Page 61 of Bound By Wishes

I almost laughed at his question, the absurdity of it all creeping in. But I didn’t know what else to do, and we couldn’t stay here forever. I took a deep breath, steelingmyself for whatever was about to happen. “Pull it.” I held my breath.

With a shaky hand, Malik reached for the scepter. His fingers passed right through it, revealing it to be nothing more than a cruel mirage.

The ground beneath us quaked, a deep, rumbling anger drumming through the chamber. The entire enchanting room vanished, the glittering treasures dissolving into nothingness. The floor, once covered with gold and precious stones, transformed into a writhing mass of snakes. Their hissing filled the air, nearly deafening in its intensity, and their scales gleamed in the dim light.

The only thing that remained was the throne. Malik and I dashed toward it, dodging the striking serpents as we leaped onto the seat of the throne. We clung to the backrest as the snakes hissed and lashed out, the ground now a living, deadly carpet of scales and fangs.

Being bitten by a snake, waiting for its venom to seep into my bloodstream and stop the heart that beat in my chest, was not my ideal way to go out in this world. I gripped the backrest of the throne tighter as they slithered below. The thought of those fangs sinking into my skin sent a sickening dread through me. It looked like this forgotten chamber of death and deceit was going to be the end of me and Malik.

“What’s happening?” Ranen’s voice rumbled, making him sound like he was right beside me. Oh, how I wish he were. He could conjure up another magic carpet and fly us out of here.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a spare magic carpet you could send in to pick us up, do you?” I asked, my voice shaking as a few of the snakes started coiling around the legs of the throne. Panic flared as I grabbed the plush velvet cushion, using it to knock the serpents away. The once-elegant cushion was now my desperate shield against the advancing horde, but the snakes kept coming.

“Neither my magic nor I can enter the mines.” Ranen’s voice rang in my mind, carrying a note of alarm. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” I laughed nervously, my voice saturated with fear. “The floor’s just turned into thousands of deadly serpents. That’s all.”

“Sayyida, you are going to be the death of me,” Ranen grumbled.

“Excuse me,” Malik gulped, his eyes darting nervously between the snakes and me. “I hate to interrupt this one-sided chat, but what are we going to do? Can he help us or not?”

“Not,” I said, knocking a particularly large horned viper away. Its sinister spiky head reminded me of the devil himself.

Malik's eyes widened as he glanced down at the twisting mass of serpents. “Cal,” he said breathlessly. “What are we going to do? I ain’t being eaten alive by snakes.”

I clenched my teeth and continued to fend off the advancing snakes with the velvet cushion, my eyes darting around the chamber for any sign of salvation. “We’ll find a way out,” I said, trying to sound more optimistic than I felt.

“How?” Malik yelled, his voice bouncing off the rafters above.

A high-pitched squeal escaped me when a mamba struck at the pillow, sinking its fangs into the soft material. I flung it away, and the snake's body vanished into the endless sea of serpents. It was impossible to tell where one ended and another began. The mamba left behind twopuncture holes in the pillow, and the surrounding area was saturated in venom.

My gaze traced the walls and wandered across the ceiling, desperate for anything that could help—a symbol, an inscription, any clue that might get us out of here. Desperation tugged at me, threatening to drag me lower than the writhing mass of serpents below.

“I don’t know,” I admitted as my throat constricted with defeat.

“Stop that! Don’t you dare cry,” Malik scolded, turning me to face him. “I’ve known you long enough to know that when you cry, you give up. We don’t have time for that.”

I sniffled, forcing the tears back. Malik was right. I could have a complete meltdown after we escaped this nightmare, but not now.

“Sayyida, think!” Ranen’s voice roared in my mind, his tone a rumbling command. “You’re too clever to let a den of serpents defeat you.”

I took a deep breath as the mass continued to slither. “Have you seen a cobra?” I blurted out loud, turning to Malik.

“Who could tell?” he retorted, his eyes sweeping across the endless sea of scales.

I scanned the serpents carefully, my knowledge of snakes and their venom coming in handy. Thanks to my father, I was well-versed in which species were safe and which were dangerous. He’d taught me how to identify the most venomous varieties and the first aid needed in case of a bite. This information had always been crucial during our field excursions, where we often found ourselves miles away from any medical assistance.

A flash of silver caught my attention, cutting through the chaotic tangle of vipers. My eyes narrowed as I focused on the gleam, searching through the mass of scaly bodies. The shimmer revealed itself to be a serpent unlike the others. Its scales were hauntingly beautiful, their color shifting between a silvery sheen and a lustrous pearl. Each scale seemed to capture and reflect the faintest glimmer of light, creating an ethereal glow that made the snake appear as though it were draped in moonlight.

“Look at that.” I tugged at Malik’s sleeve. “It’s the same serpent that was weaved in the tapestry, coiled around the scepter.”

“Great! Our death has arrived in the form of a cursed ghost snake.” Malik sneered.

I didn’t respond, too entranced by its sleek, iridescent body, which seemed to glide gracefully above the mass of lesser serpents. Its hood flared open, reflecting the light in a mesmerizing dance of colors. As it glided closer to us, its eyes, as dark as a moonless night, seemed to hold secrets of ancient magic and long-forgotten times. The cobra's tongue flickered in and out with fluid grace, tasting the air to get a sense of us.

Something about it called to me, and I stepped off of the throne and into the endless sea of serpents.

“Cal!” Malik’s voice broke.

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