Chapter 17 - Venom’s Embrace

"They thought I was their prey —

but they had no idea what hunted them."

-Nest Of Serpests

by E.S.Mare

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Adara came over to me. She said Vilas was fine. I didn’t answer, but she kept talking anyway.

She said she had taken him food. That she had cursed at him while tending his wounds. And she laughed about it.

Like there was something amusing in all of this.

If I hadn’t been so numb, I might have strangled her right then.

Naturally, she assumed I was too broken to lash out.

She thought I was weak. But she’d never seen what I could really do—because I hadn’t been able to show her.

I never expected everything to go perfectly while we were escaping, but this… this was beyond anything I could’ve imagined.

The Lions hadn’t even crossed my mind.

At worst, I thought we’d go a little hungry, maybe get overwhelmed sneaking past the Scorpions. I hadn’t counted on being locked up, starved, poisoned, and left to fight off sickness like some half-dead animal.

And the worst part?

As a Serpent—being poisoned.

Poison was always our tool. Not theirs.

But someone had clearly taken a sick pleasure in turning our own methods against us.

In time, the trembling faded. The nausea dulled. Even the pain in my back receded a little.

I didn’t think they would heal me. But perhaps I was wrong.

Still... understanding the Lions was like trying to read fire—beautiful, cruel, and ever-shifting. Maybe this was their twisted way of breaking Serpents. A slow, cruel game.

Even though Lian claimed he hated games, that was a lie.

Everything he did was part of one.

A game without rules—only torment.

He knew we weren’t spies. He had known for a long time. But instead of letting us go... or killing us... he wanted to drag it out.

Make us suffer.

Even Raiden was better than he was. At least he didn’t pretend.

At least he made it clear he wanted us dead.

If Lian hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve done it long ago.

At some point, I heard Lian, Raiden, and Arlo leave. It happened quickly, almost in a whisper. Adara had been talking endlessly beside me, and I must have drifted off. Prince Adrastis haunted every corner of my dreams. Every path I took to flee from him ended up circling back. Even when Vilas reached out to me, I couldn’t touch his hand; something always dragged me back toward Adrastis. Again and again, I found myself breathless at the end of a dark corridor—and a hand would reach for mine. I knew it was Vilas. I knew I could never grasp it. And yet... I looked.

At first I thought it was Vilas, but it wasn’t him. It was the Lion.

Lian.

He saw my shock and smiled—a smile I had never seen before.

He didn’t hesitate.

He took my hand.

It was strange. I expected revulsion, a familiar sting of hatred. But what I felt was something else entirely. It was new. Awake. Like drawing breath again after nearly drowning.

That was when my eyes snapped open.

Before I could register the dream, something far more real struck me. Someone was leaning over me. Their bright blue eyes glowed faintly in the dark. Scales shimmered across one cheek—Serpent. But I didn’t recognize the face. I didn’t need to. The fear that gripped me didn’t care about names.

The White Serpent Kingdom had discovered my hiding place.

My lips parted, but the Serpent clamped his hand over my mouth before I could utter a sound.

“Shh,” it whispered, and held a knife to my throat. Tilting its head to one side, it stared at me, unblinking. My heart pounded as other footsteps echoed nearby. Of course it wasn’t alone. I hadn’t expected anyone to track me, certainly not like this. Who did he serve? The Queen? The King?

Adrastis?

The Serpent gave a slight, pleased nod and turned its head to the right. His voice finally broke free.

“Dars! There’s a Serpent up here!”

Only then did I realize I’d been holding my breath.

He wasn’t looking for me. He didn’t even know who I was.

Then who were they?

“There’s another one down there,” came the reply—a woman’s voice.

The other Serpent—Dars—stepped into the moonlight. His bald head gleamed under the pale rays that filtered through the cracks in the walls.

“Did they catch a Serpent for us?” he asked with a grin. One of his teeth was chipped, and dark tattoos ran across his scalp, their shapes unreadable.

He grabbed the collar of my dress, yanking it down roughly. I didn’t resist, though my mind screamed to fight back. He stared at the bandages across my chest with visible irritation.

I blinked.

Adara had treated my back… but she hadn’t wrapped it.

