Page 18 of The Naga Inventor's Clever Mate

“Nothing to say,” I insisted. “We’re not dating. We’re not mates. We’re not anything.” I wanted to say that learning the real reason for all of this had changed things, but Corin was determined. He’d taken my pistol so he could figure out a way to charge it, and that gave me hope, but things weren’t looking good. Stupid Naga queens. They’d been nothing but trouble to all of us, and I had no clue how to make this one leave us alone. I didn’t even know if she was still interested in Corin, or if he was right, and this was going to be a case of ‘if I can’t have him, then nobody can.’

“But something changed,” Cosima insisted. “I always thought you had a crush on him, but now he’s the one casting you longing glances. Come on, you can tell me. I’m good with secrets. It’ll feel good to let it out, trust me.” I pursed my lips as I contemplated that, my heart pounding hopefully in my chest. Longing looks, huh? It was tempting to search for Corin and see if it was true, but he was working with Artek and Zsekhet to get Reid’s unconscious body situated for the journey.

If anyone knew how good it was to finally talk, it was Cosima. Until Zsekhet came along, I’d worked futilely for months to cheer her up and get her out of her shell. Talking to the right person, being with the right person—it had transformed her. She was also right that we had a moment to ourselves. In not too long, Corin and Zsekhet would be up here with us. This was our only chance to talk.

“Fine!” I said, and I blew her a raspberry, but that was to cover how awkward I was feeling. I was usually the one who took care of others, so I didn’t really know how to lean on Cosima. Start at the beginning, I guess. I quickly told her what had happened, glossing over the spicy details, but explaining about the Thunder Rock Queen. “Corin is absolutely convinced that if Zathar’s mother finds out I’m his mate, she’ll have me killed. That’s why,” I flapped my hand a little helplessly. It wasn’t fair to say he ignored me, because I knew that wasn’t true, but it was why everyone thought my feelings were one-sided.

When Cosima reached out and pulled me into a tight hug, I had to admit that it felt good. A bit of tension left me, and what Kalani had started, the redhead seemed to finish. I wasn’t at risk of getting kicked out of Haven, and I had friends—good ones. I was not alone. Then Triff beeped, trapped in the satchel between our bodies. We both smiled.

“Corin is going to find out that you are stronger together. He’s not going to be able to stay away.” When a blush stained my cheeks at Cosima’s words, she gave me a knowing grin. “I’m sure there’s a way to defeat that stupid Queen. Why would she even care? She has no power in Haven.”

No, that’s what I kept thinking too. Why was Corin so worried when she couldn’t reach me at Ahoshaga? Most Thunder Rock people were very superstitious about the place; they thought it was haunted, and we only allowed trusted aspirants at the campfire. So why was he so worried? Unfortunately, I couldn’t talk more about it with Cosima because it seemed the final preparations were done.

Soon, Corin had climbed up Sesethul’s hind leg and strapped himself into place as far away from me as he could get, while Zsekhet nestled himself in front of Cosima and was double-checking that her flight harness was secure. “Let me see your buckles too, Min-Ji,” the golden Naga grinned at me as he pulled on knots and cinches with the tip of his tail. He did it professionally, not once touching me, but I still felt the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

A glance over my shoulder showed me a dark, intense look in Corin’s mercury eyes. He’d even bared his fangs, and I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. Zsekhet yanked his tail back, his golden eyes clashing with Corin’s silver ones. Then our dragon rider grinned, slow and wide. A mocking, irreverent, and fang-filled smile that was all about drawing Corin out even more. I felt like I was trapped between two very dangerous, opposing forces for several long seconds.

“Ready to go?” Zsekhet asked, and as quickly as that intense, dangerous taunt had risen on his face, it disappeared. With a whoop and a hiss, followed by loud cheering from below, Sesethul launched himself into the sky with the beating of his huge, leathery wings. As we soared skyward, my belly remained behind, and when it caught up, I’d lost some of the heavy, sad feelings from before.

Another adventure, more time alone with my stubborn mate. I’d make this work. All I had to do was figure out how to defeat a Naga Queen. Easy peasy.

Chapter 14

Corin

“You are certain we can't take you any further?” Zsekhet asked me. We were standing side by side at the top of a slight hill, looking out over the rolling, lush terrain in front of us. It was heavily wooded but wet, like the marshlands of the Copper Tooth Clan combined with the forests of Thunder Rock. We had well and truly traveled beyond the territories most of us ever managed to see.

At Zsekhet’s question, I tapped the silvery disk that hung from a string around my neck. It didn’t look like much, but that little disk was the only way a Naga could ever hope to find the Sacred Shaman Training Grounds. Not only was it an invitation-only kind of place, and those invites were offered only to individuals with an aptitude for the job or to Queens, but the Sacred Training Grounds moved. So, if you ever lost your invite, you’d never be able to find them again.

“Yes,” I said to the Serqethos male. Shamans and Serqethos dragon riders were the only ones who could travel Serant at their leisure. Zsekhet had seen far more of the world than I could ever hope to see, and I envied him for that. Standing next to him, so close to where the Sacred Training Grounds were located, made me feel that thirst for knowledge keenly—the very desire that had once put me on the path to becoming a Shaman. “Any closer, and you might as well come all the way. The Shaman leaders won’t be happy if you learn their secrets.”

