Page 43 of Serpents of the Night

It wasn’t fair for her to die there of all places, so far from her mates.

Payeri had done this. She focused her entire being on the hatred that fueled her at those four words repeated in refrain over and over in her mind. It became a chant of vengeance as she stumbled over the sand. Even if she died, she wouldn’t forget that Payeri had done this, and Lori would demand justice even if it was before Shangla and Higthar, the highest gods of the Seshanamitesh themselves.

She sobbed out another laugh as she walked, her footsteps growing more broken. She stumbled, her ankle twisting painfully but still she walked.

Eventually the sand slowly began to settle, and the dunes gave way to packed sand beneath her feet as the first small sun rose in all its pale glory into the sky. Lori blinked repeatedly, the grit in her eyes half blinding her as she lifted her head worshipfully to it before teetering and dropping amid fragrant jahlana blooms.

At least she made it to a decent place to die. If she had to die, she would rather it be with the sweet scent of the spring flowers in bloom.

Overhead, thunder rumbled, and her eyes slid closed as the first drops of rain fell. Her lips parted, begging for the nourishment of the water as darkness descended over her, blotting out the growing pale brilliance of the weak sunlight rising into the sky. Her hand dropped down over her belly, hugging her unborn offspring as sorrow and regret consumed her. But beneath that dwelt a simmering rage.

Rage for six words that Payeri had shouted in parting. And those words she would never forget.

Chapter 36

Daskh cast a covert glance at his nest brothers stationed at either side of him. He had assumed that he was to have a private audience with the queen matriarch, so the presence of the court of noble matriarchs rapidly filling the room as Queen Zathexa watched expressionlessly from her throne. Slengral’s face was tight with displeasure as his gaze slid over them. Even Kehtal was glowering with a look that made Daskh realize that the male was dangerously close to spitting venom if any female dared to come too close. His nest brothers were no less disconcerted than he.

What had drawn the attention of the court? It could not be a matter of shinara law. Or it was very unlikely at least. In any case, the hum of interested conversation set him ill at ease.

Slengral’s eyes settled on Queen Zathexa and his gavo lifted slightly as he bristled. Daskh shifted slightly, tapping the male with his wing in a silent reminder. This was not only his mother but the queen matriarch. No matter their grievance, the court would tear them apart if they dared to take any insult too far.

His nest brother shot him a frustrated look but inclined his head, his gavo rippling in agreement. He understood. The male’s gaze snapped back to Zathexa and his gavo quivered with barely suppressed anger. That would not be questioned given that the entire court understood that the current ordeal set mother and son against each other. So long as he did not take it too far.

“Mother, what is the court’s interest in Daskh’s request,” Slengral hissed.

His tone was just barely constrained to politeness, but it seemed that the queen matriarch was happy to ignore because she met his words with a fond smile, her wings ruffling slightly in a soothing gesture most mothers applied when dealing with their nestlings.

“It is nothing of consequence that will impact my discussion with Daskh, Slengral,” she assured him. “It is a coincidence that they have gathered at this same time. No one could have anticipated Payeri’s sudden return, least of all me, or else I would have sent Jathella to you. They saw the maiden at hand fly over the shinara and so, naturally, they rushed here in consequence. I can attend to conversing with Daskh momentarily.”

“Payeri,” Kehtal interrupted in an anxious echo of the queen matriarch’s words. Daskh felt a coldness slide into his heart as Slengral’s eyes snapped to him with a worried look. “Has she returned alone? Where is Lori? Where is our mate?” he demanded, his voice growing louder as he moved forward and became increasingly agitated.

Daskh’s hand shot out and he grabbed Kehtal firmly by the arm as Zathexa’s head turned toward him, the maternal softness slipping from her face as she regarded Kehtal blankly. The entire court fell to a hush, their heads turned toward them, their eyes boring into them. Kehtal’s mouth snapped closed in reaction, and though Daskh could feel the tension vibrating through the male’s body, Kehtal remained silent as he watched the queen warily as she slowly rose from the throne and loomed over them like a threatening shadow. Thankfully, although the male practically shook with rage, he had the sense to cease speaking. Slengral glided in front of them with a rasp of his tail winding rapidly on the stone floor, drawing his mother’s attention back to him again as he opened his arms and wings in entreaty.

“Mother, is there word regarding our mate?” he insisted.

Zathexa pinned her son with a stony look for a long moment, but a resigned look fell over her face, and she sighed wearily as she inclined her head. She flicked one of her large wings at the audience, putting the entire guard on the alert as they turned towards the court.

“Leave us now. You have heard everything and now I wish to have a private moment with my son and his.... nest brothers,” she reluctantly finished.

Daskh carefully kept his expression neutral, but he frowned inwardly at her chosen words. He had long guessed that the queen matriarch viewed their arrangement with distaste. The females of the shinara discouraged close bonds between the males, emphasizing throughout the education system of the haga that a male’s sole duty and purpose was to their mate first, and if lacking a mate, then to the shinara as a whole. Competition between males to prove their desirability to the females was strictly encouraged. No Seshanamitesh female would have tolerated having multiple males within her nest and sharing affection and loyalty between each other when she was raised to expect to be the sole recipient of her male’s devotion.

The queen matriarch’s words made it clear that she not only disapproved of such families in front of her court but also invalidated it in one cruel stroke without doing so directly. That did not bode well for whatever was to follow.

With the direction of the palace guards, the court and various onlookers funneled out from the room, slowly emptying until he and his nest brothers were at last left alone with the queen. Only Jathella returned to take position beside the queen’s throne, her expression a flat mask of duty, revealing nothing of what she might be thinking. His ears fanned as he heard the other guards return, far more than he would have expected just for their audience with the queen matriarch, but they remained among the shadows at the periphery of the room, waiting at attention. For what, he had no idea but the coldness that filled his chest dropped lower into his belly. Something was very wrong.

“Mother?” Slengral prodded and Zathexa sighed again, the sound full of pain as she slumped in her throne with considerable grief.

She shook her head as she struggled to find the words but could not believe it herself. “Slengral.... Payeri returned... alone. I know that you are old enough and acquainted enough with the maiden trial to know what that means.”

Slengral’s gavo inched upward even as Daskh frowned at the queen matriarch’s words even as he drew Kehtal firmly to his side and beneath his wing so that the male did not react rashly. It did not make sense. Lori would not just give up.

His nest brother echoed his thoughts as he drew back on his tail, his head bobbing with chin dips in denial. “No...no. That is impossible,” he hissed. “Mother, as her family, you must allow us to go reclaim her.”

Zathexa’s frowned at her son as she slowly straightened and peered down at him. “You are not of her maternal nest. You have no recourse to request this.”

Shifting Kehtal over to Slengral’s watch, Daskh undulated forward, his gavo rising and he lowered his head respectfully. “Queen matriarch, as it happens this is of the subject I wished to discuss regarding shinara law. By these laws, the only favorable option would be to allow us to go.”

Her head slowly turned with a look that would make males throughout the shinara quake with fear and she pinned him with a hard gaze. “Explain yourself.”

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