Chapter 9 Surprise, Surprise!

Chapter 9 Surprise, Surprise!
NYX

(Two hours earlier)

I slam my fists against the iron door. “Daciana! Open it! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” 

Silence greets me.

“Please!” A sob racks through me. I wrap my arms around myself. 

“You’ll learn respect,” She spits disdainfully through the thin gap in the door. “Since you are so high and mighty, let’s see how you survive this. Maybe then I will consider letting you live. You insolent fool.”

I shriek when the first snake slides over my bare ankle, its skin slick. Every movement, every slither feels deliberate, filling the pit in my stomach with fear.

I whimper at the feel of another, my entire body still, yet trembling on its own accord. 

“Open the door!” My voice is hoarse as I stagger around in the dark, surrounded by nothing but cruel hisses and the sickening sound of skin dragging against wood. 

The snakes are already winding between my legs, tasting my fear with forked tongues.

Daciana’s hysterical laugh leaks through. “When it stops breathing,” I hear her say, mockery filling her tone. “Take care of it. Burn the body with the trash and make sure no one finds out.”

After comes the sound of her heels clicking away. The snakes hiss louder as if they understand her.

I stumble backward, my heart jack-hammering. A thick one coils around my calf, ripping a raw scream right out of my throat.

I kick it off, bolting blindly. My hands find a rickety hay rack, scrambling, splinters digging into my palms, until I’m crouched on a narrow beam that’s about three meters above the floor. 

The darkness below is alive, writhing—a black ocean of scales. 

I hate snakes.

I hate them so much my vision tunnels. But I can’t win this fight without Halo.

A tiny flame suddenly blooms in the void, held in a calloused male hand. My eyes drift up.

“Easy,” a low voice says. “Get behind me.”

A tall, broad-shouldered man drops from the rafters, clad in rough clothes with soot spread across his cheeks. His frame towers over mine. He ambles across, jumping from haystack to haystack until he reaches me.

The flame throws gold light across hundreds, no, thousands of snakes surging toward us, stealing the breath from my lungs. 

I hurl. 

I liked it better when I couldn’t see them. 

I press my back to his without thinking. “Who the hell are you?”

“Zephyr. Alpha’s wine-maker.” He doesn’t even look at me, just swings the flame in a slow arc that the nearest snakes recoil, hissing. “You’re not the first slave Luna Daciana has fed to her kindlings. It’s become a chore to check up once in a while. Heard you scream.”

“Daciana,” I comment. “She doesn’t deserve that title.”

A king cobra rears up, its hood flaring wide enough to swallow my head. I choke on a scream.

“Up,” Zephyr snaps, jerking his chin toward the roof beams. “There’s a hatch. Move. Come on.”

He boosts me high enough to grab the wooden crossbeam, then I haul myself higher. 

The roof is a maze of narrow planks suspended over the pit. One wrong step and I’m dinner.

Zephyr follows, swinging the torch and forcing the eager snakes back.

I inch along the thin trail of wood with my arms out for balance. Sweat and shivers drip down my spine. The hatch is ten feet ahead, hinting at a sliver of grey daylight. Relief washes over me. 

I can reach for it. I take slow, careful steps, my breath caught in my throat. My stability lasts until something plops onto my bare foot.

Small. Wiry. Snake. 

Pain lances up my leg and my vision whites out. I shriek, teetering and almost pitch forward into the sea of death below.

Zephyr’s hurried hands clamp around my wrist and he holds me steady. “Breathe,” he assures. “It hurts but it’s a garden snake. No poison.”

I look down, panting. A tiny green bastard is latched onto my foot, pumping venom that burns like fire anyway. Blood pours between my toes.

I snatch the snake with my bleeding hand, rip it off my skin, and clamp its head between my fist. I squeeze until the bones crunch and it goes limp, twitching still. 

Zephyr stares at me, shocked flickering across his face. “You are a tough one, aren’t you?”

“I try.” I climb the last meters with the dead snake dangling from my fist. When I reach, I shove the hatch open, and light floods in.

Blowing a deep breath, I haul myself out onto the roof.

Fresh air hits my lungs. I collapse on the shingles, my chest heaving, laughing, crying, I can’t tell the difference.

I almost died in there. “Thank you,” I say, breathless. “I owe you my life.”

