Page 21 of Sonnets and Serpents
A particularly large quake made his books hop, and he dropped his wrist atop the stack to hold it steady.
He couldn’t write notes during the tremors. Although hispen was an immense improvement on the quill and ink of his childhood—Fluid Casters had fashioned it to release ink at just the right rate—it still couldn’t save him from an unsteady environment, and he’d rather not have jagged lines all over his journal. So he merely absorbed the words of the text, letting his mind chew through them like a heavy piece of meat at a banquet, savoring the spices and trying to identify them.
Ever hunger, the text read.Never sated. Monster dwelling. Blood and ash.
The translation was choppy at best and gibberish at worst. Silas should have grabbed the book in its original Cronese rather than Pravish. Cronese was the weakest of his three known languages, but he’d specifically learned it because the Cronese syllabary script didn’t lend itself to translation.
All at once, he knew why he’d been drawn to this text, what his mind had been trying to tell him.
“Blind as a burrowing snake,” he muttered, closing the book. He grabbed his bag, stumbling as another tremor shook the dorm building.
The black symbols on the magic stealer’s box—even obscured, he’d recognized something about them. They reminded him of written Cronese.
At a brisk pace, he crossed campus back to the Yamakaz. He returned the translation of Mollier’s text and asked for the original, only to learn it had been signed out by another student.
“Other works in Cronese?” he asked.
He followed the librarian’s directions, seeking a shelf of historical texts about Cronith.
Until he turned a corner and came face-to-face with the reckless princess.
“Disi dokmek,” he cursed.Swallowed tooth. It was the best expression of bad luck—the idea that, while biting lunch, a snakecould lose and swallow its own fang. It certainlyfeltlike Silas had something sharp lodged in his throat.
Eliza had been sitting at a table, as if waiting for something, but she leapt to her feet when she saw him. What was she doing at the university?
Her brown eyes fixed on his and began smoldering like embers, and Silas found he didn’t care for reasons. He didn’t have time for this.
The princess surged forward, clearly intent on intercepting him, but he ducked into a passage between shelves, certain he could lose her between the historical accounts of the Century War and the research by Fluid Casters in the medical field.
He’d forgotten how fast the mouse could scurry.
Just as he rounded a corner, he glanced back only to realize she was nearly upon him. At the same moment, his magic tingled with awareness—snake below. Tulip was down from her tree, stalking the library for her next rat, and he’d almost stumbled right into her. She lifted her head, hissing her displeasure, even though he’d halted at the last second.
With premature triumph, Silas smirked, knowing the snake would drive Eliza back.
Instead, it did the opposite.
She launched herself directly into his arms.
With a grunt and no other choice, Silas caught her, keeping them both from falling onto an innocent python. The trembling princess pressed her face to his chest, eyes squeezed closed. He appreciated the irony that she found him a safer option than a snake. That was the trouble with ignorance; it motivated hypocritical decisions.
He cleared his throat, trying to extract himself from her grip, which was more constricting than any python’s. She whimpered, and he rolled his eyes.
“Tulip won’t hurt you,” he said. “First, because she’s alazy thing, and she has plenty of easier prey available. Second, because even small as you are, you’re notthatsmall. Third, because you have a problematic shape for swallowing, particularly in the shoulders. Need I go on?”
Slowly, Eliza loosened her grip, straightening but not releasing him. Despite himself, Silas softened. In the past, only Maggie had ever trusted him to be her defender, and no matter how irritating the princess was, she’d stirred fond memories.
So he spoke more gently when he said, “Just because I have no fear of snakes doesn’t mean I can’t see the reasoning in it. You know, my sister—”
With the speed of a striking cobra, Eliza pulled her arms free, revealing something clutched in her right hand. Something she clamped around Silas’s wrist.
His magic roared in his ears.Intruder, it screamed.Threat!A pulse of magic not his own wrapped him with invisible cords, binding him in a cage. With a snarl, he ripped free of Eliza, clawing at the unwanted shackle. But the magic had already fastened, and the bracelet fit him perfectly, a band sealing his wrist without seam, without hinge or release.
Distantly, he heard the princess’s smug voice. “Since you wouldn’t help me willingly, I’ll be borrowing your language proficiency to find Henry. You won’t have to lift a finger, so—”
Silas looked up, and her voice died in her throat, her eyes widening. He could guess what she saw in his.
Red eyes, pupils narrowed to slits. His viper eyes.
