Page 116 of Of Serpents and Ruins
He then told me how he, Brandt, and I had once tried to trick them into proving this one way or another.
"Not that it was especially well thought out," he said, "and we forgot to take into account their exceptional ability to detect and distinguish scents. We looked like a trio of idiots, just trying to pretend like we were some nine-foot monstrosity."
"And it didn’t work?"
"Well, Arjax did make himself bigger, but he made himself into a giant baryonx with those fish hook claws and threatened to slice us in quarters, so it didn’t exactly work. And Lorna got us from behind."
I couldn’t recall the memory, but the laughter and warmth returned to me. It wasn’t hard to see why Brandt had wanted me to come here. It had seemed so important to him.
"Did we often come to visit Lorna and Arjax?"
"Most everyone does when they can," Kine said, "especially those of us who have the skills to become water serpent shifters. They come to Sepeazia’s capital at least once a year to check the rings and ensure that the energy well is working properly. Not that they have to. The ancestors who created it set it up to be self-sufficient. It’s the whole reason that water serpents were the form chosen. Well, one of the main reasons, I suppose, but they still come. We never know when, but when they do, it’s always a big party. And so much food."
Those memories felt a little closer. I could practically taste the roasted meat with heavy spices, the coconut shrimp soup, the fried bananas, the broasted fowl, and the chopped meat pressed in geometric forms.
My mouth watered. "We need to eat soon. After we’re on the ship. After we leave."
Lorna helped fasten the containers of venom to Arjax’s side. Then she resumed her spinosaurus form. They led the way to camp.
Nothing in the Wild Lands bothered us as we returned. Our path seemed lighter despite the unease in my heart, the sunlightmore golden and the colors bright. I gripped the spear so tight my hands hurt, the shaft lightly pressed against Buttercup’s crest.
Lush green ferns and towering trees surrounded us on all sides. Strange calls and rustlings sounded from the underbrush, but nothing strode out onto the paths before us. Deer and boar studied us from the shadows as well as creatures whose eyes I did not recognize. Whether predator or prey, they certainly weren’t interested in fighting one spinosaurus, let alone two.
Palm-sized dragonflies zipped in and out, their wings glinting in the shards of light. The earthy scent of moss and rich soil permeated the woods. It took a little over an hour to return to their camp. The soil became darker and rockier, the incline steadier as the humidity fell away and a refreshing coolness settled over us. Spruce trees rose high above all the rest.
We reached the white stone marker that indicated the parting of paths.
I squeezed Buttercup’s neck lightly to indicate we needed to halt. "This is where we should part ways," I said as firmly as we could. "If we’re going to get to the Keening Pass, we need to hurry."
Kine’s brow raised at my statement. Even Elias looked surprised, shaking his head as he remained on his parasaur’s back.
Lorna and Arjax exchanged glances as if I were some child.
Then Lorna looked at me, her face breaking in a great smile. "I have a better idea. Invite your crew up to join us for a night of feasting and celebration. It’s been far too long since we’ve had guests. It won’t be safe for you to take the Keening Pass until tomorrow at dawn. No sense fighting it."
"No," I said, shaking my head fiercely. As the queen, I could order our ship to leave early, couldn’t I? I held the spear fast."Listen, we can't afford the extra time. We have to go. Surely there's some way for us to leave early."
Arjax knelt down, his expression pinching as he studied me. He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I understand the mate bond that plucks at your soul and demands you run to him," he said. "We Vawtrians honor that above almost any other bond, but you must do what is best for your veskare now, yes? And that means taking the route that makes it most likely you get home. Not the one that feels faster just cause you're moving."
I squirmed under his grasp, tears burning in my eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to him. If we’re late… If anything happens to him, he’ll lose his mind forever. The curse is going to take him."
His gaze softened, and he nodded.
Lorna spoke from behind him, her voice as firm and authoritative. "And he won't want anything to happen to you either. He'd tell you to take the Keening Pass when it's safe. No sense in throwing yourself into death or near death without purpose. Your love isn’t worth sacrificing everyone. That isn’t real love."
The desire to go worked within me, powerful and nearly unyielding. It took so much effort to nod, even though, deep down, I knew there was no way that I could do it without their permission or aid.
Arjax squeezed my shoulders as he peered down at me like I was some sort of wayward child. That sympathy in his gaze somehow didn't feel patronizing, but it left me feeling exposed.
"It's eating you alive. I know it, girl, and it's just as bad for him. Maybe worse cause of the curse. But you two, you'll make it. That ache will call you together. You'll learn to fight through it and fight for each other."
"Hard to fight through something that makes him want to kill me," I muttered, hugging myself tighter.
He poked my shoulder. "But you do it anyway, and so does he. You and he, you're both strong. You'd have found each other even without the shifter mating bond. Now that’s something special, and it deserves to be cherished. It also deserves a fair chance. That means not sacrificing yourself on a fool’s journey or turning it into something cruel."
"You’d cost yourself even more time if you left now and risked the lives of everyone for no added benefit." Lorna kept her gaze fixed on me. "You’re a seer, aren’t you? Do you really think this is a one-in-a-million chance where it works out?"
My shoulders slumped. I hated being called out like that.
