Page 40 of Serpents of the Night

Which meant that she was left without a way to ask for help much less a way for her to be tracked using human technology.

Daskh swallowed, his protests dying as the gravity of the situation hit him. “How long has it been?”

“Two days,” Kehtal replied morosely at his side.

Daskh’s eyes slid closed in the face of his failure, unable to ignore the way his large frame shook, reminding him that he was still not well. He was useless to their mate in such a condition, and their enemy had not hesitated to take advantage of his moment of weakness. “I have been unconscious so long?”

His nest brothers snapped their gavo, the rippling sound as they expanded and lowered again filling the room. His eyes opened at the sound, meeting their eyes. There was no blame within the gesture or in their expressions, but it did not settle the disquiet that was growing within him.

“This is my failing,” he sighed. “If I had been awake—”

“Do not blame yourself,” Slengral interrupted gruffly as he closed the distance between them, his wing sliding companionably against Daskh’s wing in comfort. “Vekatha would have taken the advantage no matter what happened. She merely looked for the first opportunity.”

“She is likely responsible for the one spying on us now and reporting to the guard,” Kehtal groused as he flitted around Daskh, examining him closely for any sign of lingering health concerns. “She may be sealed away with her mother in punishment for now, but her family have long memories and are vindictive.”

Daskh battled back the urge to push his nest brother away. The concern came from a good place in the male’s heart, and he was not to blame for doing what any concerned brother might do. His own intolerance was solely due to his frustration. He wanted to claw his way out of the nest and fight off any who might attempt to keep him within the shinara. But Lori would not be pleased if he did and ruined all of their hard work to prove that the matings between the males of the upper caverns and humans were good things.

Groaning low, he scraped a hand over his gavo. “Our hithana is alone on the surface.”

Slengral inclined his head, his gavo once again snapping. “It is not a happy thought even if Jathella assures me that her supplies from the colony will more than adequately provide for her needs. Nor does the presence of her maiden at hand give me any reassurance. We should be guarding our mate and no other.”

Kehtal’s gavo rippled miserably in agreement, lacking even the energy to properly snap as he seemed to sink into his own dark thoughts.

Daskh’s mouth tightened as he searched his memory regarding what he recalled of the maiden trial. He did not recall much and what little he knew didn’t seem perfectly applicable to their situation. A female being forced to attend a maiden trial after mating was unheard of as far as he was aware, but it seemed to violate all of the laws in place that provided protection for the males of the shinara. A forced separation from one’s mate was considered cruel and would only be levied against a male in cases of extreme punishment. Why was that not taken into consideration?

Perhaps this would provide an opening for them to help their mate?

Gavo shooting upright, he turned to Slengral in excitement. “Is it possible for you to arrange an audience for me with your mother?”

His nest brother peered at him in surprise but slowly snapped his gavo. “What are you thinking?”

“That, as usual, no one with the court of noble matrons has considered the laws protecting males if it does not benefit their aim,” he replied drily. “They are all so focused on finding a way to discredit our mating and make it as difficult as possible for Lori to be legally mated that they conveniently disregard the laws that protect our welfare as mated males.”

He took considerable pleasure watching his usually self-contained nest brother be taken by surprise. The male’s mouth parted, his gavo expanding fully in a slow ripple of movement in shock before shock gave way to an expression of triumph. His wings suddenly fluttered in a burst of excited movement that startled Hashal into ducking out of the way with a squeak as their nestling hurried over to Daskh and quickly climbed into his arms. Hugging the small male to his chest, Daskh smiled as Slengral turned abruptly toward the entrance.

“I will arrange it immediately,” the male called back as his wings flared and moved, sending him quickly through the room as his tail glided over the floor. His movements were propelled by rapidly shifting to adjust to the added speed.

Kehtal watched him leave, his face still tight with worry. That looked tugged at Daskh’s heart as the male’s head turned toward him inquiringly. “What if the queen matriarch refuses to hear him?”

Daskh’s ears flicked in response. “We will meet that obstacle should it come.” His jaw hardened. “We must be prepared for the possibility that we will be denied our protections, but our protest should at least be heard so that the shinara as a whole is aware of the actions of the court.”

“You think that Queen Zathexa will not allow us to follow Lori?” Kehtal’s wings drooped but Daskh could see the frustration brewing in the male despite his submissive demeanor.

Although Kehtal yielded, he had demonstrated before the strength of his determination when it counted. If the queen matriarch refused them, it would likely be Kehtal who would break first.

“If she is sensible and obedient to her own laws then she would,” Daskh replied.

Unfortunately, a determined mother was not always the most sensible when it came to what she desired for her offspring, regardless of their own wishes. He hoped that Zathexa would take the matter seriously and concede.

Chapter 34

Slengral’s wing twitched impatiently as he waited outside his mother’s chambers. He had been waiting for an insulting amount of time already, but he did not dare to demonstrate anything more of his irritation than that subtle, uncontrollable twitch. The guards were watching him, their eyes boring into him from where they were stationed at either side of the door. They were not Jathella, but both females were obviously hand-selected by the queen matriarch for being more than a match for anyone who might intrude upon her privacy. They certainly appeared to be powerful and more than capable as he covertly observed him from beneath his lowered eyelids.

He should have known that getting an audience with his mother would not be so easy. He had miscalculated. Since he had never bothered to visit her unless she commanded his presence, he had not been prepared for how she might treat his unexpected arrival. It seemed that waiting for an undeterminable time while she finished her own affairs was to be expected. The guards certainly did not appear to see any problem with it.

Despite being the sole present offspring of the queen matriarch, he was still a male, and one who had been long consigned to the upper caverns as far as anyone in the shinara saw it. His close relationship with his mate and nest brothers made him forget just how inconsequential his life was regarded. As it was, his sole importance in the shinara was his ability to breed the next queen matriarch and more daughters of his mother’s line. His jaw tightened at the insult. It also gave him an unfortunate insight into what other males who did not escape the selection process like Kehtal did, went through.

He would now thank Higthar yearly on that ill-fated date that he was thrown to the upper caverns. He had not been able to see it as a blessing then, but he understood it now and, in reflection, would have still chosen it compared to what males within the shinara endured. While forced to survive in the upper caverns he had ceased to care many revolutions ago how the females of the shinara saw him, his pride destroyed and replaced with savage and merciless territoriality. Perhaps if he had not met his mate and had remained alone, he would have been less bothered by the situation. His family had returned his pride to him, however, which made even breathing in the shinara intolerable for the duration they were forced to dwell there.

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