Myron shook his head.“And you wonder why no female has chosen you.”
Slick glowered at his cohort as he rubbed the offended spot.“You do remember which one of us is venomous, right?”
Katy’s eyes grew wide.Holy snake eggs.She hadn’t thought about the possibility that these individuals could transform into various types of snakes.Some that constrict their prey, others that use venom to kill, and whatever other kinds of snakes existed.She regretted not watching any informative snake documentaries, but as she had told Slick, they weren’t exactly her thing.
“Could you two maybe let her get some rest?It’s the middle of the night, and she’s got a long day ahead of her.”Antonio seemed almost regretful, his tone somber and nearly pleading.Or maybe he just found the two snake guys annoying.She was hoping it was the former.Perhaps there was a conscience lurking beneath that unsavory exterior, after all.If there was, she’d exploit that bitch for all it was worth.
They lapsed into tense silence.Katy waited until the plane was in the air before speaking again.“So Lola tells me you’re from a whole different realm.Why’d you leave?”Lola had filled her and Maddie in on the things Callon had toldher,but Katy wondered if there was another side to the story.If maybe every kingdom had their own take on how they wound up destroying each other, only to then have to find a new home.
Slick gave her an approving look, seemingly happy that she was interested.“Does every human nation coexist peacefully?”
“No.Most families don’t even get along.”
Slick nodded at her.“Like humans, Damarians have their differences.And our realm wasn’t as big as earth is.So the kingdoms battled for territory and power.There were prejudices between some that were generations upon generations old, and they couldn’t let go of the hatred that had been bred into them.The wars went on for so long that our Shaman—the holy men appointed by Visata to guide the ten kingdoms—realized we were going to drive ourselves to the point of extinction not only by killing each other but by destroying our world because of the wars.”
Okay,the same story told by the lions.
“To be clear,” Myron interjected, “Slick and I never lived in Damaria.These are stories that have been passed down to us from our family.”
“So you were born here, in my world?Doesn’t that make you Americans?”
Slick and Myron looked at one another.Then Slick said, “If you want to get super technical, we’d actually be Romans.We were born during the Holy Roman Empire.”
Katy’s eyes widened, absorbing his words.“Holy Roman Empire,” not just “Rome.”While history wasn’t her strong suit, she did enjoy documentaries—not about snakes, but mainly crime ones, with a few historical ones occasionally.Realizing that Slick’s reference to the Holy Roman Empire indicated the medieval period, she cautiously asked, “Um, what year were you born?”
“I was born in 1589.”Myron’s voice was somber, as if remembering a time he preferred not to.
Slick leaned back in his chair, propping his right ankle on his left knee, “1599 for me.”
“And when did Damarians come to earth?”
Myron chuckled.“We didn’t ‘come to earth.’We’re not aliens.”
“Maybe not by your definition,” Katy muttered.
“Our people came into earth’s realm in 1505,” Myron continued.“Some of our elders have said that your realm seemed huge compared to Damaria.”
“They say it’s gotten a lot smaller since that time,” Slick added.
Katy shrugged.“Improved healthcare, population growth, and technology will do that.”
“But you die so easily and so quickly,” Myron countered.“It seems these forces would balance out.”
“We may die relatively young compared to you, but we procreate even faster.”
Both of their faces fell flat at her words.
“What?”Her brows rose with the question.
“Procreation is a sore topic for our people.”Slick’s voice was tight.
Katy wracked her brain for any information Lola had told her and Maddie.It had only been hours ago, which seemed hella crazy because it felt like she’d been on this plane talking to the serpent twins for days.They were actually kind of endearing when you got past the whole, ‘we’re abducting you to mate you off or sell you,’ character flaw.
She struggled to recall Lola mentioning anything, then suddenly it hit her.“Oh snap.”Katy breathed out as she rememberedherparting words after Callon had shown up in Lola’s room ready to kill all of them, except Lola, of course.Lucky heifer.Katy had said,“If your parents are awake, we will let them know that a crazy, lion man is trying to make female babies with you.”Females were important because Roan had made a point to tell Callon that with Lola they’d be able to have both maleandfemale children.
“Oh snap, what?”Antonio had been so quiet throughout the conversation, Katy had thought he’d fallen asleep.
“I remembered why procreation is a sore topic for them.”She pointed to Slick and Myron.
