His body twitches under my brow, and it’s then I realize where the smell is coming from. Shoving my hand over my nose, I take in another breath through my mouth. I pull back and scoot away.
Slowly, he unwinds his tail from the tub’s edge and creates a path for me, lifting away from me at the same time. Feeling him go, he also takes his warmth, and I nearly release a wistful groan.
He backs out of the bathroom, his eyes dark and avoiding mine. “I think you are right,” he responds, his voice low.
Staying behind for another moment, I press my hand to the side of my neck, finding my pulse beating hard beneath my palm. Taking another steadying breath and smelling more of him in the room, though fainter this time, I drop my hand and follow him out, knowing, no matter what happens next, my plans have not changed. I flick the switch to the bathroom’s vent before I go.
Now, more than ever, I need to leave.
If there’s people and ships out there… My freedom might be out there too.
There is no better time.
I knew it.
SEVEN
NOW OR NEVER
Krellix
Runningmy fingers through my hair, frustration bleeds from me as I hold back a groan. Barely listening to what Zaku is saying, I coil and flex my tail to stop myself from leaving him to go back to the front of the house where Julia is.
“We need to understand what has happened,” Zaku huffs, pacing and slipping across the open, central space while he frets.
“I will leave today, as soon as we are done talking,” I tell him, increasingly annoyed by his demands. Turning for the hallway to the front of the house, Zaku grabs my arm before I can head to it.
“Take the female with you.”
I growl and face him, yanking my arm from his hold, knowing exactly who he is talking about. “She will slow me down.”
“I do not care. Daisy tells me she is considering choosing a naga mate anyway. Either she chooses now or you take her with you. I know you like her. Thissss might be your last opportunity.”
I bear my fangs but Zaku does not notice, having already turned away to gaze out the window. “She will slow me down…” I repeat with another growl.Humans are frail… she could get hurt…
“Daisy is distraught and so are the boys. The last thing I need right now are nagas hanging around my territory. Not anymore. I am done with them! Not with the noise and the smoke obscuring my senses. Sada must go and so must the others. I am tired of chasing them off my land when they refuse to fight me. If they would just let me kill them…” Zaku’s hands bunch, stress from the situation getting to him.
Concerned for my friend, I place my hand on his shoulder. “Zaku, you are not alone?—”
He turns on me and hisses. “That is exactly what I want to be—alone—with my family. Not out hunting nagas who will not get off my land because of some female. Take Julia with you and if she does not want to go, tell her she must choose and choose now!”
“And Sada? What about him?”
“If we are lucky, the ships sent him fleeing. Hopefully they sent all of the nagas fleeing! There must be more opportunities for females now!”
He pulls away from me with an angry flourish and with another hiss erupting from his throat, he goes storming deeper into the house. Silence returns after he is gone but I remain where I am, uncertain as to what I should do, peering around. Taking Julia with me will make my job finding out information harder. She will slow me down and distract me, making unsafe passage even more dangerous because of the countless humans who have just arrived. Who knows what is happening throughout the forest right now? Are the ships those of more soldiers, or are they only humans? Are they our enemy or not? Taking Julia into that, when I do not know what to expect, doesnot seem smart or safe. Even if she knows how to use human weapons efficiently and was once a soldier herself…
But if I do not take her…
She is probably leaving anyway.
I bite out yet another growl and head down the hallway, through the interior door and back to the front of the house, making certain I do not make noise as I pass Julia’s room. Scenting her faintly as I momentarily pause, my ears prick for movement inside. Hearing the very faint sound of someone slumbering, I flex out my fingers and turn away.
Maybe it is best that she chooses another… The others will have nests of their own and a safe place to take her…
But there’s still the Boa. And whether Sada is here for Julia or for another reason, I can only assume the former. I will not know unless I am able to talk to him, and so far, that has not been able to happen.
Slipping past the seating area to approach the front window, I look at the forest and sky outside. The dark mass of trees and the late night’s gloom stares back at me. But as I continue gazing out, everything is still and the sky is empty. There continue to be ships flying overhead but they are not as constant as they were earlier.
