Chapter 79: Humans At House Ophidian
"The most dangerous thing about humans isn’t what they are. It’s what they’re willing to become."
~ Rebel Beast
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"Ow!" Karen cried out as the healer pressed the damp cloth against the swelling on her cheek.
She jerked her head away with a glare.
"Would you go easy on it?" she snapped. "For fuck’s sake, do you even know what you’re doing?"
The spiny mouse beast looked at her without the slightest sympathy. A low hiss escaped the nurse before she dropped the bloodstained cloth onto the bedside table and turned on her heel.
Karen stared after her in disbelief.
"Excuse me?"
The nurse didn’t even acknowledge her. She simply pulled back the curtain separating the treatment bay from the rest of the infirmary and disappeared.
No sooner had the nurse left than the curtain was pushed aside once again. This time, Venus stepped into the treatment bay, his eyes immediately falling on the abandoned cloth before shifting to Karen’s bruised face.
He raised an eyebrow. "Did you piss off the nurse?"
Karen looked at him as though he’d insulted her.
"Piss her off?" she scoffed. "If I pissed her off, trust me, she’d know."
Venus regarded her for a long moment. Then he let out a long, weary sigh.
"Good for you."
Karen frowned.
He picked up the abandoned cloth from the bedside table and casually dropped it onto her lap.
"Now you can clean your face yourself."
He turned and walked away.
Karen stared after him, completely stunned.
"What do you mean by that?"
She scrambled off the examination bed.
"Come back here!"
Venus didn’t stop.
"You people are supposed to do something about this!" Karen shouted, pointing furiously at her face. "Look what that bitch did to me!"
Her nose throbbed, while her cheeks were swollen from Charlotte’s relentless slaps. Angry scratches crisscrossed her skin where Charlotte’s fingernails had torn through it, and a dark bruise had already begun forming along her jaw.
Karen Donovan looked nothing like herself.
Venus continued walking without so much as glancing over his shoulder. Frankly, he couldn’t care less.
Caelis had dumped Karen on him before returning to House Ophidian to inform the serpents about their new residents, as though Venus couldn’t have handled that simple task himself.
Venus clicked his tongue.
Then again, it was obvious the prince simply wanted to escape Karen’s company as quickly as possible.
He couldn’t blame him. After less than an hour with Karen Donovan, both he and Caelis had independently arrived at the exact same conclusion.
She was a bitch. A terrible one.
He really should’ve known better. Njord Cobryn had never once given them an assignment that didn’t come with a headache attached to it.
Venus returned to the private ward where Liv had been admitted. The girl lay asleep on the hospital bed, one eye covered with a protective dressing while an intravenous drip fed steadily into her arm.
Olivia sat beside her, gently holding Liv’s hand, while Fatima occupied the chair on the opposite side, both girls looking exhausted after the day’s events.
The moment they noticed Venus entering, they immediately stiffened.
Venus noticed.
"You don’t need to be afraid of me," he said calmly.
Neither girl looked convinced.
Even though Venus hadn’t been the one to spit venom into Liv’s eye, he was still a serpent. As far as they were concerned, he possessed the same terrifying ability as Prince Caelis.
When neither of them relaxed, Venus gave up trying to reassure them. Fear was only natural. Humans had always feared predators.
Perhaps that fear would lessen if they survived long enough to call House Ophidian home.
What he couldn’t understand was why they remained so fiercely loyal to Karen Donovan.
She was the one who had dragged them into this mess. Yet despite everything, they followed her like loyal sheep.
Humans truly were peculiar creatures.
Fortunately, the arrival of the physician interrupted his thoughts. The door opened, revealing a tall, slender man whose snow-white hair contrasted sharply with his surprisingly youthful face. Wire-framed spectacles rested neatly on the bridge of his nose, lending him an air of quiet intelligence.
"Ah, you’re here," the doctor said, acknowledging Venus with a polite nod before approaching the bed.
"How is she?" Venus asked.
The doctor smiled reassuringly.
"She was fortunate." He adjusted the chart hanging from the foot of the bed before continuing.
"The venom reached her eye, but she was brought in quickly enough that we were able to flush it out before it caused any permanent damage."
Olivia and Fatima visibly relaxed.
"We also administered an antivenom specifically formulated for basilisk venom," the doctor continued. "The burning sensation has subsided considerably, and there’ll be no lasting damage to her vision."
