The Basilisk Queen
The Lasina Chronicles
Book 2
By Rozie Marshall
Contents
Title Page
Copyright © 2020 by Rozie Marshall
Dedication
Cazzith
Lasina
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
More by Rozie Marshall
Copyright © 2020 by Rozie Marshall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Rozie Marshall asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Rozie Marshall has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
Cover art by MJ Marstens
Formatted by Rozie Marshall
Dedication
To all the women who love sex, sin, and just a touch of scales.
Mindy G and Krystal; I hope all your fantasies come true with this series. Please stop sending me pictures of your snakes, they scare the shit out of me.
To my husband; Thanks for indulging my curiosity on reptile mating habits and maybe twisting them for the purposes of this series.
To Everly Taylor, thank you for all the invaluable information on reptiles.
Thank you to all my readers for the love and support you give me; without you this wouldn’t be possible.
Thank you brain for the Ophidiophobia and the very realistic nightmares I could use in this series.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S GONE?” I yelled at the head guard on this trip. “HOW IN THE FUCK DID YOU LOSE HER?”
“Ajih, was with her in the market and a boy bumped into Her Majesty. Ajih ran after the boy and Her Majesty disappeared,” The guard spoke, defending himself as we stood in the inn. “I have sent the others out to find her, Your Highness. Ajih is here and knows she must be punished for her miscalculation.”
“Miscalculation… MISCALCULATION!” Kai roared, and the guard trembled slightly in the face of his wrath. “GET OUT, FIND HER.” The guard rushed out the door to hopefully join the hunt for Maisie.
“Kai, get the unicorns saddled up, Emot fly back and get the Eastern Kingdom guards, and have them fan out to find her.” Emot and Kai raced from the room, Emot shifting as soon as the door was open. “Zugo, since you are still weak you should stay here, Cobra can stay and help you get better. Viper, will you help us find her?”
“I don’t need to help you find her, she is with her father, heading North through the Carlenan Woods. His carriage is swift, but not fast enough to outrun a unicorn at full speed. Take the Dawnroad Trail, you can cut them off.” I watched in awe as her eyes faded back to her their original grey-blue color. “Don’t ask.”
I nodded once and raced down the stairs to join Kai, he was already mounted up. Tossing the reins of the second unicorn next to me, I wheeled around and raced to towards the Dawnroad Trail, Kai right beside me. Once away from the village, I let my unicorn have its free reins and we flew along the open road. I began to hear the sound of rushing wind as we raced along.
Kai kept pace the entire way, watching the skies for the winged guard. I heard him point and yell as we neared the far side of the wood, while Emot swooped down to fly beside me. “I sssaw a carriage racing through the woodsss towardsss the Rugnora Passss, the guardsss won’t make it in time we need to hurry.” He flew ahead and I let my mount go even faster. We needed to get to the pass before they did, or she would be lost to us forever.
The trees raced by as we sped along, the colors blurring together, then the pass was in sight. Emot was perched on a high rock watching the road from the west, as a carriage raced towards us. I could hear the sound of a whip cracking as they raced along the road, dirt dusting the air. I veered off, heading directly towards them, jumping from my unicorn’s back when I was close enough to hit the driver head on.
I shifted in midair and snapped my jaws around his throat before he could think about shifting. After snuffing the life out of the driver, I broke the rail and leather that held the unicorns locked to the carriage, and they continued to race ahead, no longer burdened by the load. Kai and Emot took out the guards around us, but then I heard the sound of wood breaking.
A massive green basilisk broke through the carriage walls, Maisie dangling from his tail. He didn’t bother attacking us just rushed towards the pass. I went to follow when something hit me in the back of the head forcing me to shift back into human form. I looked around but didn’t see anything. Emot and Kai raced after, but as I watched them, two more bottles of glowing black liquid hit them forcing their shifts as well. Just as we began to run, while trying desperately to shift, Maisie screamed out for help.
I screamed as the green basilisk tightened around me, my bag digging into stomach. Wriggling my arms free, I pounded on his scales, and my father just laughed maniacally, as he kept going. Behind me, I heard the sounds of yelling and looked around. Emot and Kai were running behind me, yelling. Racking my brain, I tried to find a way out of Vago’s grip.
A whisper on the wind reached my ears, “The knife I gave you silly girl.” Viper’s voice sounded in my head and I pulled my bag out of Vago’s coil. Ripping it open as fast as I could, the camera flew out and shattered on the ground, as Vago continued into a large cliff canyon. I rummaged my hand around and felt the dagger slice the side of my hand, grabbing it I pulled it free. Tossing my bag to the ground behind us, I gripped the dagger’s handle with both hands, and plunged it into Vago’s scales.
