Roan replies and then holds out his arm in my direction.
Taking it, I try to focus on the internal workings of his body. The poison hasn’t moved much, but it is moving.
“Roan, we may only have at most a few hours before the poison makes its way to your heart.”
“Then we’d better get moving,” Roan says, shifting his body to stand.
“Wait, don’t move,” I command as I dig my fingers into his arm and focus once again. Roan freezes, much to my surprise. “The poison just spread significantly with your change in heart rate.”
“What the devil does that mean?”
“You’ll be dead before we reach the end of the room if we don’t get it all out now.”
“Seriously?” Roan says with a groan.
“Hey, I’m even less excited by this discovery than you, believe me.”
“Just imagine if Annalise was here.”
“It would be a lot less difficult if that were the case,” I say.
“I don’t know about that,” Roan says with a shake of his head. “She’d probably just laugh and watch. I doubt she’d be any help at all.”
“You’re probably right,” I say with a laugh. “Now, lay down. Let’s get this over with.”
“Just remember never to use that line with a woman,” Roan says as he eases himself back down onto the floor.
I close my eyes and try to focus on the task at hand.
“Hey, open your eyes,” Roan says. “Don’t you dare go down on me with your eyes closed.”
It’s only now that I notice he’s using humor as a coping mechanism for the situation.
“At least help me out a bit and move your own penis out of the way.”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you wanted to touch it,” Roan says with an uncomfortable grin as he immediately reaches down to cover himself.
“Ready?”
“I’ll never be ready,” Roan groans and then covers his face with his other arm.
I take a deep breath in to steady myself, but in the sweltering heat of the room, it doesn’t do much. Placing my hands around the puncture in Roan’s lower abdomen, I lean down once again and suck at the wound.
“Happy place…Annalise…Naked…” Roan murmurs to himself.
I can taste the poison starting to leave his body, but I am also noticing a very unwelcome change in Roan’s own anatomy and hurry to finish what I’m doing. Pulling away from him as soon as I sense the last of the poison leave his system, I spit onto the floor.
“Seriously, Roan?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen, but once I started thinking about Annalise…”
I snort as I turn to get dressed.
Roan gets to his feet, but shakily.
“You’ll more than likely experience some side effects.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Trauma not being the least of them,” Roan says as he makes his way through the cavern to collect his own clothes.
Walking over to the serpent, I tear out the other fang. Hopefully this will be enough proof for the emperor.
Fifteen
Annalise
The peaceful chirping of little birds outside a nearby window wakes me, and I look around the room in confusion, trying to recollect where I am. As reality settles in, I calm down until I remember the emperor’s request at dinner.
I stretch, rolling my shoulder and neck as I try to decide how to go about the rest of the day. I need to find out if Roan and Li made it back at some point during the night. There’s no use worrying about the emperor until I know what’s happened to my men.
I walk to a sliding door and pull it open to let in a lady’s maid, who starts to help prepare me for the day. I’d do it myself, but my wardrobe seems to be in a constant state of change, and I can barely step out of the room before I’m flanked by guards or servants. The palace itself is expansive and stunning, but I feel as trapped here as I did back home. Nothing but a bird locked in a cage.
The maid finishes dressing me as another servant enters with a woven, lidded basket and pot of tea. She places them on a small table and pours out a cup of tea for me before lifting the top of the wooden basket. Steam oozes out in a thick cloud and slowly evaporates to reveal puffy white buns.
I sip carefully at my tea as I wait for the buns to cool, then I grab one in each hand and hurry from the room in search of Luo before either of the servants has time to protest. A guard keeps pace behind me, and I munch away at the soft buns as I make my way around the edge of one of the gardens toward the emperor’s quarters.
The guards at the outer door let me in without so much as a second glance, but it takes a while to find where Luo is staying within his own section of the palace. When I do, the men standing guard outside his chambers move to block me from entering.
“I need to see the emperor,” I say, although I’m sure they can’t understand my words.
