Page 15 of Serpent King's Revenge

"Exactly," Lily said, squeezing my hand once more. Her touch was a lifeline, a small beacon of hope in the overwhelming darkness. It was easy to see how Nathan had become the man he was, with a sister like Lily by his side—even with a man as scary as Kenny as his father, the women in his life clearly had made him into someone who was capable of so much more.

As I sat there, surrounded by the quiet strength of Lily and Justin, I knew that the road ahead would be fraught with danger and difficult choices. But for now, I had a family—albeit an unconventional one—and I would do whatever it took to protect them, starting with the life I carried inside me.

“Ma would have loved a grandchild,” Justin said.

Fuck. His words made me feel sick.

I stood up from the worn couch, my muscles stiff from the emotional weight of the room. "I need water," I muttered.

I reached for a glass, the sound of running water a temporary solace from the storm brewing within me. Bao jumped up on the counter and watched the water flow, tail twitching. Glancing back at Lily and Justin, I couldn't help but feel detached, an outsider despite their acceptance.

"We have to tell Alex about Mom," I heard Lily's voice crack.

Justin, ever the rational one, nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It’s got to be one of us. He can’t find out from Knuckles. You or me. He'll take it better that way."

“Agreed, but how do we find him?” Lily said. “He needs to know…and he needs to know that Dad is after him.”

“He already knows that, Lily,” I called out from the kitchen.

“Right, okay…” she was saying something else, but I wasn’t listening.

I leaned against the counter, the cool surface grounding me as I filled my glass again. Their words became a distant murmur, my mind drifting to Alex—the brother with a chip on his shoulder. How would he react to losing their mother?

How were any of us going to get through this?

"Abby, you okay?" Justin's voice cut through my thoughts, his brow creased in concern.

"Fine," I lied, offering a tight smile. "Just thinking about how to approach Alex."

"Let us handle that," Lily said. "You've done enough."

I was definitely not going to do that, but I didn’t see the point of arguing with her right then.

“Okay,” I lied. “Well, I guess we just need to find him first.”

Chapter Seven: Nathan

Shouting, fighting, bleeding, and then…

…here.

I woke with a start. My head spun like I'd had one too many and my stomach churned in protest. Something wasn't right. The last thing I remembered was the sharp zap before everything went black. Now, here I was, in some cell that smelled of old sweat and despair.

Reaching up, I felt the tender spot on my neck. A tranq dart must have kissed me there. Tased plenty of times, sure, but this…this was another beast. It never put me out cold before.

The muscle cramps hit next. Damn, they were fierce. My side felt like it was stitched together with hot needles. I tried to stand, get my legs under me, stretch out the kinks.

But as soon as I moved, the tiny space I was in became all too clear.

Solitary.

Shit.

The bed was a sorry excuse for one, just a slab of cold metal bolted to the wall with a thin mattress that had seen better days. The toilet was no more than an afterthought in the corner. I looked around; there wasn't much else.

A small window sat high on the wall, barely letting in any light. I moved toward it and straightened my back to peer out. Squinting, I tried to see something, anything through it, but it was useless. All it gave me were shadows and a sliver of what could be sky, or maybe just a painted ceiling.

My heart kicked against my chest as claustrophobia began to claw at me. I couldn't stay boxed in like this. It felt all too tight, the walls pressing in.

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