I should fear the snake monster.
But I can’t help but love him.

There is no such thing as a safe space on the dread world of Protheka. I thought that living in the woods would keep the monsters that roamed the land from finding me.
But when I find Vaishuu in the forest, I can’t leave him for dead.

I should fear the snake monster.

But I find the danger thrilling. And I keep coming back for more.

He tries to own me. Control me. The worst part?

I let him.

Because his touch is more tender than I expect.
Despite his harsh exterior, there is more to him than brutality.
Deep down, Vaishuu has something else to offer me than his body.

His heart

Chapter 1

Vaishuu

“Captain,” one of my warriors gruffs out. “We’ve had word from the ground troops. All signs are clear.”

I nod to him and heft my sword back into the holster at my hip at the news.

I’m glad to hear that those vermin orcs haven’t gotten anywhere near Outpost #5 since our last embarrassment in the north a few months ago. Thank the goddess Atia that Commander Ferzu had the strength to reclaim it and not let it fall into enemy hands.

The Commander has a fearsome reputation for a reason. His dedication to the battlefield is unmatched by anyone else I’ve seen other than myself. When I’d first heard of that traitor Konn and his scheme with the orcs, I’d wanted to go and skewer the fool myself.

There is no greater dishonor than a naga who sides with any other creature besides our own kind, let alone another Captain tasked with defending the line.

When word had been spread about the Commander’s feat of successfully holding the outpost and taking care of the traitor, I’d celebrated with a strong drink and a nod in honor of him.

However, with the orcs now clearly thinking that they are a far greater threat than they actually are, I’ve since doubled my patrols of the area in order to keep our presence heightened if the chance arises and we need to defend ourselves once more.

I will not allow my outpost to be overrun. It would be an ultimate dishonor and I could no longer bring myself to show my face as Captain.

Waving my hand back to my two warriors, I take us all through the tall grass away from the outpost for our daily scout and head into the lush forest. Normally I don’t bother chasing beasts through the weeds but Mynir had given me the sense to come this way today and who am I to disobey a god’s orders?

I signal with my hand to my warriors, waiting for them to fall into formation behind me before I pick up the pace and traipse through the thick brush. As unkempt as the forest floor is, it makes the perfect cover for vermin to hide in while lying in wait for a passing naga.

Orcs are nothing if not oafish and stupid, however their bruteish strength and their hard bodies makes for quite the opponent when they are found in large numbers together. Which is why our scouting has been of top importance in protecting the integrity of the outpost.

I flick my tongue out, tasting the air around us. It’s clean of stench and filth. No orcs here.

“Clear, Captain,” the warrior to my left informs me.

I nod and lift my arm to snap a few low hanging branches that are in my way, tossing them to the ground and making a few gallus hidden in the bushes nearby scatter with their loud squawking.

As naga, our land is a sign of our wealth. We protect it fiercely and without provocation and in the face of another being coming to encroach on it, we defend it at all costs no matter the consequences.

Being part of the warrior class myself, my land is my territory. My pride is my outpost. I will do whatever it takes to keep everything, including this forest, free from orcs.

I flick my tongue out again when we reach a dirt path that has long been worn into the earth. I run my eyes along it, curious as to where it leads. Perhaps this walking path is a trail hidden away and used by the very vermin I seek to destroy.

I pull my sword out of my holster and follow it east.

The tracks stamped down into the dirt look fresh but not in the sense that someone has just recently, within the last hour, passed through here. I flick my tongue out again and feel my lip curl back when the distinct taste—a tangy odor—fills my mouth.

Orcs…

I knew it.

Flicking my hand out again to my warriors, I signal them to stay vigilant and close by me. We hurry along the path while the sound of rumbling through the forest grows louder.

An arrow whizzes by my head, causing me to thrust my sword out and cut it in half. I let out a roar of fury and turn to the source of it.

Another flies out from between the dense brush and sinks directly into the warrior’s neck closest to me. He chokes out a sound before dropping dead onto the ground at my feet.

