Page 5 of Severed Heir

Sabitha clicked her tongue. The scorpion hissed like it was laughing. “I’m not your escort, girl. Frankly, I don’t care if you make it there alive.”

I opened my mouth to fire back, but Charles cut in before I could. “Severyn will make it there alive. Or I’ll have you rotting in a cell.” His gaze sharpened. “Do I make myself clear?”

I eyed the massive scorpion, its eyes gleaming like thick oil. “I’m not riding that thing. I’m not going,” I said.

Sabitha flicked her wrist, and the creature stilled, as if responding to a silent command. “Nevia won’t harm you,” she said with a sweet, mocking lilt. “She only likes a taste.”

A taste?Of me?A taste of what?

“I feel like a prisoner,” I muttered under my breath. And technically, I was. “Can we portal instead? Anything but this—this venomous beast. Or you could just trust me and let me go.”

Charles let out a sharp sigh. “Portaling is advanced. The risk is too high.”

“I’m sure scorpion travel poses some risk as well.” I bit back a groan and turned toward Nevia. The scorpion loomed above me, its legs twitching, wiry hairs vibrating with every step I took back.

“Don’t just stand there,” Sabitha said, her voice smooth as silk. “Climb up. Nevia only bites on my command.”

Evangeline reached out, trailing her fingers across the black shell. “What a magnificent beast,” she murmured. “She is divine.”

Before I could bolt, Charles snapped his fingers, and ice shackles clamped around my wrists. In a breath, he hauled me into the saddle with infuriating ease.

“They’ll melt in an hour,” he said, grunting. “Unless you want to run chained, I suggest you cooperate.”

The saddle shifted beneath me. Every instinct I had screamed to run, but it was too late. I gripped the leather reins, heart pounding against my ribs.

Nevia let out a low hum, and I felt it in my teeth. “What is it doing?” I asked, voice tight.

Sabitha mounted in front of me with practiced ease. “Tasting you,” she said.

Tasting me?

Suddenly, a cold ripple slid down my spine. Then I felt a pull. It came slowly, like a whisper under my skin. Nevia wasdrawing something out of me. It wasn’t blood, but flame. It unraveled in silken threads, peeled from my soul like heat from bone.

She wasn’t biting. She was savoring.

Before I could stop myself, the words surfaced in my mind without my control.Severyn Blanche. My quell is flame.

Sabitha tucked a hand beneath her jaw. “Nevia says you have an interesting soul.”

“Tell it to stop,” I said, biting back a shiver. This wasn’t just a creature. It was studying me and tasting my secrets.

Sabitha gave me an all-knowing grin. “What else lies in your chest? Nevia has never been curious before while tasting.”

The words nearly spilled out. The ones I had sworn never to say aloud.I am forbidden.I swallowed hard, forcing them back, locking them behind my teeth.

“Charles,” I said hoarsely, “stop it. Stop this beast.”

But Charles’s voice was already rising. “Enough! Enjoy your little tasting, Sabitha. But if she’s harmed, you’ll find your face across every kingdom within a day.”

Sabitha snapped the reins without another word. “Away we go,” she said, almost gleefully. “I would hate to be forbade from this land.”

Nevia surged forward. I gripped the saddle tighter, trying to force the burning thoughts from my head. But it was impossible to think with a monstrous scorpion crawling beneath me.

What had the Briber seen? What had Neviafelt? Maybe Sabitha already knew what my forbidden power was. Maybe she’d known since Ravensla.

We rode in silence, the scorpion’s heavy strides rocking us with every step. Cold air knifed across my face as we passed through the Capital gates. I didn’t look back. Not even when I felt Charles watching.

“Do you enjoy being a Briber?” I asked. “Surely, you get some thrill out of this.”

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