Then who had? Could it have been... them?

My thoughts tangled further.

“He’s wounded,” said the bald one, a note of disappointment in his voice. “Not moving either—must be drugged.”

“Should I kill him?” asked the one still covering my mouth.

Had I been a proud Lion like Lian, I would have torn them apart for daring to steal my prey. But Lian was nowhere to be seen. And if that Serpent had pushed his knife just a little deeper into my throat, I wouldn’t even have had time to scream.

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Then I noticed something strange—my hands weren’t trembling. My thoughts were sharper than ever. Even the pain along my back had dulled.

I was free.

Still, I didn’t resist. I kept still, let them think I was dazed. One wrong move, and I’d shatter the illusion—with my fist in the Serpent’s face, if needed. I was still bound by chains—but my mind was free.

The Bald Serpent clicked his tongue. “We’ll strip her and check her when we get there. If she’s manageable, we’ll sell her at the slave market.” He turned his head toward the stairs. “Is that female down there?”

“Male,” said the other—same woman’s voice, sharp and steady.

“Let him rot,” the bald one snapped. “What else did you find?”

“Nothing,” said the other Serpent with clear annoyance. “Not a scrap. Even the warehouses are empty.”

Looters.

The Bald Serpent cursed under his breath. “Fifth Lion den we've raided. Still nothing worth taking.”

“Garsi won’t be happy,” muttered the other.

Garsi… I had heard that name before. Once, while sneaking out of the palace, I’d eavesdropped on looters whispering in a tavern. They had spoken of the Serpent named Garsi, who had returned with treasure beyond imagining. Back then, I hadn’t wondered who he was. Just another thief with a famous name—sure to be punished eventually.

But punishment never came.

The White Serpent Kingdom didn’t seem to mind.

I finally understood why.

Because these looters weren’t ransacking Serpent villages.

They were only Lions. Why would anyone in the White Serpent Kingdom care?

“Someone’s going to pay for this,” the bald man hissed.

“What do we do?” asked the one covering my mouth.

The bald man laughed, a vile, wet sound. “What we always do. We warm up a little.”

He looked me over with slow, revolting satisfaction, pulling up my dress to bare my legs.

“We’re not leaving empty-handed. If she’s healed up, she’ll fetch a fine price.” He turned to his companion.

“Take her.”

Were they idiots? They had found two Serpents —tied up in a Lion’s home—and hadn’t questioned it for a moment.

They were definitely idiots.

But where were the Lions?

My thoughts whirled, but I kept listening. The Serpent leaned in, his breath against my cheek.

“If you scream, I’ll slit your throat.”

My brows furrowed. He flung me over his shoulder—and I let him. Every nerve screamed, but my mind stayed silent. I had thought I was still bound—but as I moved, the chains slipped free. I caught them before they hit the floor, before their sound could betray me.

My eyes narrowed.

The chains were open.

I was completely unbound.

And he didn’t realize.

He carried me out the door, unaware. I didn’t move. There could be more Serpents nearby. I had to think. Vilas could wait. Sharper than any blade, my thoughts cut through the haze. Even if the Lions had truly abandoned us, I wasn’t sure they were the ones who’d unlocked my chains.

Besides, Lian—that filthy creature—had made it clear for days that we were not free to go. They’d been searching for looters, hadn’t they? Maybe they thought we were among them. Now, though, the real looters were here… and the Lions were not.

Perhaps they'd gone to check the other houses, chasing ghosts while the real danger slipped past them.

Still, none of that explained the chains.

My head throbbed from being carried upside down. Outside, a carriage waited. Horses stamped the earth with restless hooves. As the Serpent dragged me toward it, I heard the bald one’s voice again.

“Set it on fire.”

Vilas…

My questions could wait.

Vilas couldn’t.

I quickly reached out, seizing the knife from the Serpent’s hand. “May I?” I kept my voice steady. As I threw myself back, a sharp burn ran across my back. The Serpent’s wide eyes stared at me, and I grinned, flashing my sharp teeth. “If you scream, I’ll...” I drove the knife into his neck, yanking it out in one smooth motion. A muffled sound escaped his throat as his hands loosened. When my feet hit the ground, I staggered but regained my balance. As the Serpent collapsed, blood spilling from his wound, I smacked my lips in a quiet mockery. “I acted too soon. I was going to say I’d slit you open, then I would’ve slit you open.”

