Chapter 68 - Advent Of The Venomous Serpentine Empress (1/2)

A whole ice night later, Versailles woke screaming. As her violet eyes popped open, a silent sob caught in her throat. Her muscles twitched with adrenaline, her gaze glazed with a haunted look.

Hisssss!

The soft hisses made her start. Squinting in the fiery light of the flame trees encircling the Floating Flame Island, she turned her head, but otherwise remained unmoving where she lay on the cracks of stones. Across the land-snakes- little and big, dull and colorful, littered the ground as they rhythmically slithered back and forth.

The last time she was here, her focus was set on getting stronger. She neither took the time to relax, nor enjoyed what she had. Now, as she lay motionless on the cracked ground of the Floating Flame Island, and silently watched the numerous snakes dance to their natural tune, peace settled over her heart.

The nightmare slowly receded and with it, her fear.

She had another chance. Another chance to make everything right. This time, she will get her vengeance. But she will not rush. She will take every step with meticulous planning and assurance of absolute victory. She will see to it that the supreme elder got his due.

Raising her head to the dull red sky, her violet eyes flashed with bottomless hate. The many lifetimes of death and torment will be exacted in this lifetime.

Too long. She had been quite for far too long. It was now time that the Nar realm witnessed the venom and deadly poison of a vengeful serpentine.

It was time they witnessed the boundless love and undying loyalty of a mate.

It was time they welcomed the advent of the venomous serpentine empress.

This time she will not serve, will not struggle to survive.

This time, she will rule!

As the embers of the flame dragons and phoenixes bloomed, her forked tongue slithered out, venom seeping from her violet-gold pupils.

Standing, she turned and headed towards the secret abode.

*

Inside the moss covered underground cave, tension filled the air. The serpentine elders had strange expressions on their faces, their flickering eyes shifting between Versailles and Queen Nakee. They were perplexed.

What was so important for the serpentine to leave her mate, returning to the snake abode?

Unaffected by the weird looks the serpentines were giving her, Versailles stood in the center of the hall, her gaze fixed on Queen Nakee.

”Queen Nakee, have you experienced black outs before? Or episodes of confusion and memory lose? Please, try to recall carefully. The survival of the snake clan depends on your answer.” Voice firm and expression serious, she observed her best friend's reaction.

From her previous life, she witnessed the Snake Queen's death through Luke's magic spell. Dissected into two halves, her cold corpse was buried under the rubble of black stones. And Luke, making use of her shaken emotions, attempted to instigate her against her mate.

Adding in the fact her memories were incomplete and her soul split, his scheme had almost succeeded. By an ironic turn of events, the shadow behind the vampire sent his minions to get the gem from her, indirectly pulling her out of the trance.

The moment she returned to the snake abode, she made cutting at the root of that incident, her first priority. She wanted to sever any hold the shadow lord had on her friend, and free her from its clutches.

This was going to be her first strike against her hidden enemy, as she destroyed the threat of death hovering over the Snake Queen.

Queen Nakee was baffled at the sudden questions of her friend. Having known each other for years, she knew Versailles never easily brought the clan in a conversation, unless it was serious. Furrowing her brows, she tried to recall any such incidents.

At first, there was nothing. Soon, however, darkness flashed past her vision and her head exploded with pain, forcing a scream out her mouth. Anxiety clawed at her heart, her breath escaping in quick, short gasps as she crumbled into a heap on the floor.

”Versailles...” She panickily cried.

Seeing her friend's condition, Versailles stepped up, holding her arm as she patted her back.

”Breath deep, breath even, breath slow. Focus on my voice and listen to me very carefully.” Sweeping her gaze on the now startled serpentines, she breathed softly, before coming to a decision.

They had to know.

Helping the queen to her feet, she raised her head to address the serpents.

”On my way back, I encountered an attack. I believe everyone here is already aware of the incident of a snake queen and generation of serpentines getting wiped out. As such I will not go into details about the event. What you need to know at this time however, is the fact that Queen Nakee is its next target. Its aim? The extinction of the Snake clan.” Keeping her speech short and to the point, Versailles guided the queen back to her throne.