Zsekhet looked horrified at the prospect, and that almost made me laugh. I would have if I weren’t so nervous about coming back here. I didn’t know what my former teachers were going to think when I showed up. Sympathetic for Reid’s plight, of that I was sure. But me? I might end up shunned. My fists closed around the disk I’d worn without fail for the past twenty years. I might lose my invitation. It was a stupid thing to hold onto, and it was worth losing if it would save the life of my friend.

“What about your mate?” Zsekhet asked, and it was my turn to look horrified. He laughed, his black horn glinting in the early Serant light, but that laugh faltered when I couldn’t manage to get my expression under control. My mate? Why was he using that word? I must have slipped up. Did I look at her too long? I didn’t believe for a minute that Min-Ji had said something to another Naga male; she was too loyal for that.

Then I yanked my eyes from the golden twinkle in Zsekhet’s and looked over my shoulder at the two females. They were at the small makeshift camp, sitting beside Reid—one crown of black hair, the other a bright copper hue—bent close together as they whispered. She would have told Cosima, maybe, and Cosima would have told her mate. I’d purposely closed my ears to the noises coming from their little tent last night, for obvious reasons. I had missed the part where the couple talked about us.

“You tell anyone, and I will kill you!” I hissed furiously. Protective instincts surged through my veins, fear for Min-Ji’s life clouding my mind. It was foolish to attack a Naga male with a dragon friend. I had no hope of winning against a sky beast like Sesethul, but I didn’t even remember the dragon at that moment. All I cared about was making sure that Zsekhet would never talk and put my mate in danger.

I didn’t even remember that I’d pulled a knife, but it was in my fist when I surged forward and pinned Zsekhet against the trunk of a tree. He fought back, rage flashing in his eyes, but he didn’t fear for his mate the way I did. I was stronger this time. “You cannot call her my mate. It is a death sentence. You hear me? Her life is in mortal danger if you tell anyone. And I’ll know who to blame if she dies! I’ll hunt you down and gut you. Understood?”

Zsekhet deflated beneath the arm I’d pressed against his throat. His sharp, black horn had stabbed me in the arm, and I hadn’t even felt it. I didn’t pay attention to the slow trickle of blood, either. It didn’t matter until I was certain he understood how important this was. I had not even told Zathar or Iave, my closest friends, and I knew I could trust them. Zsekhet was a former Serqethos and still new to Haven. A former spy... I wanted to believe that he’d have my back on this, but this was Min-Ji’s safety we were talking about; I didn’t take risks with that.

“I swear,” the golden male hissed, his hands opening at his sides, palms turned my way in a sign of surrender. “I will make sure that Cosima and I never speak a word of your mate bond until you release us from this vow. Please, what is this threat you speak of? I would send Sesethul to vanquish it for you. Nobody deserves the misery that comes with denying a bond… It doesn’t end well.”

The dragon had not even raised his head from where he lay napping in the clearing just beyond the females. When Zsekhet said his name, his huge nostrils twitched, and one eyelid slowly blinked open. So the beast had heard our scuffle, and he hadn’t cared; that was very lucky for me. I couldn’t believe I’d taken such a risk, now that my head was starting to feel clearer.

“You can’t vanquish this foe for me,” I said, and winced when I sounded forlorn, dejected, to my own ears. “You can’t kill a queen without starting a war.” I raised my eyes from the dragon and the two females sitting at the campfire in front of him, still talking animatedly in hushed whispers. I’d do anything to solve this problem, to make her happy. I loved nothing better than watching her smiles, her genuine smiles when she solved a problem or helped someone. I loved her.

But I couldn’t kill a queen, especially not one that commanded superior numbers to ours, made up of our friends and brothers. We couldn’t fight them; they were still our family. I had no hope of convincing the queen not to kill Min-Ji either; she would do that in a heartbeat. Humans were so small and frail, so easily injured.

“A queen?” Zsekhet murmured thoughtfully, his gaze on his mate as he contemplated my problem. There had been real rage in him when I threatened him before, but it had vanished without a trace. In its place was the light-heartedness he was known for, tempered by the seriousness of my situation. “That is a problem. A human has no chance of ever defeating a Naga female in a formal challenge...”

I knew that. That’s why I’d hidden our bond. If the Queen found out about Min-Ji, that would be the first thing she’d try. I needed to find a way to power her weapon again; that would even the playing field a little. It would upset the other Naga females if that’s how a challenge ended, but it wasn’t against the rules. All I cared about was that my mate survived.

The possibility of her weapon—something I hadn’t known about until the rescue mission—tantalized me. It still couldn’t be worth the risk, not until I knew how good a shot she was, and how she’d hold up against a living opponent. I’d overheard her telling Kalani about what had brought their skyship down to Serant. She’d shot a male then, bravely doing the right thing to save the others, but could she do that again?

“I will keep her safe by hiding our bond,” I said to Zsekhet, and my glare made it clear that I expected him to do the same. “You do not need to worry about denial symptoms. It’s not like that.” It would have been a concern if not for our passionate encounters. They had eased some of the denied hunger that would have torn me apart otherwise. It was selfish to use her that way, but I still couldn’t regret it.

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