The speed at which he released me was blinding, and I hit the ground hard. I got up and ran away as fast as my legs could carry me. Without warning, I found myself scooped up from above, and was flying over the open groun
d. As we flew, I saw Emot and Kai on the ground still running, The basilisk that had me swooped landing low just before them, and then letting me go.
Several more guards dropped in, surrounding us. Emot pulled me to his chest and hugged me tight. “Why did you leave?” He asked, as Kai pulled me from his arms to wrap me in a hug of his own.
Sic ran up and pulled me from Kai’s grip. “We need to go now, back to Mistshore.” We turned to the guards and they began to pick us up one by one, then we were flying South. I looked back towards the large canyon behind us and saw a lone man gazing after us as we flew off. While I watched, a woman slipped out of the rock wall and joined him, standing close by his side.
We landed back in Mistshore on the docks near the inn, only to have Viper walk out of the main door. “Seriously, girl.” She pulled me by the arm into the building and up the stairs. Throwing the door open against the far wall, she pushed me through before slamming it shut again. “You almost got them killed. If Cobra hadn’t forced them to shift back, they would have been dead right now,” She hissed at me. Cobra slithered into the room from the window and shifted.
Zugo was asleep on the bed by the wall and Cobra ignored me to check his eyes. “You have five minutes before he comes too, I can’t make the others forget you ran, Viper might.” She said as she looked at her sister. “Zugo at least won’t know that you left at all, and that is a good thing.” Cobra put her hand out and snapped her fingers. “Your hand.” I placed mine in hers and watched as she healed my cut as if it never happened. “Tell anyone I did that, and I’ll kill you myself.”
The others entered the room and froze, as Viper turned towards them. “I can’t make them forget, too many guards saw it all. Hiding sex is one thing but I can’t shield you from this, the only thing I can do is make sure Zugo doesn’t find out.” She released whatever hold on them she had and spoke to them directly, “Zugo won’t remember that she left, try to keep it that way. There is another room that you can use to yell at her.”
The fury on Sic’s face scared me as Emot pulled me back out of the room, and down the hallway. They entered a different room, Sic barely waiting for the door to close before he started yelling, “How could you run off like that? Don’t you know he would have killed you without a care? The guards found Sam’s body, along with this,” He held up a necklace, the one I had gotten in the market. He shoved it into his pocket, angrily running a hand through his hair.
Turning away. Sic began to pace. I looked at Kai, who had an equally pissed look on his face, as he shook his head. Emot, on the other hand, look hurt, betrayed, as if I had crushed his heart and it would never recover. “I just wanted to go home,” I whispered into the silence, feeling like a recalcitrant child in the face of their anger.
“Don’t you get it yet? This is your home now,” Sic said, while rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I don’t mean to sound like an ass about it, but the likelihood that your mother survived is slim, and if she did, she would come back here for you.” Sic’s words sliced through my chest and I couldn’t breathe. The only thing that had been holding me together was getting home.
“We need to go. the guards can fly us back to the castle. She isn’t safe here, and if he knows we came back here then he might attack,” Kai’s words were directed at Sic. All I could do was sit on the chair in the corner, thinking about how Sic was probably right.
I felt the first tear roll down my face and tried to stop the others, but they kept coming. Looking out the window to hide it from them, I noticed Emot’s reflection in the glass. He looked miserable, and I realized, my leaving had hurt him. My selfish actions had caused so much trouble, and now I had to face the music.
A knock on the door stopped Sic’s pacing. He swung it wide as a guard bowed low. “Everyone is ready to leave, Your Highness.” Sic nodded, and they waited for me to stand. I didn’t bother looking at anything but the floor as I marched outside, once more. Zugo, Viper, and Cobra, all sat waiting on the backs of guards, while others waited for us to join them. Kai picked me up and placed me on the back of one. there were straps to hold on to that he handed me, then I was soaring through the air.
The others caught up quickly, and we made it back to the castle in half the time it had taken us to get there. Once back at the castle, the guards landed in the main courtyard letting us off. I didn’t bother waiting for anyone, I just walked in through the main castle doors and up the stairs. More guards opened doors for me as I entered my room, heading straight for my bathroom. Turning the lock on the bathroom door, I slid down the wood panel and began sobbing.
What had I done? My mother was probably dead, now Sam was, too. Despite the fact that he had hurt me so badly, several times, I hadn’t wanted him dead. I had broken Emot’s heart when I had run off, and Zugo didn’t even know I had been gone, so I had to lie to him. The tears just kept coming, not in self-pity, but self-hatred, I couldn’t even stand myself at the moment. My basilisk tried to comfort me some, but she was feeling just as guilty about my actions as I was.
