Chapter 105 The Twin Serpent Bridge
"I cannot read," Orion admitted, his voice drawing her in like a gravity well. "But I can tell you about that place."
Ezra stiffened, stepping forward until he stood directly in Orion’s path. He watched with a forced, narrowed engrossment, tracking every shift in the air.
"Do you remember it?" Esperanza asked softly.
Orion’s gaze didn't waver. "I not only remember it; it is written on my soul."
As Esperanza looked deep into his eyes, she saw it the shimmer of his energy rising, a raw, ancient power stirring beneath his skin. Her heart flickered, then began to pound against her ribs. She had to look away, the intensity of his presence suddenly overwhelming.
"What happened?" Ezra demanded, his eyes snapping toward Orion. He could feel the shift in Esperanza, and it tasted like copper in his mouth.
"I didn't do anything," Orion said, his voice calm, almost hurt. "I would never do anything to you. How can I make you trust that?"
Ezra let out a sharp, jagged laugh and rolled his eyes. "You are a psychic demon. No one in their right mind trusts your kind."
"Trust me, Esperanza..." Orion’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it filled the space between them like a physical weight.
Esperanza didn't hesitate. She didn't look at Ezra’s darkening expression or the way his hands were shaking. She simply nodded. "I trust you," she said.
The words hit Ezra like a physical blow. His heart didn't just sink; it felt crushed under the weight of her betrayal. To him, her trust wasn't a gift to Orion—it was a sentence for Ezra.
"How could you?" Ezra managed to choke out. He shook his head in pure dejection, his eyes clouded with a mix of hurt and disbelief. He looked at her as if he didn't recognize her anymore.
Esperanza saw the storm in him and gestured toward a chair, her voice softening but remaining firm. "Sit, Ezra. Please."
Ezra sat, but he didn't relax. He dropped into the chair like a man waiting for a verdict, his eyes darting between.
Esperanza’s softened expression and Orion’s unsettlingly calm presence.
The room grew still, the air thickening as Orion began to pull the memory from his soul.
It isn't a place of maps or coordinates," Orion began, his voice dropping to a resonant hum that seemed to vibrate in the floorboards."the Serpent twin,"Orion let out and the room went silent.
What is this place? Esperanza asked.
"The Serpent Twins," Orion repeated, his voice dropping into a hollow, rhythmic cadence.
The shadows in the corners of the room seemed to coil and thicken, mimicking the shapes of his words.
Esperanza leaned in, her voice barely a breath. "What is this place?"
"It is a mystical threshold," Orion explained, his gaze fixed on a point far beyond the walls of the room. "A bridge guarded by the Twin Serpents one of Spirit and one of Shadow. They wrap themselves around the path, their scales shimmering with every secret ever kept.
They never let anyone cross. To them, a soul is either pure enough to pass or meat to be consumed."
Esperanza’s breath jumped into her chest, a sharp, hitching sound. She felt a phantom chill crawl up her spine, as if the serpents were watching her right now through Orion’s eyes.
"Are they... usual snakes?" Esperanza asked, her voice trembling as she tried to anchor herself to something mundane, something she could understand.
Orion’s chuckle was low and dark, vibrating in the quiet room. "No," he said, his eyes gleaming with a predatory light. "They are the giants. The heaviest weight you will ever look upon. Their scales are like shields, and their breath is the fog that drowns the world."
Esperanza turned, seeking comfort, but she found none. Ezra was already staring at her, his face pale, his eyes wide with a raw, naked horror she had never seen before. The "Dragon King" looked like he had seen a ghost.
Orion leaned back, a slow, taunting smile spreading across his face. "Why are you getting scared, Ezra?"
He let the silence hang for a beat before the killing blow. "The Dragon King... scared of some snakes?"
Ezra’s jaw tightened so hard his teeth groaned. He wanted to roar, to show the strength that earned him his title, but his breath was trapped in his lungs. The mention of the "Serpent Twins" seemed to have a physical hold on him.
"I am not scared of snakes," Ezra hissed, though his voice lacked its usual thunder. "I am wary of monsters who hide behind pretty stories."
Orion’s eyes didn't leave Ezra's. "The Serpents don't care about your titles, 'King.' They only care about what you're hiding in your heart. And right now... it smells like rot."
"Enough!" Esperanza’s voice didn't shake this time; it rang with a cold, sharp authority that silenced them both. "Could these two children stop teasing each other? I have had enough of this."
"We are talking about souls, and serpents, and bridges between worlds," she said, her eyes flashing as she looked from Ezra to Orion. "And yet, here you both are, measuring your egos while my heart is pounding out of my chest from the things you've told me."
She looked at Ezra, whose face was still pale from the "snake" comment. "Ezra, sit properly and stop acting like a cornered animal."
Then she turned her gaze to Orion. "And you. If you have more to tell me about my soul and these giants, tell it. But if you're only here to poke at his pride, you can leave."
Ezra let out a slow, shaky breath and sat back, his hands resting heavily on his knees. He didn't look at Orion, but he stopped rolling his eyes. Orion, for his part, dipped his head in a silent apology, his expression turning serious again.
"The Serpents don't care about our bickering," Orion said softly, his voice no longer mocking. "They only care about the truth. And the truth is, Esperanza... the bridge is opening."