The bald man roared in a way that signaled he’d noticed me. The moment I turned toward him, he lunged and knocked me to the ground. He cursed, his hands wrapping around my throat. My breath had already been stolen by the impact of my head hitting the earth, and now he was cutting off what little was left. I kicked him between the legs with all my strength, and he howled in pain. As his grip loosened, I drove the knife into his chest. But he still tried to lunge at me. I sank my teeth into his neck and tore a piece free. He screamed, and I spat the chunk into his face. I’d been trained in military tactics, but unlike the Serpent Soldiers, I fought like a wild animal. I didn’t follow rules; I followed my instincts. If my mother were here to see this, she wouldn’t be proud of me. But who cared about her feelings anymore?

As the bald man screamed, I delivered the final blow. I brought the knife’s handle down against his chin, and as his head snapped back, the blade carved a bloody line across his neck. “Didn’t I tell you? Only Vilas gets to look at my breasts,” I panted, my breath ragged.

When I finally threw him off, I took a deep breath, my body shaking.

Only the woman was left.

And the smell of smoke lingered in the air.

I stood up so quickly my head spun. Smoke was rising from the house. The woman was nowhere to be seen. I sprinted toward the building, but as the flames hit my face from the door, I was forced to jump back. It was impossible for the house to have caught fire so quickly. The burning oil made the cause obvious.

Fire terrified us. It would’ve been stupid to claim it didn’t frighten me. I couldn’t even fool myself. But waiting... waiting was stupid too. And so was thinking about the lions.

No matter what... I wouldn’t leave Vilas.

We’d either be free or dead, but we’d be together.

I hoped to find a way out of the fire, a space untouched by the flames. As I circled the house, I almost screamed when I saw every exit closed off, but I didn’t stop. I picked up a stone and shattered one of the windows. When I threw myself through it, I didn’t care about the cuts on my body or the searing pain in my back. The flames’ heat scorched my skin, and the smoke burned my throat. I kicked open the warehouse door and ran downstairs. There was no torch, but faint light filtered in through the gaps—most of it from the fire.

But Vilas wasn’t there.

Chains hung from the walls, but he wasn’t among them. My breathing grew harder, but I didn’t stop, darting through every corner of the cramped warehouse. They’d said the Serpents were here—how could he not be?

“Vilas!” I shouted, my voice rasping. “In the name of the Sovereign of the Soil! You... Must you always be a curse upon me?”

When I realized he wasn’t there, I ran toward the stairs. I wanted to believe he’d somehow escaped the house. Otherwise, he would’ve been reduced to ash in the flames consuming the interior. We were either free or dead—he was alive. That cursed commander had left the house. I refused to imagine him like that. Charred beyond recognition? Please. I liked my eyes too much to ruin them with that image.

The heat from the flames grew unbearable, making it harder to move and breathe. The front door had already given in to the fire. As I quickly scanned the room, I coughed violently, the harsh scraping in my throat growing worse. My lungs were already in a pitiful state. I grabbed a blanket from the sofa and ran to the nearby privy. Dipping the cloth in the dirty water from the stone basin, I wrapped it around myself. When I stepped outside, I glanced at the door engulfed in flames with fear. “Curse it!” I hissed.

I didn’t think twice. I ran toward the flames.

When I realized I’d gotten just far enough from the fire, I collapsed, struggling to remove the wet blanket. My eyes, stinging from the smoke, watered as violent coughs wracked my body. Even through my blurred vision, I saw boots in front of me. Though I could barely breathe, a fresh wave of alarm surged through me. I twisted my hips and wrapped my legs around the boots’ owner, pulling him toward me. In an instant, I was on top of him.

But in the next instant, I was on the ground with him on top of me...

I moaned in Serpent tongue, “Ah, no! No!” and coughed again. He wasn’t even the last person I wanted to see.

Lian’s lips curled up for the first time. “You don’t seem pleased to see me, Rattle’s Song!”