Page 5 of Taken By the Naga King

Gravon winded down the hall, out of the cargo hold, not allowing her another moment to think. His lengthy tail slithered behind him in a sensuous wave, the very tip coming to wrap around her wrist and tug her along. She knew she had no choice but to follow him, so she did.

Trailing behind Gravon throughout the Imperial Nirum elicited a lot of stares from the few they came across, which she did her best to ignore. She was sure she knew what they were thinking.

Why is she here?

Azha didn’t blame them. She was thinking the exact same thing.

As they made their way across the ship, Gravon kept close to her, almost uncomfortably so, but after a moment she felt herself getting used to his nearness. His long tail seemed to stay as close to her as possible. A couple of times, it even grazed against her leg.

Any time they passed by someone, Gravon would glance back at her as if he did not want her out of his sight for too long, especially if someone else was close.

By the time they reached the flight deck, she had come to the conclusion that she could trust him, at least when it came to her immediate safety. It was now obvious that he meant her no harm. She was almost sure of it.

And what was the alternative? Go back to the Jorvlens? She wasn’t sure he would allow her to do so even if she wanted to return to her slavers.

It just didn’t make sense to her why he would act so protective over her if he planned on hurting her. And he had already said he wouldn’t be handing her back to the Jorvlens. Surely, that was a good sign.

Once on the flight deck, Gravon stopped and turned to her.

“Sit,” he said, pointing at a seat.

She obeyed, feeling her nerves returning despite her newfound resolve to trust him.

“Jakam!” he called out.

Almost immediately, another male Naga entered the flight deck, bowing his head ever so slightly. “Your Majesty.”

“Jakam, I will be piloting the ship. We are going to take off as soon as possible.”

“Your Majesty, I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“What won’t be possible?”

“We will not be able to take off any time soon. The Imperial Nirum is currently number ninety-nine on the departure list.”

Azha watched the exchange quietly from her seat. She noticed how the male seemed to fear Gravon, but it was also obvious that he respected him as well.

She then looked at Gravon, whose face showed utter rage. Clearly, he was not happy about this news.

“Ninety-nine? Do they know who is aboard this ship? Should we not take first priority?”

“Would you like me to talk to someone about moving us up the list?”

“Yes, use my name if it will help make this faster. I want to leave immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will be right back with more news.”

The Naga left the room, but the anger on Gravon’s face stayed. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she set aside her fear to ask a question.

“Why do you want to leave so quickly?”

Gravon looked at her as if he had forgotten she was right there. His eyes shifted from her face and ran down her body, causing a shiver to shoot up her spine at his scrutiny. He winded closer, his tail curling toward her legs like it had done to her wrist while they were making their way to the flight deck.

“I do not want any trouble.”

Azha watched Gravon’s angry expression. Beyond just anger, she saw something else, too, but she couldn’t place the emotion.

She could see the muscles in his jaw clench as he looked at her. Was she the cause of his anger? That was the last thing she wanted.

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