He leaned over Liv, carefully lifting her eyelid before shining a small examination light into her eye. The pupil contracted immediately.
"Good."
He repeated the examination on the other eye before asking Liv to follow the beam of light, despite knowing she was half asleep from the medication. Her eyes responded exactly as expected.
The doctor glanced toward the monitor beside the bed.
"Heart rate is normal. Blood pressure is stable. Oxygen saturation is excellent."
Satisfied, he stepped back.
"She’ll be sore for another day or two, and bright lights may bother her temporarily, but she’ll recover completely."
Olivia let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
"So... she’ll be alright?" Fatima asked in a low voice.
"She will."
The doctor’s reassuring smile returned.
"I’d like to keep her here overnight for observation, just to be safe. Assuming nothing changes, she’ll be discharged tomorrow morning."
Venus gave a single nod.
"Very well."
He turned toward the two girls.
"I’ll return for her tomorrow."
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he added,
"You two. Come."
Olivia and Fatima looked at him blankly.
"It’s time to leave."
"What?"
The word escaped both of them at the same time.
They exchanged frightened looks before slowly turning back to Venus, their expressions mirroring the same dreadful realization.
They had to leave for House Ophidian.
Meanwhile, at the serpent’s residence...
Every member of House Ophidian had gathered in the common room. The meetings were becoming a daily occurrence.
Caelis stood at the front, his silver gaze sweeping across the sea of serpents before him.
"I apologize for summoning all of you again so soon," he began.
The response came almost immediately.
"You never need apologize, Your Highness."
"The prince calls, we answer."
"It is our honor."
Several serpents bowed their heads while others thumped a fist lightly against their chests in salute. Not a single complaint reached his ears.
For once, Caelis found himself satisfied. If there was one quality House Ophidian possessed in abundance, it was loyalty.
Serpents were raised from the moment they hatched to understand that the crown came before the individual. Obedience wasn’t viewed as weakness but as the foundation upon which their House had survived for centuries.
It was something dragons would never understand.
Dragons spent their entire lives being reminded they were superior. Every hatchling was taught it was destined to soar above every other creature. When pride became the first lesson a child learned, kneeling before another dragon became far more difficult.
Perhaps that was why House Aetheris produced so many challengers, while House Ophidian produced servants of the throne.
Caelis drew a slow breath.
"There is something you all need to know."
The room quieted immediately.
"Four human girls will be residing in House Ophidian."
The silence lasted only a heartbeat before the common room erupted.
"Humans?" a viper hissed. "In our House? Impossible!"
A black mamba stepped forward, open disgust written across his face.
"Humans and serpents cannot coexist." His slit pupils narrowed. "From the beginning of time, we’ve struck at their heels while they’ve sought to crush our heads."
A chorus of hisses spread throughout the room.
"We don’t trust them!"
"This is madness."
The protests overlapped until they became impossible to distinguish from one another.
Caelis waited, and only when every complaint had been voiced did he speak again.
"It is the Cobra King’s order."
The effect was immediate. The hall fell silent, several serpents exchanging uncertain glances.
"The Cobra King ordered this?" someone asked uncertainly.
Technically, he hadn’t. But if his father intended to burden him with Karen Donovan, then the least he could do was carry the blame for the three extra girls.
Caelis felt no guilt whatsoever.
"That can’t be," Nadia said, disbelief clear on her face. "His Majesty Njord would never agree to humans living among us."
Caelis met her gaze without flinching.
"Then you’re welcome to question the king yourself."
Nadia’s lips parted, but nothing came out.
Neither she nor anyone else seemed eager to challenge the Cobra King directly.
Caelis knew they wouldn’t. At most, they’d send word to their families seeking confirmation. That problem belonged to his father now.
He could deal with it.
Seeing the resistance beginning to fade, Caelis continued.
"The girls will live under House Ophidian."
His tone left no room for debate.
"That means they fall under our protection
His silver eyes swept slowly across every serpent present, taking in their reactions.
"No one outside this House is to lay a hand on them." He paused deliberately, a faint smile touching his lips.
"As for the other humans... they remain fair game."
That earned several approving hisses.
"Am I understood?"
There was hesitation, but one serpent lowered his head.
"Yes, my prince."
Another followed.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Soon the answer spread throughout the hall until every member of House Ophidian had spoken with one voice.
"Yes, my prince."