Page 43 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Kine switched his teaching instructions based on my form. He didn't use words when I was a shape—at least none I heard. A simple tap-tap near one point. Another tap-tap at another. A firm hand or a foot if I started to spiral away.
When I returned to my human shape, he gave me pointers. "Tuck your elbows in before you shift" or "draw three breaths before you start so you have enough air in your lungs." Sometimes he explained more about how to connect these forms into the larger water serpent form.
Each time I changed, it got easier.
To exist simply as a shape while remaining conscious in some manner…it wasn't a language I could speak, but it was something. Like a dance I could once have done in my sleep. A dance I had once loved. A dance I was returning to and whose flow swept me up in its passionate embrace.
After what felt like hours, I dropped out of another rectangular prism. That time, I had managed to hold the form for thirty seconds.
"How exactly does this work?" I wiped the sweat from my brow and combed my fingers through my hair. "The rings and shifting, I mean."
"Our shifting abilities are a gift from Vawtrians. You might call them true shifters," Kine said, arms still crossed over his broad chest. He had paced back and forth on the sandy floor, leaving grooves and footprints. He seemed pleased with my progress, his manner even easier and calmer than before. "They can turn into whatever they want, heal from almost any wound, and can take only one mate their entire lives. They also wander and explore. Before they found us, we weren't water serpent shifters at all. Some Vawtrians fell into our world. They needed our help, and we gave it. Quite a lot happened, but the short of it is that they channeled their magic into reservoirs for us and showed us how to make rings that would allow us to change but only into water serpents. It was fitting, as we had used the water serpents we tamed to help save them."
"Do all Sepeazians become water serpents then? Or do only some of us get the rings?"
"Each of us has to prove that we are worthy and capable of the form first. The rings allow for a certain number of transformations before they must be returned to one of the sources and filled with the energy again. The rings are kept within the well for a night, and then they are returned."
"Is it—is it like in those werewolf stories? I have an inner water serpent?" That idea sparked quite a bit of interest for me, but it didn't feel quite right.
Kine chuckled. He raked his hand through his hair as he tilted his head. "I mean, sure, maybe you personally have an inner water serpent, but that isn’t how it is traditionally. Traditionally speaking, the water serpent form is a representation of you as a water serpent. You’re still you inside, just sometimes the outside changes its shape. It's always thesame one, and that's good. It makes it much easier for when you do go to shift again. We don't have to worry about adapting the form or changing it in some other way. It becomes woven deep into our minds."
"Oh." That didn’t sound quite as magnificent as having an inner water serpent. Then again, if I had had an inner water serpent, it probably would have shown up or said something to me during all my years on Earth. "What does mine look like?"
"As a water serpent? You’re blue and gold, like Brandt is red and black. Kind of funny, really. It’s why both kingdoms in Sepeazia thought yours was a blessed and fated match. It all came together so naturally."
The pang that cut through my heart made me wish more than ever that I could be with Brandt again. It hurt, even into my lungs and my spine, like an ache that was only going to grow.
I hugged myself tight. "That’s rather beautiful."
"There’s a lot beautiful about what you and Brandt were," he said.
Were? My eyebrows lifted.
He lifted his hand as he shook his head. "Still are. Sorry, Bug. Don't read into it. Brandt has never stopped loving you. I can promise you that."
"Really?"
I wanted to believe him, but Candy's face flashed back into my mind. Elias had said she was good at calming Brandt down and comforting him, that she had been there for him. Heat coiled in my belly, but it wasn't fair for me to be jealous. After all, he had to be lonely. But something felt wrong about it, no matter how reasonable I wanted to be.
"Yeah. I don't think he ever really gave up hope that you'd be back," Kine said gently. "Not really."
A sharp scoff cut through the air.
I turned sharply.
Elias stood at the halfway mark on the staircase, arms folded over his chest.
Kine's eyebrow lifted. "Everyone had moments of doubt, including me."
"I didn't." Elias's lips pressed into a tight line. "I never doubted. I knew she would make it back. I knew she would make it back from the chasm in the Shadow Hall too. And—" He cut himself off. His expression twisted, his dark eyes blazing. "Doesn't matter. Just came down to say Auntie Runa woke enough to tell me what she needs, so I'm making red soup, and I'll take care of the animals as well. We'll eat in a few hours. If training lasts that long." He turned and stalked away.
My brow tweaked as he strode back up the stairs. He didn't make a sound at all, but anger and offense rippled off him.
I kept my arms wrapped tight around myself. "What was that about?"
"Just…" Kine shook his head, raking his hand through his curls. "It's nothing. We all love you and care about you, Stella. Sometimes we don't all agree about how it's shown, but we're all on your side and on Sepeazia's side. Let's get back on the training. We don't have much time."
I cast one more glance over my shoulder at the staircase as Elias disappeared.