They seem to understand what I want, but shake their heads in response. Luo’s voice calls lazily from within the room, and one of the men answers. After a long pause, I hear the patter of feet, and several barely-covered women exit the emperor’s bedroom, pushing themselves between the two guards to get by. A few seconds later, Luo says something, and the two men move aside to let me in.
The room is a mess. A sizable makeshift bed has been made in the center of the room, and the air is heavy with the scent of intermingling bodies. Luo is lying in the middle of the pile of bedding, eating fruit from a large basket. His jet black hair is let out and falls down past shoulders in an unexpectedly attractive way, but I avert my eyes as soon as I notice what he’s wearing…barely. His silk robe lays beautifully over his arms, but it’s been left untied and leaves very little to the imagination.
“Hungry?” Luo asks as I draw near.
“No, thank you,” I say. “I’ve already eaten.”
“Very well. Sit.” Luo gestures at the bedding on the floor, and I do as he says but position myself as far away from him as possible without appearing rude.
“I think I know why you’ve come,” Luo says and then notices my look of concern. “Don’t worry, I won’t force you to make a decision until the end of the day. But, no, I have no news of your men. They have yet to return, and at this point, I can only fear the worst has happened.”
My heart sinks in my chest. I don’t know what I had expected, especially when I woke up alone this morning. If they had returned, I’m sure they would have come to see me first.
“Take the day to think on my offer,” the emperor says. “I may not be the man of your dreams, but you’ll have a far more comfortable life here than most.”
I can’t argue with him over that. Luo isn’t unattractive in the slightest…physically. But I don’t feel the same things for him as I do for my men. The spark that I get whenever Roan, Li, or Ero are near doesn’t exist with Luo, and I’m not even sure I can stand to spend the rest of life with him, even if it is purely a political relationship.
Besides, I can’t stand the way Luo behaves, especially with his other women.
I smile noncommittally at Luo and nod.
“You can go,” Luo says with a wave of his hand. “I have work I need to do, but I expect an answer by sunset.”
I leave the room as quickly as politeness will allow. At least he isn’t forcing himself on me. Gods, is that my standard now for a good man?
I spend the rest of the morning wandering through the gardens near my own quarters, never venturing far enough away that Roan or Li couldn’t find me easily. Morning turns to afternoon, and I can’t help the nerves rising within me. Time is passing far too quickly, and there’s still no sign of them.
I steady myself on a nearby tree as I suddenly realize that I’m actually going to have to make a decision in regards to Luo’s proposal. Am I willing to marry this man? Could I live out the rest of my life like this? If I’ve lost my men, is there even a better option for me?
I could try to go back, but then I’d have to face Damien alone. There’s no way I
could unite the Highlanders and Vikings on my own, and I doubt the emperor will be eager to send an army off with the woman who’s just rejected his offer. But perhaps if I agree to be his empress, Luo would fight for me. We might still have a chance at defeating Damien.
My head spins as I try to think through my options, and then another thought suddenly races to the forefront of my mind. The emperor doesn’t know I’m pregnant. I’m going to have to tell him if I decide to accept his offer, and then what?
I stumble to a nearby bench as I try not to hyperventilate. My anxiety suddenly turns to anger as I focus on the source of all of my problems. Even from afar, Damien has torn my life from my own hands, and by all the gods, I will not stop until I take it back.
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I return to my room to prepare myself for the night ahead.
I stare at my reflection for a long time, willing myself to move forward with my decision. It had been easy to be angry and resolute when there were still several hours left to decide, but the afternoon had come and gone, and my men are still nowhere to be found. I try not to think about what this means, but my eyes sting at the thought.
Standing, I walk slowly out of my room, holding my head high, and do my best to keep my composure as I make my way back to Luo’s quarters. A servant greets me at the entrance and guides me through the hallways to a different room from this morning.
The guards let me in without any trouble this time, and I find myself stepping into a room of white and gold. Long white curtains and golden lanterns hang from the ceiling in various sizes, twinkling like stars. In the center of the room is a small table set with only a few dishes, instead of the overwhelming amounts of food I’d grown accustomed to seeing.
There’s a sliding door on one side of the room, and Luo is quietly looking out of a window opposite me.
