Page 50 of Servitude to Serpents

Pup halts at the venom in the man’s voice as she walks past the archway, her long blonde hair yanked up in a messy bun, an orange ice cream bar gripped in her palm. I narrow my eyes at it, wondering where the fuck she got it and why I’m just seeing it for the first time. Her eyes snap down to the offending frozen treat before she scampers away, her bare feet padding on the runner.

I sigh, giving up on the book. It’s not that I have anything against her having sweets; I do, however, not appreciate her asking the staff to get her the ones she likes and not me. The thought of others caring for her—

“Are you even paying attention to me?” Stuart demands. “How is this a fucking priority?”

He waves the phone in his hand like I’ll be able to see what he’s showing me from here. Even at seventy-seven, he’s a force to be reckoned with, built like a tank, with still more pepper than salt in his hair. He aged well for someone whoseems to be in a constant state of stress. I know what he’s referring to, but it’s more entertaining this way. “If I sent it to you, I’m sure it's worthy of your time.”

“Yeah, you’ve gone off. That can be the only reason you ordered me away from myjobrunning this,” he gestures around the room violently, “to run a background check on one of your little pets.”

“Pup, you mean. I directed you to leave the other one somewhere else.”

“Yes, I left her in the woods on my way home.”

Fair enough.

“Perhaps that’s part of your problem. You’ve missed meetings, deals, ignored calls from Dydicon, yet seem fit enough to follow thatgirlaround the estate, washing and doting on her like she’s a beloved companion.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t recall you being this dramatic when I was a kid.”

“Warrick, Andres LaMonica called days ago with a lead, yet you’ve refused to meet him. Why? Since when has bringing down Tyet not consumed your every thought?”

Since her, it seems.

“He refuses to speak over the phone, thanks to hiswife.I have no intention of extending them an invitation to any of my homes. Eventually, he will want his seat and forgo the annoying requests that accompany it.”

Stuart drags a hand through his hair. “Why do you want a background check on the girl, and why send it to me instead of just doing it yourself? Huh? Because you want me to fucking knock some sense into you!”

“I merely want to sate my curiosity before she loses her shiny new toy appeal, Stuart, relax. My focus has not wavered.”

“I would hope so, sir. You aren’t the only one who wants to see this through.”

His words land their intended mark as he leaves the room. My hands flex as I open and close them, the ache there reminding me of knuckles that never healed right after that night. Of the fucking idiot son of Tyet who took his first task, his first job as the acting head of his family, and decided to fuck over mine. He dismisses himself as I reach to the wall behind me, hitting the intercom button for the staff wing. “Henrietta, see me in the study, please.”

My jaw aches from how hard it's clenched by the time the woman makes it to me, her white, pressed shirt smelling of whatever strong fabric softener she uses. Even from across the room, the pungent, artificial florals make my head throb. “When did Pup request ice cream?”

“Oh, uhm, it’s been a week or two, sir. You instructed us to see to any of her needs the month she arrived. As this was a new protocol for your…guests,I assumed it included shopping. I apologize if I overstepped.”

“No, that’s fine. Thank you, but from now on, I want a list of everything she asks for run by me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You can go.”

I jerk a deep breath into my lungs, knowing it will do little to tamp down on my anger, the constant burning throb in my chest. It’s a hollow breed of rage that seems to be the only genuine thing sustaining my life these past twenty years.

Perhaps longer.

Before I was forced into a position I never gave a fuck about. Before I cemented the name Basilisk in the history books only read and recited by the other vile entities of my world. I can’t fault her for asking the staff for things. I haven’t been in a good or even slightly reasonable mood lately, but I know I’m fucked. Something is happening to me. My mind is muddy, my thoughts constantly dedicated to a blonde woman with scarred hands and big brown eyes. I have everything I need in motion for the first time since I watched that buckshot eat my father’s neck, a lead dangling in front of me. I simply need to reach out and take it.

But…

Fucking hell, there shouldn’t even be a but.

I shut my eyes, breathing through whatever nasty, murderous ideas infiltrate my brain.

I don’t want that woman anywhere near her.

I don’t want to see how excited Pup will get when she’s fucking coddled.

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