Chapter 121: The Truce
She wasn’t joking. Venus could tell from the determined look in her eyes and the steadiness of the weapon pointed directly at him. Whatever uncertainty she might have felt about holding a beast captive had disappeared. If he gave her a reason to pull that trigger, she would.
"Venus Crotalus," he answered.
"Crotalus?" Brittney’s face twisted. "What kind of weird-ass name is that?"
Venus scowled at her, genuinely offended. The Crotalus name had commanded respect in the Serpent line for generations. They might not possess royal blood, but his family had influence, and enough political power that very few serpents were foolish enough to insult them openly. Apparently, nobody had bothered to teach this human the significance of the name she had just mocked.
His pride demanded that he correct her immediately. The weapon aimed at his chest suggested otherwise.
Venus wisely chose survival.
"And what, pray tell, is your beloved name?" he asked instead, his voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.
Brittney stared at him. Then her eyebrows slowly climbed.
"Wait." Genuine disbelief crossed her face. "You don’t know the name of the human you came here to kill?"
Venus blinked in confusion. "What?"
Brittney scoffed, looking almost offended on his behalf. "The audacity of you beasts really needs to be studied. You break into my room to murder me, and you couldn’t even bother learning my name first?"
For several seconds, Venus could only stare at her. Then it dawned on him. She thought he’d come here to kill her.
Well, shit.
Venus couldn’t exactly blame her for reaching that conclusion. Their kind hadn’t given the humans much reason to assume otherwise. Several contestants from previous Concordia Programs had died under suspicious circumstances, and serpents in particular hadn’t exactly earned themselves a reputation for mercy.
Still, being accused of an assassination he hadn’t even planned offended him on a professional level.
"If I had come here to kill you," Venus said dryly, "I assure you, I would have at least learned your name first."
"You didn’t come here to murder me?" Brittney asked, genuine surprise crossing her face. For a moment, she actually seemed willing to consider the possibility. Then suspicion returned just as quickly. "You’re lying."
"I am not lying."
"If you’re not lying, then why are you here?" Brittney demanded. "Why did you sneak into my room?"
"I came here to—" Venus stopped himself immediately.
He had nearly said too much.
There was no way in hell he could tell her he’d broken into the suite looking for information about Aria Aspen. That would only lead to more questions. Why Aria? What did they want with her? Who had sent him? Eventually, everything would lead back to Caelis, and Venus would sooner let this irritating human shoot him with every tranquilizer dart she possessed than betray His Highness.
"You came here to do what?" Brittney pressed when he didn’t continue.
Venus swallowed, his mind racing for an explanation convincing enough to satisfy her.
The problem was that the girl was sharp. Far sharper than he’d initially given her credit for. He couldn’t simply throw together some pathetic excuse about getting lost. She had already found the lock picks he’d used to enter the suite, and considering he was currently tied to a chair in her bedroom, claiming he’d wandered inside by accident would only make him sound like an idiot.
Brittney watched his expression carefully. He was stalling. She could tell.
"You see!" she accused, lifting the tranquilizer pistol again. "You can’t even explain why you’re here because you know damn well—"
"Karen sent me!" The lie escaped Venus before he could reconsider it.
Brittney froze.
"What?" The pistol lowered several inches as surprise replaced the suspicion on her face.
Venus almost sighed with relief. Well, almost.
"What does Karen want?" Brittney asked suddenly.
If that bitch had sent him here to harm them, Karen could rest assured she would be ending her pathetic life today.
Now came the dilemma. What excuse could Venus possibly make about Karen that would sound believable? Fortunately, it didn’t take long for an idea to form. Being Caelis’s assistant meant he had learned to think quickly and resolve crises, notwithstanding how unusual his current predicament happened to be.
The thing about a perfect lie was knowing how much truth to sprinkle into it.
He answered. "Karen overheard that I was coming here to deliver a confidential agreement for Maverick to sign—"
"What confidential agreement?" Brittney interrupted.
"It’s essentially a consent and liability agreement," Venus explained. "Maverick has to sign it before he’s permitted to participate in tomorrow’s fight. The arena belongs to Caelis, and we have to ensure neither His Highness nor the arena can be held legally or financially responsible in the event of serious injury or casualties. As his second-in-command, handling matters like that falls under my responsibilities."
"Whoa, wait a minute..." Brittney clearly hadn’t seen that coming. "You’re Caelis Cobryn’s second-in-command?"
There was unmistakable awe in her voice.
"Yes, my lady," Venus replied, unable to keep a trace of pride from entering his tone. Hopefully, that little revelation had finally made some impression on her.
"I have Caelis Cobryn, the Basilisk Prince’s second-in-command, tied to a chair in my bedroom," Brittney muttered to herself, now pacing the room while Venus waited patiently to learn his fate.
"Actually," he corrected, because apparently his pride wouldn’t allow him to leave it there, "First Fang is the official title. There is also a Second Fang and Third Fang, but His Highness prefers to keep me closest."
"Whoa." Brittney stopped pacing. "This is mind-blowing. I wish I had popcorn for this."
"Popcorn?" Venus repeated incredulously.
Did she think this was some sort of documentary?
"Alright." Brittney suddenly turned toward him. "Let’s make a deal."
Venus’s interest sharpened. "What deal?"
Brittney finally lowered the tranquilizer pistol. "I don’t shoot you again, and in return, you don’t shift into some giant serpent and try to kill me."
Venus stared at her.
"Also," she continued before he could respond, "you should know there are Therion guards all over the house now. Unless you want to explain why you broke into the human girls’ apartment and deal with Maverick’s wrath afterward, I suggest you cooperate. Behave yourself, answer my questions, and who knows?" A sly smile appeared on her face. "I might even help you get out of here without anyone discovering you were ever here."
Venus considered her offer carefully.
He shouldn’t trust her. Humans and serpents naturally distrusted each other, and this particular human had already tranquilized him, tied him to a chair, confiscated his belongings, and threatened to tranquilize him again.
Yet there was something about her that made him want to trust her.
A little.
"Fine," Venus finally said. "Deal. Now, if you don’t mind, would you loosen these restraints, please?"
"Oh, no." Brittney shook her head immediately. "You’re still a serpent. I’m keeping you exactly where you are in case you decide to go back on your word."
Venus’s expression flattened. Apparently, her trust only traveled in one direction.
Brittney walked over to her bed, climbed onto it, and made herself comfortable. She stretched out on her side and propped her head against one hand as though she hadn’t just negotiated a temporary truce with a beast she’d captured in her bedroom.
"Now..." Her eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Tell me what Karen wanted from you. And then you can explain this First Fang, Second Fang, Third Fang thing. I’m interested in serpent culture."
Venus sighed.
Apparently, he didn’t have much of a choice here. To think the great Viper would one day find himself tied to a chair, narrating the customs and hierarchy of his people to a human girl.
Strange things were indeed happening.
"So..." he began.