Page 31 of Between Life and Death

A mouth with two curved fangs, stretched unnaturally wide, was headed straight for me.

I swung my forearm upwards, and the mouth attached to a snake clamped around my arm. The snake was massive, its girth well over the size of the widest part of my upper leg. But its size was the least of my concern, considering its needle-like teeth were plunged into my arm. An inferno of pain burst through my nerves, starting at the bite before splintering off and traveling throughout the rest of my body.

Frantic, I conjured a dagger, its structure packed so tightly, it resembled more ice than water. I yelled as I drove it into the side of the snake’s head before pulling it back out and driving it in again and again. The snake’s inky blood saturated my hand, my dagger, staining it a blackish red.

Unclamping its iron bite, the snake released my arm, recoiling into itself. It slammed its head against the ground repeatedly.

I threw my dagger to the ground, clamped my free hand over the bite, and turned to run, but my legs would not move. The white-hot, branding pain was being smothered out, leaving a great numbness in its wake. My knees wobbled once before they gave out. I tried to curse as I fell into the billowy switchgrass, but my tongue felt like a lump of coal, weighted down and impossible to lift.

Although I had never been around a snake of this size before, I had been around enough of them to know that some possessed venom that could cause paralysis . . . which explained my current state.

I lay like a broken doll tossed carelessly on my side, waiting for a child to pick me up and give me life. Even though my eyes were the only thing I could move, they stayed locked on the snake. It continued to thrash its head against the ground, causing bits of rocks and dirt to fly up with each strike. It let out a sound, a blood-curdling scream that sounded . . . human.

My pupils narrowed.

“You stupid wench,” it cried out, its tongue slithering over thes, the words dragged together.

. . . The snake was talking to me.

Thatorthe venom was making me delirious—which was also a possibility.

It shook its head to the side one last time, as if it had finally knocked the pain loose. It slithered towards me, its powerful body crushing the ground beneath it. Utilizing its tail, it wrenched me off my side and flipped me onto my back. My head lolled uselessly to the side. A quick swipe of the snake’s tail straightened my head so I had no choice but to look at it.

Its slit pupils stared into mine, the side of its head still oozing with blood. It was a wonder the creature was still alive. It leaned forward, its forked tongue slithering in and out of its mouth, flickering over my face. “All I was going to do was eat you.”

I wanted to recoil, to get away, but my body was a useless husk with a fully functioning brain—it was horrifying. I had to do something, anything. I turned to my Curse, but that, too, was rendered immobile.

“You see, young human females are my favorite treat. They are a tender meat and so easy to digest. They are so soft and supple,” the snake hissed in a male voice. “I was so looking forward to swallowing you whole, but then you stabbed my beautiful face.” It wobbled its triangular head woefully from side to side before it stiffened its neck and flashed its venomous fangs at me again, spitting saliva and words in my face. “Again! And again!” It paused. “But if I eat you now, you will never feel the pain that I felt . . . I think I will drag you back to my den and keep you as my human pet,” it said, the words strung together like a haunting melody.

A sickness, born from panic and fear, washed over me. I wanted to vomit, I wanted to scream, but I could do nothing. That was terrifying in itself.

The snake chuckled. “Now, now, don’t worry. I can turn into a man, you know. A handsome one, at that. If you prove to be a good pet . . . I could pleasure you as well.” Its tongue flickered over my face, over my lips—furthering its meaning.

In that moment, I was thankful I couldn’t feel.

“Of course, you wouldn’t feel any pleasure per se, as I would have to keep injecting you with my venom. I wouldn’t want you to try to hurt me again.” The snake wrapped the end of its tail around my ankle, slowly sliding it upwards. “Perhaps you would prefer me in this form. Afterall, my species has two cocks and—”

In a flash of metal and moonlight, the snake’s voice was cut off as a sword glided through the air and chopped its head clean off, revealing a much larger predator that stood behind the snake’s convulsing body.

Obsidian eyes stared down at me, blacker than the Endless Mist itself.

The snake’s body did not fall to the ground. Instead, it recoiled like it was still alive. It slithered maniacally, its sporadic movement causing it to roll around as if it were fighting itself. I heard a giant-sized splash, indicating it had fallen into the river—leaving its twitching, snapping head behind.

Von returned his sword to its leather sheath, his dark gaze never lifting from mine. He cocked a black brow, the one with the slit through it. “How did you manage to get yourself tangled up in this situation, Kitten?”

I glared at him, or at least pretended to.

He smirked. “You know, I think I might prefer you like this . . . less mouthy.”

Bastard.

My reply must have transferred to my eyes because he tipped his head back and laughed, knowing full well what I had called him inside my head.

If it were not for his unreasonably high arrogance, I might find him attractive right now.

Powerful arms wrapped around me as Von plucked me from the ground and carried me farther down the river, away from the snake’s bloody head. After a short walk, he lowered us both to the ground, my useless body stretched across his lap with my torso propped against his chest.

He inspected the bite marks. My head was angled just enough that I could see them. There were two cylindrical markings, the area around the holes bumpy and swollen, like a handful of pebbles had been shoved under my purplish-red skin.

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