Chapter 8
Late at night, I leaned quietly against the edge of the hot spring.
A white snake glided slowly across the water’s surface. I reached out and caught it in one swift motion.
“Althea…” Franz’s voice sounded plaintive, almost wronged.
He shifted into his human form, his bare chest settling easily beneath my hand as he leaned into me, dependent and relaxed.
I looked down at him.
His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark. There was no deceit in them-only a deep, abiding affection.
Since that first encounter, I had wondered why Franz, a complete stranger, had fallen for me so deeply and so quickly. Was it because of my identity?
It was as if he could hear my thoughts. He tilted his face into my palm and whispered, “We’ve met before, Althea. This isn’t the
first time.”
He guided his memory into my mind through a gentle surge of spiritual energy.
A flicker-
A small white snake, barely the length of a forearm, was being tormented by a few young phoenix clansmen. Wounded and
trembling, it curled into itself by the roadside.
The younger version of me, unable to bear the cruelty, had rushed to intervene.
Another flicker-
The same white snake, frail from hunger, was nearly withering away.
I, now in my youth, knelt to feed it a wild hare and a handful of berries.
Scene after scene passed-
Moments I had long forgotten, when I had unknowingly saved that tiny white snake over and over again.
Until one day, when he had finally taken human form and come eagerly to find me, only to discover I was already stubbornly intent on bonding with the black serpent.
“You fell for me… because of gratitude?” My voice caught slightly.
It wasn’t suspicion. It was fear. Fear that, like Nyxar, Franz might one day accuse me of manipulating kindness into love.
But he shook his head.
“I’ve loved you from the start. What you did… only made me more certain I didn’t love the wrong person.”
1/2
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of my chest.
Franz must have heard it. He leaned against me, murmuring softly, “From now on, you’re the only family I have. I was terrified
today… Will you stay with me tonight?”
His lower half morphed into a smooth snake’s tail, and with an almost teasing tenderness, he brushed it lightly against my calf.
Once.
Twice.
My eyes narrowed. I rasped, “And how exactly do you want me to keep you company?”
He moved closer, water rippling around him. And with that, the spring turned to a sea of warmth.
The next morning, I rose gingerly, supporting my waist.
I gave Franz a sharp kick.
“Althea, do you not like me anymore?” he asked, face full of wounded innocence. “Or… did I not satisfy you last night?”
“Satisfy?” I gritted my teeth. “Oh, I was very satisfied.”
Not that he was overpowering, but the way he’d worn me out, flipping me this way and that all night long, had nearly left me
unable to walk.
He rushed to support me as we exited the cave.
Then I stopped. Just beyond the protective barrier, a figure was waiting.
It was Nyxar.
