Then arches. Tall, elegant, their tops dissolving before they finish.
Silver fire runs along the surfaces. Not burning anything. Intimidating and calming at the same time. The light feels warm even though I’m not close enough to touch.
There are shapes deeper in. Low. Soft. Draped in fabric that moves even though there’s no wind.
My brain tries to tell me something about that, but the thought won’t fully form.
The snake reaches a clear line between the void and the half-formed chamber. It coils there, head raised.
Waiting.
Offering.
I stop.
My body’s been moving on autopilot, and suddenly my brain catches up and screams.
Don’t.
Turn around.
Run.
But there’s nowhere to run. Behind me is teeth and hunger and circling death. Ahead is… something else. Something that whispers promises I can’t hear but desperately want.
My foot lifts.
No, I think, but it’s distant. Weightless.
“Yes, little queen.”
His voice is in my bones now. Not sound—vibration. It spreads through my whole body until I can’t tell where it ends and I begin.
“Come.”
My foot crosses the line.
The calm floods in. Drowns everything. All the screaming warnings go silent under the weight of it.
Somewhere far away, I know I should be terrified.
But I can’t reach that feeling anymore.
The snake uncoils and disappears in a puff of black smoke. The chamber breathes around me—welcoming, safe, home.
I take another step.
Another.
The darkness closes behind me, and I don’t look back.
Something waits inside with the silver light. I can feel it watching. Patient. Absolute.
Like it’s been holding its breath for me.
Chapter 11
Bree