“Bastards!” I scream.

My remaining warrior and I turn and run through the forest, crashing through the brush camouflaging them from view. I thrust my sword forward blindly, catching it in the shoulder of one of the orcs and gritting my teeth when a scream erupts from it.

I hook my arm back and raise my sword again, coming around the tall bush to the other side of it. The orc closest to me grabs at the wound on its shoulder, falling back to avoid another blow from my sword.

However, I’m too quick. I catch it in the side and send it careening into another one of the orcs. My warrior throws himself into a third, colliding and bringing them both down onto the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of both of them.

Spinning on my heel, I swipe my sword back over my shoulder and slice through the thick chest of another orc who has a club raised up to strike me down. I narrowly avoid it and dodge, rolling onto the ground before picking myself back up onto my feet.

In the same motion I raise my sword once more and catch it on the hilt of another club. I thrust my strength into it, slicing it right out of the orc’s hands. Glancing around, I see that we’re surrounded by at least eight or nine orcs.

This must be what Mynir wanted to warn me about.

Bless his virtue.

A choked noise rips my attention away from the crowd gathering around me. I spot my other warrior, held off the ground by thick arms wrapped around his neck. The orc squeezes my warrior hard enough to snap his neck in a split second.

I grimace as he’s unceremoniously dropped to the ground like a sack of rotting meat. I shall honor them both and their bravery once I get back to the Outpost.

Raising my sword once more, I glare at the beasts who grin at me. Clearly they believe that I’m outmatched—a laughable offense if I wasn’t so angry with what they’ve done to my warriors.

I strike in quick, sharp blows.

Battling the group head-to-head isn’t difficult, but it is overwhelming if my timing isn’t entirely precise. I’ve faced many foes in my time as Captain and these beasts will fall just as every last one before them has.

I revel in their cries of surprise when my sword sinks deep into their flesh. I strike with no remorse and with all of the fury I have built up from their stupidity at thinking that an uprising against me, against us naga, has been a wise choice.

My first victim is the arrow shooter who killed my first warrior.

I plunge my sword deep into its gut and twist it for good measure. The agonized cry that leaves those thick lips fuels me as I rip the sword out from that soft belly that they so foolishly forget to defend.

As a creature with my own soft belly, I’ve cultivated many techniques that allow me the freedom of close-contact combat while also being mindful of how open I leave myself to potential threats.

It’s the only way to live as a warrior—discovering your weaknesses and cultivating strengths around them.

The orcs around me scream in anger. Their clubs fly wildly at me in order to overwhelm me and throw me off my footing. Luckily, I’ve trained extensively for this.

I duck and weave around the forest, crashing through more brush in order to widen my battlefield. I catch the end of my blade on the neck of another orc that rushes me, and swing it around to sink it into the next one’s chest, right into its beating heart.

Both of them drop, leaving only a handful of them still standing.

I grin at them. “Is that it? Is that all you cowards are made of?” I spit on the fallen ones at my feet. “Pathetic.”

A rumbling moves through them. One of them pounds its chest with a large, meaty fist and raises a club in the air. It swipes it at me, leaving that soft belly open like the fools before it.

I duck and drop down to my knee to avoid the blow. Coming up with a wide arch, I throw my entire body weight into that soft belly with my sword and use my shoulder to wedge it into the rest of its body.

We both crash to the ground, the club going flying out of its hand and landing somewhere by my legs.

Blood pours out of the wound, coating me in it where my body rests on top of the orc’s large body. The light leaves those beady eyes and finally the final breath shakes the body no longer.

I lift my head to the last few remaining. “Well?”

All of them quickly back away from me.

I chuckle to myself and stand, pulling my sword out of a corpse once more. I know I’m a fierce warrior, I’ve trained for long enough to become one on the battlefield. Watching these vermin scramble away from me fuels me.

I stalk towards them, my sword held up in front of my body. All at once, they turn and run. Their big bodies crash through the forest, leaving a visible trail for me to follow. I grin to myself and do just that.