Page 3 of The Serpent's Bride
When they passed me a tray in the kitchen, I felt the guards’ gazes dragging slowly over my body. I still didn’t look up.
“Remember, absolutely no staff-on-staff interactions,” the head of staff hissed at one of the guards staring at me. “And whatever the guests ask for, you give it to them. Or else…”
She mimicked a knife slicing over her throat. A cold crept down my spine.
I rushed to serve my flutes of gold-flecked champagne to guests in the outdoor area. Anything to get away from the watchful eyes of the staff, who knew me as the oldest daughter of their boss.
Brilliant light spilled over diamonds and silk. The gowns looked poured onto the women’s bodies. I didn’t dare look at the men. They were the ones with bloody hands.
The veranda was lit up, with cocktail tables set up along the path leading to the family chapel. I was still carrying the tray, people grabbing drinks off it. I made sure to curtsy every time a glass was taken, like I’d seen the other maids do.
The party was beautiful, but just for a moment, I wanted to be alone. I was always with my siblings. Or bodyguards.
I walked back farther than I should have. Past the music and laughter. Until the grass was thick and long on my legs, and the forest loomed ahead. The solitude was so different, I had a big, stupid grin on my face.
Maybe this was what I’d been looking for all along. Not a forbidden night watching mafia kings, but just the thrill of freedom. Something I’d never get after I was married off.
After that ring slid on my finger, I’d be owned. A stranger’s property. And I knew it was my siblings’ worst fear, too, not just mine. Losing me meant they’d be at Papa’s mercy, with no one left to defend them. I was the oldest, so I always got the brunt of the punishments.
I could feel the iron gates surrounding our property, digging into my back. Excitement flooded me. So close to the outside, I felt liberated of my obligations. The last time I got this close to leaving the property was when I was at my all girls’ Catholic school.
Something moved in the grass. I stilled. At first, I thought it was just the wind… then I saw it. A dark shape coiled at my left foot. My breath caught. It was a snake.
“Oh, no-” I stepped back, but it was too late. My tray of flutes came crashing down as the snake reared back. Pain exploded in my ankle. Sharp and blinding, it made me grit my teeth after I screamed from the pain.
The snake slid away, hissing.
“Papa, help!” I screamed out in pain, my strength crumbling. “No, please, no!”
Something was wrong. The pain didn’t stay in my ankle, it spread.Fast. In seconds, it was crawling up my leg like something alive under my skin. I stumbled back, breath hitching, vision blurring at the edges.
“Help me!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them.
No one answered. Of course they didn’t. I wasn’t even supposed to be there.
The garden felt too big all of a sudden. The music from the house sounded distant, warped, and alien. My knees buckled. I hit the ground hard, fingers digging into the grass as panic clawed its way up my throat.
I couldn’t die like this. Not here, and not alone. I was starting to cry, the blinding pain in my leg taking over. Then, something bigger moved in the shadows.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
He was a man, but he looked more like a hallucination at first. He towered over me, blocking the moon with his back. He hadblack hair, black stubble, and a dark voice that crawled up my spine when he spoke.
His gaze dropped straight to my leg. “What did you do?”
I couldn’t speak. He swore under his breath, already moving. A hand with tattooed knuckles closed around my ankle, firm, unyielding. I gasped, instinctively trying to pull away when I saw a snake tattoo on the back of his hand.
“Don’t move.” The command cracked through me, sharp enough to freeze my body in place. His voice was deep, and solid.
I stilled. Not because I trusted him. Because something in his tone said I didn’t have a choice.
His grip tightened as he dragged my leg closer, fingers pressing into my skin with purpose. Heat radiated from his touch, grounding me just enough to breathe.
“A snake?” he asked. I nodded, barely. His jaw flexed.
He tore the fabric of the black lace stocking at my ankle. I barely had time to process it before he leaned down and his mouth was on me.
I sucked in a breath so sharp it hurt. His lips sealed over the bite, and everything inside me went completely still.