“In Blackhollow, life’s not worth much. We can help only each other.” Zephyr climbs out behind me, kicks the hatch shut, and eyes the snake in my grip.

“What are you planning to do with that thing?”

I stare at the broken little body and its jitterings, then up at the sky, smiling with every tooth I have.

“I’m going to give the Luna a present.”



I don’t know what I am thinking.

Hell. I am not thinking.

I charged straight into the Luna's wing with a tray balanced on one palm, blood still dripping from the other.

The guards at the door barely glance at me.
 “Refreshments for the Luna,” I chirp, sweet as poisoned honey. “She requested it.”

They wave me through. Idiots.

Inside Daciana’s chamber, the maids are curled up on pallets, snoring. Her absence is the only time they get peace anyway.

Moonlight spills through the windows. I scan the room for her but she’s not in. Then I hear it, soft humming from the bathing chamber.

My lips curl into a smirk. Perfect. I push the door open with my hip.

Daciana lounges in a massive copper tub, up to her neck in honey-rose water, petals stuck to her perfect skin like she’s some goddess sculpture. 

She looks up, bored, until she sees me. Her eyes go wide. “How are you still breathing? Did you fit in so right with the snakes that they let you go unscathed?

She actually sounds disappointed. Not for long.

I flash her a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. “Brought refreshments, Your Highness.”

I flip the silver dome off the tray.

The snake—half-crushed, still twitching—lifts its ruined head and hisses one last pathetic hiss.

Daciana’s mouth opens in a perfect O, blood draining from her face. 

I tip the tray. The snake plops into the water with a wet slap. It thrashes once, its fangs flashing, and latches onto the closest thing—her creamy thigh.

The scream that rips out of her thin throat is glorious. High, shattering, pure terror. 

I revel in it. 

I melt into it.

My eyes slip shut and I enjoy her scream like an orchestra. Every nerve in me is erect, every vein pumped with euphoric joy. 

She tries to stand, perky tits out, her skinny arms punching the wind, but she slips on rose petals and honey, then crashes back into the tub with a tidal wave of scented water. 

She flails helplessly, her nails scraping the porcelain tub. Daciana is sobbing, shrieking “SNAKE! SNAKE!” 

“Everything you do to me, Daciana.” I crouch low. “I will return a hundred times over. It is I who will always get the last laugh.”

Technically, this is treason, but I don’t care. Not a single nerve in me cares for their stupid laws or hierarchy. 

Her eyes roll back and she goes limp, floating face-up among the petals. Weakling.

The maids burst in and freeze. “What did you do?!” Someone yells.

Some stare at their unconscious Luna in open-mouthed horror.

Others look at me and I swear I see tiny, secret smiles.

I drop cross-legged onto the marble. Madeleine, Daciana’s little white-haired shadow, stands there trembling, throwing a glare like a good, loyal maid she is.

I tilt my head, meeting her eyes. “Run along, Madeleine. Tell the Alpha his precious Luna’s been bitten by a snake. She’s calling for him.”

She bolts.

The rest of the maids drag Daciana’s limp body out of the tub, wrapping her in towels and whispering prayers. No one touches me. 

They know better.

Minutes later, the doors explode inward and his scent smashes into my nose. I smile, throwing my head back. So he does care for her life.

Alpha Kane storms in. He takes in the scene. His unconscious wife, scattered petals, me sitting in a puddle of rose water and blood. He goes straight to Daciana. 

His fingers brush wet hair from her face as he demands through gritted teeth. “What happened?”

Every maid points at me in perfect unison. His head snaps in my direction, eyes poised to kill. I can feel the rage roll off him.

My heart thuds but I don’t show fear. Those storm-brown eyes lock on me and the air leaves the room.

He crosses the floor in three strides, grabs my chin hard enough to bruise, and jerks my face up.

“What did you do, slave?” he snarls, low and lethal.

Tears burn my eyes.

I lift the dead snake between us until it almost touches his lips.

“Your Grace, you came!” I fake excitement, tears streaming down my face. “Your Luna has been bitten on the foot by a snake,” I whisper, voice shaking with fury. “I. Your Luna. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be?”

My voice drops to a whisper. “I’m your mate, after all. Shall I tell everyone in the room, Your Grace?”