Page 39 of Servitude to Serpents

Master tenses, working his jaw before he stands, helping himself to the decanter of liquor on the center of the low coffee table. “You know more than I gave you credit for.”

“One doesn’t ingratiate himself into a society such as yours without coming to the party well versed. Tell me, Basilisk, why have you let him live this long? From what I understand of your laws, what they did was more than enough—”

My messy and knotted hair falls in my face as I busy myself, picking up and reassembling the mess Master made of their first aid kit.

“Retribution killings are only as good as the proof of betrayal.Thatis where you come in.”

Andres tenses, his feel-good attitude dimming for the first time. “I know nothing about the death of your father.”

After it's gathered, I stand, hoping Sir won’t mind me not crawling with my knees cut up. My dress falls back down from where it was hiked around my thighs as I offer the first aid kit to Stuart. He glares down at me in his usual manner. “Give it to Ms. LaMonica, not me.”

My eyes widen slightly, looking between the stunning woman and Andres.

She’s hiswife. I’m not sure why the concept is so shocking. Come to think of it, I think he said that earlier while I was…distracted. My eyes linger on her collar before I remember myself, keeping my attention away from them both.

My eyes slide to Master next, his own hazel depths locking with mine in asuffocating hold as he nods once. He grants me permission, but the hand at his side rises ever so slightly, his palm facing down.A warning.None of it slows him as he continues his meeting. “Of course not. That play occurred on a level far above your own.”

My bare feet press into the plush decorative carpet as I walk to the woman watching everything from her seat. “Thank you, Mistress.”

She takes the kit, discarding it on the back of the cozy looking white loveseat. “My name is Mahari. Oh, sweetheart, what happened here?” Her palm is warm as it cups the side of my face, her thumb brushing just underneath my bad eye.

My eyes widen in panic as the room goes silent, her kind warm eyes waiting as I stumble around my words. I can feel my master's eyes on my back, my palms slick with sweat as I step away from her. “I-I was hurt.”

I look over my shoulder at him, unsure how to skirt the line between being disrespectful and angering anyone in the room. The molten hazel of his eyes threatens to burn everyone to a husk, so I opt to excuse myself. Better to snuff her than him, I decide. He’s the one who cares for me, after all.

My head is only half dipped when she speaks again. “By someone?”

I freeze, the smell of saltwater burning my nose. Somewhere in the room, my sister cries out, her voice wet and raspy. I nod, her question needling deep in my chest. God help me, there are tears in my eyes before I can stop them. Even years and years later, through so much hurt and trauma, it’s the thought of that night that makes everything in me feel off balance.

The empathy I’m met with when her eyes find mine is my undoing. My lip quivers as a sob works its way up my chest. I don’t mean to; I swear, I don’t. Master, Bloom, being here, his anger and soft touches. It’s all somuch. I hadn’t realized how close I was to teetering on the edge.

“Oh, come here, baby.” I back up quickly, but not before her warm palm grips my wrist, tugging me to her chest, my battered knees meeting the carpet as she holds me. “You are too sweet for this world.”

“Come.” The sound of Master’s voice jolts me, but her hug is warm enough to remind me of my mom’s. It’s ahug.I can’t recall the last time I felt onelike it. My crying soon fills the room as I try to tug away, but she pulls me back in. In this moment, being held by her feels more important, like if I let go, I’ll shatter, and this time, there will be nothing left of me.

“Enough, Basilisk! Can’t you see she’s hurting? Allow me to care for her while you wring my husband for information. I promise not to do anything untoward.”

“Mahari—”

“No, Andres. She spent half the night trembling before he dragged her out to brutalize her!” She states, caging me in her arms the way a mother would protect and guard her young before she turns her venom on my master. I gawk in her arms, trying to stop her, but the insane woman only hugs me tighter, so tight, it nearly hurts. “What, did you just pick her off the street? She your girlfriend? Clearly, the poor girl is not trained like the others you brought tonight. She looks so young too. Tell me why I should let her go?”

My pulse is pounding in my ears as I strain my neck to look over my shoulder at Sir.

I see it in his eyes the moment he decides to hurt her, to do something that would jeopardize whatever was so important, he left the house to come here. This time, when I struggle to get free, she relents, my hair whipping my face as I turn to him. “M-master, please,” I hiccup, making him halt. “I’d like for her to hold me a moment longer!” The last part comes out pitched higher than I mean for it to, my hands shaking. I haven’t been comforted like this in…

I sniffle.

Long before I was taken. I need it, like her hugs will fix something that needs fixing, an old wound that’s still bleeding.

Mahari takes in the deadly tone of his glare like its nothing as she turns to Stuart. “Please grab one of my men from the party. Tell him we need some snacks, water, and my overnight bag.”

Stuart glances at Master, and I swear, I don’t breathe until Master nods. He still looks like he smells something bad, or like he wants to shoot everyone as he refocuses on Andres. “Your wife is only owned when she wishes to be?”

Stuart makes a perturbed face before he exits, and everyone else is just asconfused by the question. Andres recovers first, laughing. “Mahari wears a collar and performs when she feels like it. I take no others; the men are her companions. The rest of the women here tonight were brought by guests.”

“Interesting.”

I tilt my head back to look up at her, returning the smile she gives me. I don’t look away until I can feel Master's eyes on us again, and like every time, I’m magnetized, sucked straight back into unforgiving hazel pools.

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