Page 62 of Season of Naga: Volume 2
"Without question." My fists clench until my knuckles ache. "Salvor said he was disappointed I had not joined them. Serin described the female who gave her the key to her shackles. Said she owed Leira for saving your life. Also, Lethira, the violet-scaled healer with pale blue eyes from the Temple, treated my injuries, was one among them.”
Varok's tail lashes once against the stone floor. "I should have had Severa questioned when we rounded up all the russet-scaled females when Leira was abducted. She has been missing since the evacuation."
My voice drops to a guttural growl as the air around me vibrates with my fury. "There is a male who tortured Serin for information. Iron scales, amber eyes, chipped fang." I hiss, each word a promise. "Once I identify him, he is mine to kill."
The others exchange quick glances and subtle nods of agreement as the air currents swirl violently around my coils. Varok's eyes sweep the room with a look that silences any potential commentary. His fiery scales catch the keh’shalin as he leans over the table, eyes narrowed in calculation as he studies the map with the patient focus of a predator considering all possible paths.
Varok traces a claw along the map's edge. "The tunnels Lurok discovered must be mapped and temporarily sealed."
"Consider it done," Traven responds, straightening slowly to his full height.
"However," Varok continues, his tail tip twitching with barely contained energy, "the passages you and Serin traveled could give our scouts undetected entry into human territory." His voice drops to a dangerous rumble. "A critical advantage when Thorne and Halvane inevitably strike again.”
I should feel satisfaction for the intelligence I provide, but my claws dig deep as I fight the war inside. Each heartbeat thunders her name. My scales burned hot, then cold, as she whispered those three words, stirring something ancient within me that answered before I could stop it.
Resisting this longing feels like suffocation. Surrender brings me closer to prophecy, yet denial twists something vital inside me, as if my very essence recognizes what my mind rejects.
"What of the OathCoil?" I ask, desperate to redirect my thoughts. "Have you learned anything useful?”
Sareth's gaze meets mine across the chamber, steady and unblinking. The older warrior stands like a fortress wall, coils gathered beneath him with deliberate control, the dark camouflage of his gunmetal and black scales broken only by the pale fall of his white-streaked hair. "Miria destroyed it after being spotted with a human male. Leira identified him later as a High Council member named Roland Bramwell.”
"Her sister, Serin, could prove to be our greatest asset," I say, forcing my voice into the measured cadence expected of a Talon giving a report, though what I want to do is roar her accomplishments to the heavens. "While spying on her father, she overheard the conversation between him and Halvane. They spoke openly of the worms having already placed explosive devices within Vessan-Kar, along with the precise timeline for detonation.”
"When she wakes, we will speak with her and see what other valuable information she can tell us." Varok’s voice carries the weight of command, yet holds a note of respect.
"Without her knowledge of the devices, we would have remained blind until the charges ignited beneath our own coils." I pause, schooling my features into neutrality despite the fierce surge of pride rushing through my veins. "The human is responsible for preventing the destruction of Vessan-Kar and saving all the lives within it."
"Did she mention anything about Malikor or where the humans might be holding him?" Traven asks, tension coiling in every muscle.
“She said nothing of a naga being held captive,” I reply, watching as hope dims in his eyes like the last embers of a dying fire.
"Leira said the only holding cells she ever saw in Clavenmoor were for humans," Varok says, his voice dropping to that dangerous register that makes even the bravest warriors stand at attention. "There are two enemy factions within our ranks, as well as humans who have us surrounded. We need to know all that Serin has overheard if we are to gain the upper hand.”
"The worms' numbers have been reduced thanks to Varok's flames," Sareth says, grinning with dark satisfaction.
"Except for the one I allowed to live to send a message to Thorne," Varok cuts in, a muscle working in his jaw as his tail gives a single, sharp lash against the stone floor. "I should have dispatched him as well, given I delivered the message myself.”
“For the rest of my days, I will never forget the shock on Thorne's face when you razed his eastern encampment to ash,” Sareth growls.
“He did withdraw his soldiers to the agreed-upon perimeter, though I do not care for his camps surrounding us still." Beneath Varok's scales, his flame brightens, casting a subtle crimson glow through the fine seams between his armor plates.
Traven pivots toward me. "What of Zaethir, Lurok? Nirik reported he was leading the charge against you when you collapsed the tunnel."
"I do not know what became of the worms giving chase. I woke in darkness with a pounding headache, then crawled for many days before I detected a faint whiff of fresh air and followed the tunnel out."
Varok's massive coils glide across the stone floor in a measured rhythm as he begins to pace. "Did Serin overhear anything about a naga seer named Zela? She would be a youngling Zara's age."
"Not to me, but we did not have much time to converse between being held captive by TrueCoil and our escape." I clench my jaw, fighting the memory of Serin's abused body as we fled through the darkness. "Should I know the name?"
"Thorne bragged he had a seer of his own," Varok says, his eyes flashing with barely contained fury. “That she is Zara’s twin.”
“I have never heard Zara mention a lost sibling.”
“Neither have I,” Varok sneers. “Yet, I found his bragging more than just a barb to provoke.”
“Thorne did threaten Malikor’s life if we attacked,” Sareth adds. “Perhaps he hoped to provoke us into making the first move.”
“But why threaten?” I shrug. “If he wanted to end Malikor’s life, he would not need a reason. Once he figures out that Malikor would sooner die than give the humans any information about us, they will kill him anyway.”
