“How can anything be unsafe for you, you’re so… so… big.”
“My spine can be severed as easily as any one of my brethren’s. A faster naga than I could latch onto my back and knock me out, perhaps one that has stronger venom. I may be larger and stronger, but only a fool expects to win. My caution is why I always do.”
“I just can’t imagine you being afraid.”
“I am not afraid.”
“You seem like you are, if you don’t go within view of it. That’s only something someone who’s afraid would do.”
His eyes narrow. “It is because I do not want to be seen. I am not afraid. I amcautious,” he huffs.
I lift my hands. “Sure, fine. You’re not afraid. Well, I’m not afraid either, and the forest is exactly where I plan on going as soon as I get out of here.”
His blue eyes roam over me. “Then, for your safety, I will have to make sure that never happens.”
“Are the other nagas that bad? The one onThe Dreadnautdidn’t seem that bad…”Except to that one lady…
“They are worse than you can imagine. And would be monstrous to you for being a human female.” He flicks his eyes up and down me, and I straighten, for the first time feeling like he’s checking me out. “Relentless killers of everything that does not belong to their clans, they have no care for others, especially a stranger who happens to be trespassing in their territories. Which are many and spread out, encompassing the entire forest. Whatever you seek to find in there, you are better off looking somewhere else.”
The fire dies down as the hide burns out, and I shift the meat around with my knife, pleased by the sear. And it’sthinner than the pieces this morning, so the middle should be done too. Slicing a bite off, I bring it to my lips and blow on it.
Meanwhile, Darolus unwinds his tail and slips its long length entirely around us in a large circle.
Strangely, I find I like the enclosed feeling it creates. It reminds me of the walls of a ship, and the safety those walls bring. Tight quarters have never bothered me. With the soft heat of the firepit, it’s almost… cozy.
But then his tailtip curves away and slides toward the pool, going over the edge, dipping into the water. Soon, the rest of his tail follows suit, and he lowers his upper body into the water smoothly.
“What are you doing?” I ask, perplexed.
His bright eyes return to me as he silently slips beneath the surface, and into its shadowy depths. With only the light of the cloth still burning to see him by, all I can discern is a massive form moving beneath the glinting ripples. Awed once more, this time by his sinuous movement, I follow his watery path with my eyes.
A splash startles me, and I jerk my head, catching his tailtip sinking down and out of sight.
The pool must be deeper than it appears.
My awe vanishes with a knot in my stomach.
Easing another few inches away from the edge, I take another bite of the meat, distracting myself while Darolus finishes his bath. Because that’s what he’s doing.Bathing.Which is something I should not be involved in, not unless we were contracted, and we’re definitely not. He’s my captor, not my trick. Besides, I haven’t contracted into a relationship since I was seventeen and needed a safe place to sleep. And can humans and naga evenhavesex?
For the first time, I’m glad for the darkness. It’s hiding my blush.
As I’m finishing up my meal, Darolus rejoins me on dry ground, heading to his bed and shaking the water off him as he goes. I watch him move through the shadows from the corner of my eye. When he turns to me again, I quickly look away, lifting my blade to the fire and fiddling with the last of the burning fabric.
“I can’t imagine a naga being worse than the worst man there is,” I murmur. “The Supreme Commander of the ship I was stuck on for nearly two years almost killed us all because he didn’t want to work with the lower castes,” I say, filling the silence with my angry voice. “Humans can be terrible, and I’ve survived them so far.”
“Do humans rape their females to death?”
My lips flatten but then I force them open. “I’m sure they do sometimes.”
“Then we have the same enemies. Human or naga.”
He drops another thin cloth and several smaller hides next to the mostly dead fire. After a quick nod from him, I nurture it back to life, while he settles on the floor between me and his bed rather than in the tunnel like he usually does. I have to shift and turn halfway to keep an eye on him.
He’s smart. At this angle, with my back now partially to the fire, he can see me clearly, though I can’t see him.
He watches me.
“Everyone is my enemy.” I laugh, trying to lighten the tense mood. “Anyways, thank you… For the supplies.” I indicate my little hoard with my finger, even so much as reaching over, taking hold of a plate, and plopping the rest of the meat on it.
