Raising my head and scanning the thick brush, I pray it’s Krellix. I immediately look for a means to escape but, as if sensing my intentions, the Boa hauls me up against his side. Almost tripping to get my feet under me, I have to use his body as leverage to stand upright. I wish he would stop manhandling me.
All of a sudden, as my blood flows out of my head, I can hear what he hears: the crack of branches, and the harsh rustle of leaves. My heart thrums wildly as I go from pushing away from the Boa to searching the forest.
Krellix bursts through the trees and my ragged breath rushes out of me.
With only several trees and bushes between us, our eyes lock.
“Krellix,” I gasp.
He’s here. He found me…
His fierce gaze shifts to the Boa. “Sada!” he shouts. “Release her.”
Sada? Theyknoweach other?Sada’s arm comes around me, grabbing me tighter to his side. I struggle against him and kick at his tail but neither action has any effect.
“Not before I know what happened to my brother!” Sada yells back, his voice filled with anger and resentment.
His brother.I’d forgotten about his brother.
Krellix shifts closer, and though I can’t see his tail through the brush, I know he’ll be finding a way to get to me. “Your brother?” he asks.
“He is gone and I know the King Cobra knows where he is! I will have my answers one way or another. Even if I have to use the female to get them.”
“Let her go and I will tell you what happened to him. If that is all you want, we can both leave here alive. But first, release Julia.”
Sada hisses, lunging his upper body and head forward, baring his fangs at Krellix. “And I should trust you? You might be friendly with the Cobra but you are not him. It was him who made a deal with the humans, it was him who planned the hunt. Where is my brother!?”
“Why have you not asked Zaku himself?” Krellix’s eyes meet mine but only briefly. “Why are you here, following ussss?”
I fight harder, scratching, driving my elbow into the Boa—Sada’s—hip, still to no avail. Sada merely jerks me against him and I fall into his side. Krellix hisses in response. “He will not talk to me. He will see me dead and no other way. For what reason, I do not know. Because I have tried! Coming after you was the only option I had.”
He doesn’t know…Sada jostles me, his hold strong enough to bruise, and I wince inwardly.He doesn’t know that his brother is dead and that Zaku killed him because he assaulted Daisy.
I look at Krellix and can see the realization come to him as well. Something else flashes over his expression… A deep tiredness that wasn’t there before, along with a savageness that curls my toes.
“Where is my brother!” Sada roars. “Tell me or I will hurt her.” He wraps his hand around my throat and presses his claws into my skin. Between the raw ache of my lungs and their sharp tips, I start coughing painfully, unable to help it.
Krellix lurches forward. “Release her! Or you will learn nothing from me.”
Sada hauls me forward against his chest to use me as a shield. “Tell me where my brother issss!” His tail pounds the ground, pummeling a large bush and snapping its many branches.
Coughing, eyes watering, I reach up and grab at Sada’s arm, trying to pull it off me. If I can just get away…
In the periphery of my vision, Krellix’s face contorts with anger. He hovers, swaying, clearly wanting to shoot forward but wary of the danger I’m in.
Sada’s grip on me tightens.
“Stop! This doesn’t have to end in a fight!” I shout through the burning in my throat, falling into a fit of coughing immediately afterwards. Sada’s claws scrape my skin and I feel my blood well and drip. My skin stings, making me tense all over in an effort to block out the pain.
But it’s too late. Krellix barrels into Sada’s side. The sheer power of the impact forces Sada to release me and I go flying into a tree, hitting my head on the unforgiving trunk. I tumble to the ground seeing spots swim across my eyes.
A flurry of noise fills my ears and something whips past my face. Jerking, and drawing in as small as I can, I press up against the bark at my back. I stop coughing and look up long enough to see Sada wrestle Krellix underneath him, his thicker tail pinning the Copperhead’s completely.
I stagger to my feet and, pushing through the dizziness and pain, jolt forward and leap on Sada’s back, grabbing at his face and digging my fingers into his eyes.
With a growl, he reaches back and grabs ahold of my jacket. Tearing me off him, he throws me to the side, and I roll into a large patch of wildflowers. Thankfully it gives Krellix enough time to draw out from underneath him and rise up for an advantage. I lift my head in time to see him pouncing on Sada. Pressing my palms into the ground, I shove back up to my feet.
“Your brother is dead!” Krellix grabs hold of Sada’s head and yells into his face. The Boa rips his claws down Krellix’s sides, drawing blood. Krellix rears back with a grunt and pushes his tail hard into Sada’s chest, forcing him away. Their tails tangle up with each others’ as they twist and writhe, fighting to be on top.