I heard the guys on the other side of the door, but didn’t bother opening it. How could I expect them to ever forgive me, knowing how much I had hurt them? I laid on the floor as the sun set outside, the room growing dark around me. My tears eventually stopped, the sounds of life eventually quieted, and I fell asleep on the cold tile floor.
When I woke, a few hours later, the bathroom was still pitch black. I rose and found the light switch, flipping the light on. I was still in awe that some things where just like home, and yet, others were totally different. The bright light hurt my eyes as it illuminated the room, and I made my way over to the sink. Splashing cool water over my face to hopefully get rid of any puffiness, I gazed at the mirror.
“You’re a stupid, stupid girl.” I told my reflection. “You need to put your big girl panties on and do what’s right. That means marriage, mating, and whatever else they tell you. Forget about Earth, Mom is dead so there is nothing to go back to now, anyway.” Drying my face on a towel, I unlocked the door and stepped out into the room. I noticed Sic’s door was fully repaired, as I walked towards the sitting area through the big double door.
The sitting area was just as quiet, and the fire in the grate burned low. I walked out of the room and down towards the stairs, the night guards bowing as I passed. My stomach rumbled as I reached the main floor and decided to go to the kitchens. The spiral stairs were softly lit with the wall sconces as I made my way down into the kitchen. Once I hit the bottom step, I noticed a low light coming from the fridge.
Slowly entering the room, I watched Emot close the fridge. He turned and placed several things on the counter before noticing me standing there. “Do you want sssomething?” His words where cold and emotionless, making me realize how much I had hurt him.
“I just came to grab a snack, but I’ll leave you alone.” I turned to leave, not wanting to hurt him more.
“You don’t have to go. Thisss issss your home, you’re allowed to go wherever you want,” He spoke softly, and I paused in the entry way.
“I don’t want to bother you. I’ll just grab something and go back to the room.” I turned back and walked to the fridge, swiftly opening the door to see what I could grab quickly, then I would leave. I could feel Emot’s eyes on my back as I looked. Reaching for a yogurt, I felt his hand on my side and froze.
His warmth wrapped around me as he stepped closer and pulled the door from my light grip. Closing it, his other hand wrapped around my waist and he pulled me back fully against his chest. My breathing hitched as tears welled in my eyes, the comfort he gave me, unwillingly breaking my resolve to stay away from him.
“Why did you run? And why with him?” His whisper was soft, and I could hear the pain in his voice. A tear rolled down my cheek and I harshly wiped it away, refusing to cry more.
“I just wanted to go home, and he said he had a way to get back to Earth. I knew he was lying about wanting us to get back together, but I didn’t care what e
xcuse he gave me, if it got me back to my mom.” I paused for a moment taking a deep breath before I said the next part, “Sic is right, though, and my mom is probably dead.”
He pulled my hair off my shoulder and I sighed. “It was never about getting back with him?” His question caressed my skin as his breath touched my shoulder.
I shook my head ‘no’ and spoke softly, “He cheated on me. I do have some dignity.” His lips pressed to my shoulder and I felt a tear leak out of the corner of my eye.
“Then why did the guardsss find a necklace near hisss body? Did he give it to you?” My head dropped to the side has his mouth worked its way up to me ear.
“A vendor in the market gave it to me, as a gift.” I moaned softly as his teeth scraped my earlobe. “She said it was for protection, from what, she didn’t say. I can’t even remember what she called it. Acid-something,” He sucked hard as I explained, before stepping back, turning me in the process.
“Assssitrine?” He asked as he picked me up, spun around, and placed me on the counter.
“Yes, that’s it. What is it anyway?” I asked, as he spread my legs and stepped between them.
“Do you really want me to talk about gemsss?” He asked, as he pulled me against his body before dropping a kiss to my lips. “Or, would you rather I do thisss?” He ground his hips into my core, causing my head to drop back.
“Emot, we shouldn’t.” He paused at my words, and I felt his hand slide up my back cradling my head.
“Why not? You are my wife, ssso why can’t I feassst on you?” The possessive way he said wife had me aching to let him touch me, but I knew he would regret it. I had hurt him and that wasn’t something he would get over quickly.
His other hand slid down the front of my clothes and up under my shirt cupping the underside of my breast. It was hard to focus on what the right thing to do was when he was tantalizingly close and touching my skin. “Because I hurt you, and it wouldn’t be right.”
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